Requalificação urbana no Bairro de Tsalala

Abstract

The expanding neighborhoods in the Maputo region have a striking characteristic, in which residents have their own land and private leisure areas. However, although many people reside in Matola, the majority still rely heavily on the city of Maputo to meet their daily needs. So the question becomes: how can we resolve this imbalance?

Matola does not need to replicate the centrality of Maputo, but rather develop its own urban characteristics, capable of guaranteeing quality of life for its inhabitants. A good starting point is the form of land occupation. It is essential to consider that it is not efficient to build buildings with more than five floors, as they require the use of elevators, increase construction costs and complexity, and harm the development of a city with medium density. This approach can be both architectural and urbanistic, by proposing buildings of up to five floors located on generous lots, where the surrounding space is effectively used by residents.

In traditional single-family lots, the available space is often poorly used, there are rarely used gardens, underused parking areas and large backyards that are only used two or three times a year, usually on festive occasions. In contrast, if this same lot were shared by five families, the space would have a more dynamic and sustainable occupation: parking would be more efficient, there would be more children using the common spaces, fewer landscaped areas would require excessive irrigation and the leisure spaces would have greater justification, being used more frequently throughout the year.

From an infrastructure perspective, challenges become evident in low-density neighborhoods. Rainwater often accumulates on unpaved streets, making maintenance difficult. It is difficult to justify paving a 200-meter street that serves only ten families. Furthermore, limited traffic ends up slowly degrading these roads, creating potholes that eventually compromise drinking water supply systems. The same occurs with the electricity grid and public lighting poles, whose installation and maintenance become economically unviable. Low density therefore results in streets with little traffic, with long periods without people circulating — which contributes to the feeling of insecurity.

Based on the analyses carried out, the urban requalification of the Tsalala neighborhood aims to ensure that all these parameters are resolved in a sustainable manner, ensuring the local resettlement of the inhabitants currently residing in the area. The aim is to transform the neighborhood into a new urban hub in the province of Maputo.