The recognition of the key role of culture in sustainable development is on the move. The increasing urbanization of world’s population too. The relations between these two facts leads to the obvious relevance of cities as gifted grounds for culture dynamics and to look at its material support, urbanism, as a culture identity asset itself.
Due to the hegemonic western origins of its rule and conceptualization, architectural and urbanistic heritage in postcolonial contexts are still confused and conflicted fields of discussion and action. The “entangled histories and legacies” that compose the societies that came out from colonial domination need time to gain autonomous expression on cities shapes.
Based on empiric research about urbanistic heritage on Luanda and Maputo, this paper aims to review and bring to debate some current heritage concepts in order to contribute to the construction of a theoretical frame empowering a sustainable reconciliation and assumption of all legacies as seminal parts of these new nations identities and futures.
About the Author
Walter Rossa is Associate Professor of the Department of Architecture of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
A LUTA CONTINUA, 40 YEARS LATER 