Tertiarization Contribution to Cities Dynamics. Study Case: Bab Ezzouar, Algiers

Abstract

This article presents a study on the tertiarization phenomenon of Algerian cities built after independence, to provide adequate housing and access to better living conditions. To be more effective in our research, we selected as a case study the municipality of Bab Ezzouar. Bab Ezzouar is a city built during the seventies to receive the eastern extension of the capital Algiers through a mass habitat-production project – but had been for long time a dormitory suburb-. Today, with the increase in the supply of services and consequently the population, this municipality hosts the business district of the capital. Its new economic tendences are reflected by the intense development of the number of enterprises located at its level. They rose from 334 in 2000 to 2,631 in 2019, then 2,803 in 2021. In other terms, an estimated growth of 839%. Our main objectives of this research are: a) to measure how tertiarization contributed to create new dynamics in the area with a strong impact on competitivity, attractiveness and quality of living, b) to understand if this requalification of the built environment resulted in other urban phenomenon, such as a gentrification process of the area. To achieve the proposed objectives, we defined a methodology which comprehends: literature review about the main topics, data collection about city different trends and aspects, interviews with municipal decision-makers, population questionnaires; and space syntax, to better understand the development of tertiarization and its impact on the dynamics, gentrification, and growth perspectives of Bab Ezzouar city.

Received: 27 June 2022 / Accepted: 19 August 2022 / Published: 2 September 2022