From roads to the making of streets in the New Urban Habitat Zones (ZHUN): A case study of Plaine Ouest – Annaba (Algeria)
After Algeria’s independence, modern urban planning was embodied by the creation of New Urban Habitat Zones (ZHUN), which contrast with previous city divisions (medina and colonial districts). In the ZHUN, the residential function is preeminent. However, the street is detached from the residential function and reduced to circulation only, when it should also ensure the linking of places and social groups. By contributing to the fragmentation of the urban fabric and to the dissociation of places, this type of urban planning entails avoidances instead of encounters. In the ZHUN Plaine Ouest – Annaba, this situation has led various actors to ‘‘fabricate’’ streets in order to create social linkages. Our methodology combines a morphological analysis of the ZHUN Plaine Ouest with the application of the urban settlement method and a survey questionnaire. This analysis highlights the mechanisms that are used by the various stakeholders in the making of place, through the reappropriation of streets.