+ From: "Architexturez." <interface.services@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
+ Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 20:56:56 +0530
The Crumbling of the Casbah
Marc Garanger
By CRAIG S. SMITH
Published: July 23, 2006
IT has stood for centuries, a slope of gleaming white houses climbing in steps from the sea like a construction of sugar cubes. It gave this Mediterranean port the nickname la Blanche, the white one. But despite the romance surrounding the old quarter, known as the Casbah and once home to pirates and freedom fighters, it is literally imploding from neglect.
Unesco has declared it a World Heritage site, and the Algerian government has designated it a protected landmark, to no avail. Closed in on itself, symbolizing the local population’s long isolation from French colonial rulers — and more recently, radical Islam’s retreat from modernity — this seemingly impenetrable agglomeration of houses is falling down
.....
With the municipal government, the Algerian Culture Ministry and various nongovernmental organizations squabbling over what to do, Mr. Ammour said, the next logical step would be to create an independent entity with the power to make decisions. “Now we’re fighting for an authority to control the site,” he explained.
Another complication is figuring out who owns what and getting all of the property holders to support a preservation plan. Ownership of many of the houses has been fragmented through inheritance, making decision making difficult and in some cases impossible. The foundation recently completed a survey of all the owners it could find and registered more than 4,200 for 1,200 different properties.
Most owners have moved out of the Casbah and now rent their buildings for nominal sums. They spend little on maintenance because the buildings generate so little income; each room rents for only 500 to 1,500 dinars, or $5 to $20, a month.
But the longer the preservation is postponed, the greater the peril to the historic district. Mr. Ammour said the foundation was battling both gravity and the threat of land speculation: the Casbah occupies prime real estate overlooking the sea, and developers have already proposed building luxury apartment blocks and even office towers on the scenic hillside.
If the political stalemate persists, neglect will eventually do the work of the wrecking ball, and the storied lair of the Ottoman corsairs will disappear forever.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/arts/design/23smit.html?pagewanted=all
Marc Garanger
By CRAIG S. SMITH
Published: July 23, 2006
IT has stood for centuries, a slope of gleaming white houses climbing in steps from the sea like a construction of sugar cubes. It gave this Mediterranean port the nickname la Blanche, the white one. But despite the romance surrounding the old quarter, known as the Casbah and once home to pirates and freedom fighters, it is literally imploding from neglect.
Unesco has declared it a World Heritage site, and the Algerian government has designated it a protected landmark, to no avail. Closed in on itself, symbolizing the local population’s long isolation from French colonial rulers — and more recently, radical Islam’s retreat from modernity — this seemingly impenetrable agglomeration of houses is falling down
.....
With the municipal government, the Algerian Culture Ministry and various nongovernmental organizations squabbling over what to do, Mr. Ammour said, the next logical step would be to create an independent entity with the power to make decisions. “Now we’re fighting for an authority to control the site,” he explained.
Another complication is figuring out who owns what and getting all of the property holders to support a preservation plan. Ownership of many of the houses has been fragmented through inheritance, making decision making difficult and in some cases impossible. The foundation recently completed a survey of all the owners it could find and registered more than 4,200 for 1,200 different properties.
Most owners have moved out of the Casbah and now rent their buildings for nominal sums. They spend little on maintenance because the buildings generate so little income; each room rents for only 500 to 1,500 dinars, or $5 to $20, a month.
But the longer the preservation is postponed, the greater the peril to the historic district. Mr. Ammour said the foundation was battling both gravity and the threat of land speculation: the Casbah occupies prime real estate overlooking the sea, and developers have already proposed building luxury apartment blocks and even office towers on the scenic hillside.
If the political stalemate persists, neglect will eventually do the work of the wrecking ball, and the storied lair of the Ottoman corsairs will disappear forever.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/arts/design/23smit.html?pagewanted=all
+ Previous by Thread: [in-enaction] Cons: Temples of boom for builders
+ Next by Thread: [in-enaction] cons: The House Jinnah built [goes to SAARC]
Partial thread listing:
- [in-enaction] cons: The Crumbling of the Casbah [ NGO, the Ministry, politicians, all in a knot! ], Architexturez.
- [in-enaction] cons: The House Jinnah built [goes to SAARC], Architexturez. (2007-01-31)
- [in-enaction] Constructivist Edifice Sees New Life as Hotel, Architexturez-IN
- [in-enaction] consultancy: CEPT to plan cyber city in Mauritius, Architexturez-IN