SELF-PRODUCED NEIGHBOURHOODS IN TUNISIA: FROM VULNERABILITY TO RESILIENCE, WHAT ARE THE RESILIENCE VARIABLES?

Abstract

The self-produced housing phenomenon emerged all over Tunisian cities at the beginning of the twentieth century under the impetus of the rural exodus, under the pressure of exclusion mechanisms linked to economic policies and housing policies. Thus, this form of housing has unfortunately become a real sector of popular housing production evolving explosively in the world. It reflects actual forms of precariousness and social exclusion challenging the established urban order. Nowadays, this form of production increasingly attracts the attention of all stakeholders in the city. It combines several limits both at the spatial organization level and at the economic and social level. The requalification attempts have relatively improved living conditions in many neighbourhoods. The built environment which undergoes major transformations is largely neglected. In this paper, we will firstly present the situation of these self-produced neighbourhoods and then: State interventions. From concrete examples in Tunisia, we will question the future of self-produced forms of habitat and how to intervene in a context of resilience to ensure their sustainability. Several issues have to be discussed related to the way of inhabiting these spaces, the architecture produced, the consensus town planning, and the participation of residents. We will try, using an analysis grid, to outline the resilience variables.  The resilience variables allow us to overcome these self-produced quarters' urban and social marginalisation.