Copyright

Assia Lamzah;

Published On

2025-06-03

Page Range

pp. 85–100

Language

  • English

Print Length

16 pages

5. Postcolonial Marrakesh

Issues with the Conception and Reception of the Medina

Chapter of: Housing, Heritage and Urbanisation in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 85–100)

Chapter Five examines Marrakesh medina in Morocco and how its colonial past has defined its contemporary perception. Assia Lamzah explores postcolonial issues related to the conception and reception of the medina. Her findings reveal that while the government and local decision-makers use cultural heritage to shape national identity, either in favour or in contrast to the colonial legacy, nonofficial users continue to perceive the medina as the backdrop of their everyday lives—a place of residence, work and leisure.

Contributors

Assia Lamzah

(author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1875-8632

Assia Lamzah is a trained architect and holds a PhD in landscape

architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC),

USA. She is currently a professor at Ecole Nationale d’Architecture

(ENA), Rabat, Morocco. She has experience in teaching and research in

architecture, urban and regional planning and landscape architecture.

Her recent research projects focus on urban and architectural cultural

heritage management, smart design, the relationship between

architecture, landscape and social culture, and postcolonial theory.