This is the first of a series of policy briefs relating to a research project titled “The Ethnography of a Divided City: Socio-politics, Poverty and Gender in Maputo, Mozambique” (2012–2015), funded by the Norwegian Research Council and produced with the support of the Cities Alliance.
The project aims to contribute to ongoing urban development and poverty reduction efforts in Mozambique with ethnographic knowledge of the actualities of residents' everyday lives.
This initial brief explores the reality of urban space and poverty in Maputo.It argues that in order to accomplish further poverty reduction in Maputo, the point of departure must be a combination of formal planning processes to cover people’s basic needs in terms of housing, water, electricity, sanitation and other infrastructure,and an appreciation of people’s own perceptions of the constraints and opportunities inherent in their own bairros and beyond.
