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

Year 2026, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 41 - 62, 31.01.2026

May Skander , Jamel Akbar

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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