From colonialism to national independence: Algiers' social ecology

Abstract

Algiers social ecology was formed by conflict between French colonialism and Algerian nationalism. In colonial time Algiers is dichotomized in an European urban core, interrupted only by some precolonial settlements (Kasbah of Algiers and Sidi M'Hamed) and the Algerian outer zones. The transformation of this ethnic-economic urban pattern into socio-economic urban zoning in post colonial time is shown by cross-sectional and longitudinal factor-ecological analysis. First analysis explores the changes in ecological structure by comparing two data-sets of census in colonial time (1954) and national independence (1966). Second approach explores the structure of ecological change interpreting the differences of variables in both points. Significant socio-ecological processes were Algerisation, diffusion of social groups, immigration and segregation of postrevolutionary elite. A model of decolonization spatial pattern is built up. The results are briefly discussed with other known ecological “trend analysis”.