From the City to the Desert: Analysing shantytown resettlement in Casablanca, Morocco, from residents’ perspectives

Since the mid-1990s, the majority of the Moroccan population are living in cities – many of them in informal, self-built shantytowns called bidonvilles. After the suicide bombings in the city centre of Casablanca, carried out by bidonville dwellers in 2003, the Moroccan government re-enhanced its efforts to tackle the ‘problem’ of shantytowns by announcing the ambitious programme Villes Sans Bidonvilles (VSB, Cities Without Shantytowns). 

Raffael Beier's thesis emphasizes that the VSB programme, which, although formally part of anti-poverty and urban inclusion policies, puts a primary focus on the clearance of the bidonville. Following a rather narrow interpretation of the right to adequate housing, the VSB programme overemphasizes physical housing standards while ignoring aspects of socio-spatial integration.

Beier's thesis and this Public Defence is part of a joint PhD with Ruhr University, Bochum.

The doors will be closed after the start of the Public Defence, but will be briefly opened after the candidate’s introduction to allow latecomers to enter.

The ceremony will be followed by a reception in the Atrium of the ISS. And the professors are invited to join the academic procession.