Marrakesh is a tourist phenomenon, both on a national and international level. With the adoption of an open sky policy in 2006, the city has seen a surge of foreign commercial and real estate investment and state-funded initiatives to boost tourism in the city. The Medina, or old city of Marrakesh — while becoming an exoticized tourist attraction — has maintained its center stage for commerce, social interaction and recreation. To capitalize on this lucrative market, development trends show growing rates of real estate investment, which preempt gentrifying the region while endangering its unique qualities. Residents face rising costs of food, electricity, rent, and a diminished purchasing power. Wages have not kept up with the increases in cost of living. State neglect, due to disproportionate emphasis on enhancing tourist-centered spaces, is perpetuating the growth of informal housing conditions outside the Medina, destabilizing the traditional fabric of the city.
“The Concretization of Space” presents a collection of images that display the fraying of public space and a restriction on spatial freedom in the Medina.
01 THE MOSQUE AND THE MEDINA
The dense integration of mosques within the urban fabric of the Medina is a unique characteristic of the old city. While the state reserves funds to repair and preserve collapsing buildings within the Medina, the funding is largely dedicated to spaces attracting high quantities of tourists. Local residents are left providing from their own pockets to repair the Mosques, highlighting the state’s unapologetic attempt to promote tourism at the expense of its locals’ needs.
02 MIGRATION TO THE MEDINA
Marrakesh has exhibited relatively consistent trends of rural migration into the city. Kinship, as well as established centers of artisanal industry within the Medina, bring large populations of apprentices, artisans seeking lucrative returns on their work, and young men seeking job opportunities into an already dense Medina. The existing pressures of housing a growing population are further exacerbated by this phenomenon and force residents to move into the urban periphery, mostly into informal and substandard housing.
03 END-OF-DAY MUSINGS
The arbitrary distribution of state funding and commercial subsidies has created urban divisions within the Medina, stunting the work and social dealings of a segmented population in the Medina. Unaligned wages present mounting pressures on the residents and artisans to find ways to address volatile incomes.
04 EVOLVING STREET SPACE
A group of young boys plays football in this lot behind the Ali Ben Youssef Mosque, as green space in the Medina is nearly non-existent. Notably, these spaces are only available for youth recreation after the routine hustle of Marrakesh winds down.
05 THE DENSIFYING MEDINA
A mixed-used storefront with commercial and residential spaces highlights the interplay of tourist-based commerce and housing in the Medina. Many artisans live in their shops, where housing is often greater than six individuals per one-bedroom unit. Small families live in equally compact conditions.” Heavy segments of traffic discourage dwellings too far from work places within the Medina.
06 UNDER-CONSTRUCTION
The Medina hosts several incomplete cases of state-funded construction projects. In a space already struggling to meet its growing housing demand and declining availability of space, these perpetually under-construction sites present several safety, health and social concerns left unaddressed.
07 MIDDAY PRAYER IN THE KASBAH
The Kasbah of Marrakesh, on the southwest end of the Medina, is the home of several historic sites that bring tourists into the city. The design and plan of the Kasbah, varying significantly from the center of the Medina, serves as a unique point of spatial comparison. State-funded redevelopment plans are also rampant in the Kasbah, providing a stark juxtaposition from the circumstances facing other parts of the Medina.
08 TANNERIES OF MARRAKESH
The leather tanneries of Marrakesh are a common source of employment for many rural migrants. The networks of employment within the tanneries house large clusters of men belonging to either the same family or caste, showcasing patterns of migration to the Medina. The rise of migration into the Medina is attributed to kinship and caste-based networks that serve as a bolster for new migrants.
09 MAKING ENDS MEET
Si Hassan is an example of the responses Medina residents design to deal with financial struggles and volatile incomes. In addition to working as a taxi driver by day, Hassan has taken several odd jobs to meet the needs of his parents, wife and four daughters. Long work hours leave little time to recharge before beginning the next day, let alone spend time with his family.
10 TEA, CONCRETE, LABOR
Several breaks for traditional mint tea are routine during work hours in the Medina. It is a time for social interaction, prayer, and recharge amid the daily hustle of the country’s largest souk. Rarely was a shopkeeper found without his gas tank for tea.
11 THE CAGED RESIDENT
One of many public art displays in the Medina is titled “The Caged Resident” as described by the locals before the text was obscured. Interpretation of art is reflective of the widespread dissatisfaction and sentiments of restricted freedom.