Se cachant en pleine vue : les bidonvilles dans la cité

On observe, ces dernières années, une éclosion de publications consacrées à l’histoire et à la politique de l’espace qu’ont marquées les bidonvilles, terme probablement employé pour la première fois à la fin des années 1920 à Casablanca pour décrire une agglomération en croissance rapide d’habitats de fortune construits par des migrants récemment arrivés des campagnes à la ville. Au cours des décennies qui suivirent, ce terme fut repris pour désigner des développements similaires dans d’autres villes du Maghreb et, au milieu des années 1950, en métropole. Comme le suggèrent les quatre ouvrages analysés ici, des historiens de la ville et de l’architecture ont commencé à s’intéresser de plus près à la trajectoire particulière du bidonville, soit du point de vue de l’histoire urbaine – en mettant l’accent sur les institutions, sur les structures politiques et sur les politiques de la ville (Blanc-Chaléard, 2016) –, soit de celui de l’histoire de l’architecture – privilégiant les plans d’architectes pour de nouveaux aménagements urbains et la construction de logements destinés à remplacer les bidonvilles (Avermate et Casciato, 2014 ; Roesler, 2016). Dans Architecture and Counterrevolution, Samia Henni ouvre une sorte de troisième voie, puisqu’elle relie l’analyse des politiques institutionnelles et des projets à grande échelle de restructuration territoriale à l’étude de projets de construction remarquables.The past several years have witnessed an outpouring of publications examining the history and spatial politics of the bidonville, a term first coined in Casablanca in the late 1920s to describe a rapidly growing agglomeration of self-built dwellings erected by recent rural migrants to the city. In the decades that followed, this term was used in reference to similar developments in cities across the Maghrib and, by the mid-1950s, to sites across the métropole. As the four books under consideration here suggest, urban historians and architectural historians have begun to examine the bidonville more closely, either from the vantage point of urban history – focused on institutions, political structures, and policies (Chaléard, 2016) – or from that of architectural history – privileging architects’ designs for new urban plans and housing developments intended to replace the bidonville (Avermate et Casciato, 2014 ; Roesler, 2016). In Architecture of Counterrevolution, Samia Henni offers something of a third path, as she moves between the analysis of institutional policies and large-scale projects of territorial restructuring to pointed consideration of exemplary building projects.Literatur über die Geschichte und Politik des Slums ist in den letzten Jahren stark gewachsen. Der Begriff wurde wahrscheinlich zum ersten Mal in den späten 1920er Jahren in Casablanca verwendet, um eine schnell wachsende Siedlung von Notunterkünften zu beschreiben, die in der Stadt von den jüngsten Landflüchtlingen gebaut wurde. In den folgenden Jahrzehnten wurde dieser Begriff verwendet, um ähnliche Entwicklungen in anderen Maghreb-Städten und Mitte der 1950er Jahre im kontinentalen Frankreich zu bezeichnen. Wie die vier hier besprochenen Publikationen zeigen, haben Stadt- und Architekturhistoriker begonnen, sich mit der besonderen Entwicklung des Slums auseinanderzusetzen, entweder aus der Perspektive der Stadtgeschichte (mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Institutionen, politische Strukturen und Stadtplanung; Blanc-Chaléard, 2016), oder aus einer architekturgeschichtliche Sicht (mit Architektenplänen für neue Stadtgestaltung und Wohnungsbau, die Slums ersetzen sollten; Avermate et Casciato, 2014; Roesler, 2016). Mit Architecture and Counterrevolution eröffnet Samia Henni eine Art dritten Weg, da sie die Analyse institutioneller Politiken und großer territorialer Umstrukturierungsprojekte mit der Untersuchung bemerkenswerter Bauprojekte verbindet.Negli ultimi anni, è possibile osservare una crescita delle pubblicazioni dedicate alla storia e alla politica dello spazio segnato dalle bidonville, un termine probabilmente impiegato per la prima volta alla fine degli anni ’20 a Casablanca per descrivere un agglomerato in rapida espansione costituito da abitazioni di fortuna costruite da migranti recentemente arrivati dalle campagne. Nel corso dei decenni che seguirono, questo termine fu ripreso per designare degli sviluppi simili in altre città del Maghreb e, alla metà degli anni ’50, in metropoli. Come suggerito dalle quattro opere qui analizzate, alcuni storici della città e dell’architettura hanno cominciato a interessarsi da vicino alla traiettoria particolare della bidonville, tanto dal punto di vista della storia urbana – mettendo l’accento sulle istituzioni, sulle strutture e sulle politiche della città (BLANC-CHALEARD, 2016) –, sia da quello della storia dell’architettura – privilegiando i piani di architetti per delle nuove soluzioni urbane e per la costruzione di alloggi destinati a rimpiazzare le bidonville (AVERMATE e CASCIATO, 2014; ROESLER, 2016). In Architecture and Counterrevolution, Samia Henni apre una sorta di terza via, poiché collega l’analisi delle politiche istituzionali e dei progetti su larga scala di ristrutturazione territoriale allo studio di notevoli progetti di costruzione.Se observa, estos últimos años, una eclosión de publicaciones consagradas a la historia y la política del espacio determinadas por los bidonvilles (barriadas), término probablemente utilizado por la primera vez a finales de los años 1920 en Casablanca para describir una aglomeración con un crecimiento rápido de casas improvisadas construidas por migrantes recién llegados del campo. En el curso de las décadas siguientes, este término fue retomado para designar desarrollos similares en otras ciudades del Magreb y, a mediados de los años 1950, en la metrópolis. Como lo sugieren las cuatro obras analizadas aquí, los historiadores de la ciudad y de la arquitectura comenzaron a interesarse en profundidad de la trayectoria particular del bidonville, ya sea desde el punto de vista de la historia urbana – poniendo el acento en las instituciones, las estructuras políticas y las políticas de la ciudad (Blanc-Chaléard, 2016) –, ya sea desde la historia de la arquitectura – privilegiando los planos de arquitectos para nuevos reordenamientos urbanos y la construcción de vivienda destinada a remplazar los bidonvilles (Avermate y Casciato, 2014 ; Roesler, 2016). En Architecture and Counterrevolution, Samia Henni abre una suerte de tercera vía, dado que ella relaciona el análisis de las políticas institucionales y de los proyectos a gran escala de reestructuración territorial al estudio de proyectos de construcción remarcables

A Shared Global Heritage. Architectural History, Conservation, and Preservation

A series of studies on fascinating cases in architectural history, the essays in this collection reveal the complexity of the current issues in the field, draw attention to the value of architectural heritage and the risks it faces, and suggest possible interpretations as well as alternative methods in the preservation, conservation, reconstruction, and use of architectural heritage. Each essayist has been in residence at Columbia's Italian Academy with a fellowship supported by the Sidney J. Weinberg Jr. Foundation. Edited by B. Faedda Authors: S. Al-Qaisi, P. Aykac, S. Crane, G. de Felice, D. La Monica, F. Marcorin, C. Ruggero, A. Zunic

The Un-Exceptional Middle Eastern City

This special section of City and Society is dedicated to de-exceptionalizing the study of Middle Eastern cities. The introduction argues that the study of Middle Eastern cities has been constrained in its analytical and methodological focus by a genealogy shaped by a triad of regional exceptions-Islam, oil, and authoritarianism-and that the three pieces curated for this special section move beyond those constraints in important ways. Focusing on geographical places and time periods that have remained peripheral to the study of Middle Eastern cities, the three articles ethnographically historicize the planned and unplanned processes through which cities in the region transform to transcend a genealogy of exceptionalism and the constraints it has created. They highlight the global and local connections that shape these processes to offer new perspectives on the study of scale, verticality and sensoriums in the shaping of urban transformation around the globe. The section developed from a conference on Middle Eastern cities convened at Princeton University in May 2013

Foundation Coursework in Undergraduate Inorganic Chemistry: Results from a National Survey of Inorganic Chemistry Faculty

A national survey of inorganic chemists explored the self-reported topics covered in foundation-level courses in inorganic chemistry at the postsecondary level; the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training defines a foundation course as one at the conclusion of which, “a student should have mastered the vocabulary, concepts, and skills required to pursue in-depth study in that area.” Anecdotal evidence suggested that more than one type of Inorganic Chemistry Foundation course was offered in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Cluster analysis confirmed this evidence, revealing four distinct foundation courses, each with unique profiles of topics covered. Faculty reported changes in content coverage over the past five years that mirror the evolving foci of inorganic chemistry research. These results potentially complicate how graduate programs evaluate incoming students’ understanding of inorganic chemistry and the design of national assessments of undergraduate inorganic chemistry courses

Foundation Coursework in Undergraduate Inorganic Chemistry: Results from a National Survey of Inorganic Chemistry Faculty

A national survey of inorganic chemists explored the self-reported topics covered in foundation-level courses in inorganic chemistry at the postsecondary level; the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training defines a foundation course as one at the conclusion of which, “a student should have mastered the vocabulary, concepts, and skills required to pursue in-depth study in that area.” Anecdotal evidence suggested that more than one type of Inorganic Chemistry Foundation course was offered in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Cluster analysis confirmed this evidence, revealing four distinct foundation courses, each with unique profiles of topics covered. Faculty reported changes in content coverage over the past five years that mirror the evolving foci of inorganic chemistry research. These results potentially complicate how graduate programs evaluate incoming students’ understanding of inorganic chemistry and the design of national assessments of undergraduate inorganic chemistry courses