Project
From forced displacement to a good city, the case of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
The research project was part of the British Academy’s programme to explore ‘concepts of a ‘good city’ in a least-developed country and in a context of urban crises. By addressing such an extreme situation, the research contributed knowledge to improve the lives of the most impoverished urban dwellers, with widespread replicability.
The research focused on the city of Pemba in Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique, where natural disasters, Covid-19 and violent regional conflict brought over 150,000 displaced people (IDP's) to the city of Pemba, nearly doubling its population. The multi-disciplinary project drew on humanitarian and urban development studies (disaster/conflict response, forced displacement), space/place and cultural geography, and mental and public health research (from a wellbeing perspective). After an extensive collection of data, the analysis concentrated on the key elements of livelihoods, place/space, cultural/social inclusion and wellbeing, informed by durable solution debates and how these elements impact on the making of a ‘good city'.
