URBAN AND REGIONAL-PLANNING IN POSTINDEPENDENCE MOZAMBIQUE

This paper charts the broad outlines of the Mozambican system of urban and regional planning since independence in 1975. It begins with a description of the context of social revolution and externally instigated counter-revolution that provide the backdrop for life and policy in Mozambique. The establishment and operation of the spatial planning system are then considered, with a detailed examination of the policies developed in the context of the continuing civil war. The principal foci are urban planning, spatial planning in the strategic Beira corridor and a recent regionally-based programme of priority districts. The conclusion considers the extent to which historical patterns of uneven development in Mozambique are being reproduced and intensified by the situation - a situacao - in the country.