In the studies and plans that were made under Écochard’s
direction and executed between 1948 and 1956 under the new “plan d’amènagement”
for Rabat-Salé, “La Cité Jacoub al-Mansour”
occupies a central position. The idea behind the project was, of course, that
residents of the existing bidonville of Dabbagh would be located to this new
adjacent town as soon as their units were completed, and that their substandard
housing would be destroyed to make room for the next phase of construction.
Whilst considerably smaller than Dabbagh, (Douar Doum’s)
location was far more threatening. It was much too close to the highest-value
land in the ville nouvelle...This zone was now being planned as the Quartier
Aviation, destined to house an expansion of the administrative district as well
as villas for many of the civil servants connected with government ...The project,
called Youssoufia, was built and even extended but Douar Doum remained and
spread even further.
The third area designated to receive low-cost housing for Moroccans
was on the outskirts of Salé. In the end the Écochard module was rejected
in favor of groups of apartment buildings of two to four stories.
Source:
Abu-Lughod, Janet. Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco. New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 1980. pp. 228-232
