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Join on Telegram Rabat – For King Mohammed VI, Morocco strives to build smart cities without slums, with clean environment and with a spirit of creativity, civilized conduct, tolerance and cooperation to better serve citizens.
In a message to the participants in the 2nd Ministerial Forum on Housing and Urban Development, delivered by King’s advisor Abdellatif Menouni, King Mohammed VI warns against the challenges of urban sprawl that causes considerable issues for urban planning.
“Urban sprawl which is not based on prior planning leads to many challenges and causes considerable problems in terms of urban management. It compounds transportation problems, increases infrastructure costs, implies encroachment on rural areas, intensifies the pressure on public services, depletes natural resources and leads to environmental degradation,” the king said.
The king also stressed on the most salient features of urban sprawl: “Population growth leads to ever growing urban areas because of the horizontal and vertical development that is required to meet the basic needs of inhabitants in terms of housing, roads and various other services.”
The king added that “Horizontal urban sprawl often bites into land reserves, using up fertile, high-yield farming areas. This creates a concrete jungle, not to mention higher urban management costs and inefficient public services.”
These profound changes in urban life, said king Mohammed VI, “will contribute to social and spatial imbalances inside cities, particularly large ones.”
To solve the complexity of this situation and the perils involved, the King called on authorities “to pay close attention to urban development and to seriously address the basic issues relating to urban organization in general.”
In addition to an adequate housing, the King deemed necessary to provide a clean environment which allows for economic development and smart urban planning that ultimately serves the citizen.
The sovereign also stressed the need to lay the groundwork for an urban policy which respects local identities and particularities, while considering new, creative mechanisms for a new urban development system that would enable Moroccan citizens to enjoy good living conditions.
“This requires thorough institutional reforms whereby regions, decentralized authorities and national initiatives would be given extensive powers. Through these reforms, those in charge of public policies should also be in a better position to answer citizens’ needs and fulfil their aspirations,” the King underlined.
King Mohammed VI invited participants to strive hard in order to consolidate cooperation and promote the exchange of know-how and experiences between Arab countries given that they have the same concerns, face similar challenges, and have their eyes set on the future.
The statement also recalled the launch in 2004 of the national program “Cities without slums” to eradicate all sorts of sub-standard housing in 85 cities and towns.
“This ambitious national program is based on making housing the gateway to social cohesion and to economic dynamism. So far, thanks to this program, 58 cities and towns have been declared slum-free,” the King said.
As the 2011 Constitution stipulates, the right to housing is essential, together with the right to water, a healthy environment, healthcare and social security.
“Many accomplishments have been made in this regard thanks to political will and an approach based on the promotion of rights and of urban integration,” the King underlined.
