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city centre.
African project
Niamey 2000 Urban Housing – Niger
iamey is home to over one million inhabitants; a majority
of the population is poor and only about 20 percent of its
residents could be classified as middle-class and above.
Nevertheless, the socio-economic makeup of the city has
shifted dramatically in recent years. Stronger economic
growth has fuelled migration to the city, leading to
a sizable increase in the middle-class population.
Property in the older, affluent neighbourhoods remains
unobtainable, forcing the low-to-middle income
population to seek affordable housing further from the
A New Model for Urban Housing
Niamey 2000 takes its inspiration from pre-colonial cities of the
region, such as Timbuktu in Mali, Kano in Nigeria, or Zinder in Niger,
which were all dense urban centres in their day. The cities’ organic
configurations of intricately intertwined homes were often two or three
stories in height, while still maintaining a sense of privacy and intimacy.
Like its early predecessors, Niamey 2000 provides privacy for its
inhabitants, however, the project strives to address more than the need
for culturally appropriate housing. It takes a firm position on material
ten Seidel (www.torstenseidel.com)
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