Questions about the role of urban planning in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic

The problem of informal urban fabrics has been in the news for a long time, but today more than yesterday, in view of the current health crisis, these human settlements deserve to be looked at with all the necessary acuity, says Iman Meriem Ben kirane, director of the School of Architecture, Design and Town Planning at the Euromed University of Fez. For this architect, doctor of urban planning, professor and researcher in landscape and regional planning, the Moroccan urban reality returns the image of complex cities, still marked by inequalities.

The profusion of lives suddenly gave way to the rustling of the leaves. Withdrawal, tacit or declared, seems to be the watchword. Some already verbalize it openly; and many countries are whispering it: the economic blast is there. Like other countries, our cities are silent and digital resonates. Covid-19 depopulated the streets and repopulated the homes. Cities, villages, douars and other agglomerations; none of these human settlements is an exception. Or almost. At the call of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the entire Nation, in all its components, mobilized in a unanimous, united, efficient and instantaneous manner; thus making Morocco a figurehead.

A country whose mobilization of its human capital, under the impetus of His Majesty, today defies all expectations. Beyond the proactive measures observed by our country, others have been able to see the light of day that would make the most reactive and opulent of the powers look jealous. Deadlines are postponed, bonds suspended.

Share