Project assistance completion report : Tetouan urban development program

The project was a success. By the end of 1995, roads, drainage, street lighting, water, sewerage, and other improvements had been completed on about 174 hectares in the Dersa and Samsa neighborhoods, home to more than 11,000 low-income households. Infrastructure was also completed on a nearby 60 hectares with 1,900 serviced sites for new homes, schools, and public services. Profits on sales of the new sites are helping cross-subsidize improvements in the older areas. Capital investments total less than $2,000 per household -- dramatically less than would have been required for new housing. In addition, about 30% of the households (85% of whom are below median income) had secured title to their property, and more than 70% had invested in rehabilitation and repairs; 10% had added a rental unit and 5% had created a shop on the ground floor. A 1992 evaluation found that the average household income had risen 20-40%. Each of the agencies involved in the program has gone on to play important roles in other urban development programs around the country; institutions like the Fonds d'Equipement Communal (FEC) and the Agence Nationale de Lutte Contre l'Habitat Insalubre (ANHI) have become key elements in the government's strategy to improve shelter and environmental conditions for low-income families in Morocco. Neighborhood upgrading efforts are now underway or planned in more than 30 cities around the country. Many of the recommendations and management systems produced by the project were adopted or maintained, and all were important steps in developing the tools needed for long-term success. Lessons learned are as follows: (1) Living conditions in large clandestine settlements, even on difficult sites, can be improved at significantly less cost and greater benefit to residents than construction of new housing. Success required both political leadership and strong technical and management partners to back it up. The Municipality of Tetouan provided that leadership in this program, but could not have completed the task without ANHI at its side. (2) Clearing title and registering land that was mostly settled clandestinely always takes a long time and substantial pressure to overcome legal and administrative hurdles. When that falls behind schedule, as it has in Tetouan, the neighborhood will be leery of investment and cost recovery will lag. (3) The program illustrates the linkages between neighborhood development and environmental management. Unplanned growth and clandestine settlement in the Samsa and Dersa neighborhoods contributed to degradation in the area and sanitary conditions within the neighborhoods themselves. The program substantially improved access, water, and sanitation, but connection to the city's sewerage system substantially raised the need for treatment to prevent further deterioration of the river and its coastal estuary.