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Abstract
Slum demolition in the name of urban renewal is a common practice in contemporary African cities. Many organisations have tracked the rights violations that demolitions entail. What has been overlooked, however, is the political significance of slums, which this paper argues produce their own imaginations of ‘good urbanism’ becoming critical sites for the imagining of urban political belonging. Exploring the case of urban redevelopment and slum demolition in Luanda, Angola, this paper argues that in this megacity, quotidian notions of citizenship are mediated through the material and aesthetic worlds of slum housing construction, more specifically the cement-block house. It draws on theories that understand citizenship and belonging not simply as juridical categories but more substantively produced through shared imaginations and symbolic worlds. This paper shows that urban politics needs to be understood as mediated through deeply material struggles over emplacement and incorporation that hinge on competing normative visions of the urban.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the participants in the WiSER seminar at the University of the Witwatersrand, and the two anonymous reviewers for their important feedback on the paper. Any errors or omissions in the paper are solely my responsibility.
Notes
1. Angola is the second-largest producer of oil in Africa. The end of the war coincided with a sudden rise in the international price of oil from US$10 in 1999 to US$147 in 2008 providing substantial funds for reconstruction (Soares de Oliveira Citation2015, 167).
2. For excellent reporting on demolitions in Luanda see Amnesty International (Citation2003, Citation2007), Human Rights Watch (Citation2007).
3. Statistics regarding people affected by demolitions are difficult to come by. However, I was told by a representative of Odebrecht that in only one rehousing area, Zango, they estimated that approximately 200,000 people had been rehoused.
4. The archives of SOS Habitat, a housing rights organisation formed in 2002 by victims of demolitions, suggest that thousands of Luandans have been forcibly removed with little or no compensation of any kind.
5. Many Luandans have voiced numerous complaints about the quality of housing in the state rehousing zones.
6. Two examples include the planned construction of a new capital Oyala, in Equatorial Guinea, and the ongoing investment in the Eko Atlantic project in Lagos, a privately administered city for 250,000 described as the ‘future of Hong Kong of Africa’.
7. The bulk of the research for this paper was undertaken between March 2011 and September 2012. Subsequent research trips were undertaken in July–August 2013, November–December 2014 and October–December 2015.
8. See Viegas (Citation2016).
9. Law 9/04, 9 November 2004.
10. See Article 1293 to 1297 and Article 1528 of Angola’s Codigo Civil.
11. See Articles 6 and 8 of the Land Law.
12. See Human Rights Watch Citation2007.
13. Interview with Carla. Ingombota, Luanda. 2 November 2015.
14. Guettos na Vertical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXPqFwCTVS0.
15. Eu Queria Morar em Talatona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiLBVijpjmI.
16. Pseudonyms have been used for all names with the exception of public figures who have made statements in public fora.
17. The names of specific neighbourhoods have generally been given pseudonyms. The exception to this is when cases have been very public such as that of Iraque-Bagdad. The real names of municipalities and communes have been kept.
18. Group Discussion, Vamos Andar, Cazenga. 27 April 2011.
19. Literally translated the word means ‘mason’, but it references artisans specialized in housing design and construction in Luanda’s musseques.
20. These accounts generally portrayed the camponeses as willing sellers. However, occasionally some interviewees explained that they believed that the sales were forced given the impossible situation that camponeses found themselves in. The sale, while often ‘voluntary’ then, was often a decision taken in situations of desperation.
21. Croese (Citation2015) and Tomás (Citation2014).
22. Lena. Vamos Andar, Cazenga. 17 May 2011.
23. ‘GPL descarta culpa’ O Pais. 31 July 2009, 23.
24. Interview with representative of Bagdad-Iraque. Camama, Luanda. 26 August 2011.
25. Discussion. Chimbicato. 1 July 2011.
26. Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola. These were the armed forces of the MPLA during the Angolan civil war.
27. This number was ascertained from discussions with a pedreiro in 2012 regarding the costs of building a poor quality basic two-room casa de bloco.
28. Interview with José Manuel, former resident of Honga. Benfica. 16 November 2011.
29. See Amnesty International (Citation2003, Citation2007), Human Rights Watch (Citation2007), and SOS Habitat (Citation2012).
30. Woman 5. 5 March 2012. Bairro 2. Kilamba Kiaxi. Luanda.
31. Sara. 5 March 2012. Bairro 3. Kilamba Kiaxi. Luanda.
32. Pedro. 5 March 2012. Bairro 2. Kilamba Kiaxi. Luanda.
33. Member of Residents Committee. 1 July 2011. Bairro 2. Kilamba Kiaxi. Luanda.
34. Woman 5. 5 March 2012. Bairro 2. Kilamba Kiaxi. Luanda.
35. See Harms (Citation2013).