The Functional Structure and Central Business District of Lourenco Marques, Mocambique

Abstract

LOURENCO MARQUES is one of southern Africa's most important cities. The capital of the Portuguese province of Mocambique, it has a population of well over 100,000,1 of which over 30,000 are non-Africans. The harbor is linked by rail to several of the major industrial and mining regions of the subcontinent, including the Witwatersrand and Southern Rhodesia. The city has been a leading port for the Transvaal hinterland since the railroad to Johannesburg was completed in 1895. At present, it is growing spectacularly, and the 1975 population is expected to be about 200,000. A leading holiday resort for South Africans, Lourenco Marques annually draws thousands of visitors, who contribute significantly to the city's wealth. The Bay of Lourenco Marques (Delagoa Bay) affords opportunities for almost unlimited port development, and has been described as one of the world's best natural harbors.2 Lourenco Marques is likely to take an increasingly significant place among the cities and ports of the subcontinent (Fig. 1). The purpose of this paper is to trace briefly, and in its broadest outlines, the development of Lourenco Marques, and to examine in some detail the component parts of the Central Business District. HISTORY OF SETTLEMENT ON DELAGOA BAY