Urban Governance and Socio-Spatial Strategies: Ottoman and French models in Tunisia’s and Algeria’s Traditional Built Environment (19th and 20th Centuries)

Abstract

This article explores the urban control models implemented by Ottoman and French administrations in the traditional built environments of Tunis and Algiers during the 19th and 20th centuries. Using archival documents, cartographic materials, and case studies of the Saheb Ettabaa and Sidi Mehrez complexes in Tunis and the reconfigured districts around the Ketchawa and AlSayyeda Mosques in Algiers, the study tracks shifts in property systems, morphological continuity, and socio-economic accessibility. It demonstrates how Ottoman management, based on the waqf endowment system, promoted local urban inclusiveness, while French policies involved deep spatial transformations underpinned by Orientalist ideology, geometric planning, and cadastral reorganisation. The analysis showcases the impacts of these interventions on the built environment's urban morphology and dynamics. The Ottoman administration ensured urban homogeneity through Külliyes, which preserved spatial continuity and economic welfare. In contrast, French policies generated spatial disruptions, legal discrepancies, and imposed ownership mechanisms. This article provides insights into the implementation of divergent urban philosophies in North Africa's traditional built environments and how they shape persistent urban directions.

Keywords

• French urban policies
• Ottoman Külliye
• Traditional built environment
• Medina of Tunis
• Casbah of Algiers

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