The Habitat project has been implemented in Maputo since 2016 to advocate for access to the Right to the City to promote a territory that facilitates access to human rights. We broaden the traditional focus on neighborhood improvement centered on housing and basic habitability, to encompass the quality of life (livelihood) linked to public space. We approach the human management of the city as a mechanism of protection of the people living in regions undergoing an accelerated process of urbanization. This implies emphasizing a new way of promotion, respect, defense and realization of human rights.
We work in Chamanculo C, an informal settlement where more than 22,000 people live (53% women), by creating an alternative to the urban sprawl in which the families with fewer resources are systematically expelled to the periphery.
The integral intervention in public spaces aims to strengthen public policy with a gender approach. To this end, a participatory method of slum upgrading was established, consolidated in an urban law, the “Plano de Pormenor das Areas Residenciais Chamanculo C” (PPARC). We are accompanying local authorities in its implementation by strengthening local, civil society and community capacities. The transformation of public and domestic space, the guarantee of ownership, the promotion of legal coverage and the promotion of participatory urban governance and management, they all make it possible for the community (especially women and vulnerable groups) to live safer, enjoy their neighborhood, strengthen their economy and prevent the risk of violence they experience.
From 2025 onwards, while continuing to apply the 9-step approach to the Right to the City – ownership, urban services and housing – with new families, we will reinforce the project with measures to address climate change in the neighborhood. It will enable us to go further in access to global justice in all its dimensions for more than 3,200 families that are currently living below the dignity line as defined by UN-Habitat.
