Slums in Casablanca: Assessment of the VSB program, case study: Er-hamna Slum

The Cities Without Slums Program (VSBP) is Morocco’s most well-known slum clearance initiative. It was established in 2004 on royal orders, following terrorist assaults on the country’s economic center, Casablanca, in 2003. The slum clearance effort has resulted in a 66 percent relocation rate. This rapid reduction in slums earned the Moroccan Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Al Omrane Holding (both significant players in the VSBP), the UN-Habitat Award of Honor in 2010. Nonetheless, slums continue to exist in major cities such as Casablanca. Slums in Casablanca are a response devised by the impoverished due to government bureaucracy and failed housing policies; they show governments’ inability to respond to urban development’s need for appropriate housing for the vulnerable.

This problem will be addressed by looking back at prior techniques and examining the benefits and drawbacks of the most current VSB Program. One of these flaws is the inability of mechanisms intended for slum dwellers to gain access to property ownership, the concentration on clearing land rather than establishing new communities, and the-one-size- fits -strategy. Afterward, the focus is placed on whether enhancing physical housing comfort is a significant element in people’s improvement of their living conditions. Using an in-depth analysis through Er-hamna slum to explore the suitability of these options regarding the overall situation of the slum dwellers and assessing people’s attitudes towards resettlement, and therefore to direct improved and valuable recommendations to address the slum problem.

Also Read: Affordability Housing in UNECE: A summary of Housing affordability report