Abstract
This article addresses colonial built heritage in the urban landscape of Platô, Praia’s historical center. It is based on field work conducted by the authors in 2017. The aim of this article is to define the extent and rate of change in the urban landscape of Platô, from Cape Verde’s independence in 1975 to 2017. The authors focus mainly on the following traces of material colonial built heritage: architecture, streets, symbolic elements and public spaces, while simultaneously describing their immaterial dimensions. The analysis is preceded by a historical overview, which includes the stages of Praia’s spatial development. The authors argue that the colonial legacy in the urban landscape of Platô is constantly changing in functionality and meaning, and is progressively disappearing due to rapid social, economic, and political changes combined with a lack of adequate measures on the part of the country’s authorities to preserve its colonial built heritage.
African cities are among the fastest growing metropolises in the world. Sub-Saharan Africa, as noted by G. Myers, “is becoming urban.” 1 According to United Nations Human Settlements Programme estimations, the urbanization of the continent, which is still the least urbanized, will increase from 40 percent in 2010 to approximately 60 percent by 2050. 2 These cities are experiencing spatial expansion due to rapid population growth and accelerated migration from rural areas. This might be considered to be occurring both horizontally and vertically. On one hand, urban sprawl is suburbanizing agricultural land and barren vegetation, and on the other, buildings are constantly being replaced by higher ones. All this is accompanied by overurbanization, which is an urbanization without industrialization, and population growth without employment creation. 3
In the context of the rapid and frequently unrestrained transformations of African cities, research on the processes taking place in their historical precincts would appear to be highly relevant. This applies to ancient, medieval, and modern cities, and, for the purpose of this article, to colonial cities in particular. Many of the largest metropolises on the continent were founded during European rule (especially in Sub-Saharan Africa), and at that time, the development of urban areas accelerated rapidly. 4 Issues related to the colonial past of the cities of the global South and their development in the postcolonial period are frequently discussed in the scientific literature within Urban Studies. Addressed topics include cities’ morphological analysis, monuments and other symbolic sites, as well as urbanonyms. 5
Praia, current capital of the Republic of Cape Verde, and until 1975, the heart of Portuguese Cape Verde, is one of the cities established by the colonizers. Platô, its historical center, is classified as one of the most valuable colonial sites on Santiago Island along with Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande (inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009 6 ), the Tarrafal concentration camp, and parts of the agricultural town of Assomada. 7
The aim of this article is to define the extent and rate of change in the urban landscape of Platô—the oldest colonial district of Praia—from the independence of Cape Verde in 1975 to 2017. For the purpose of this article, the term “urban landscape,” when used to refer to a particular urban space, is taken to mean a specific structure and the interconnections between its elements. The urban landscape is the result of the accumulation of cultural values created by people in each period of their activity. Its material and symbolic dimensions mirror the society that creates it. 8 Cultural heritage is one of the key components of the city system and evolves over time under the pressure of several different factors such as economic and demographic growth, market pressures or political changes. 9 Urban historic areas are therefore the result of dynamics and changes that are still taking place. 10 They evolve with society and adapt to the new needs of inhabitants. 11 The purpose of discussing the changes in the urban landscape of Platô is to demonstrate that colonial built heritage in the district’s urban space is progressively disappearing due to time pressure and the dynamics of social, economic and political changes.
At the beginning of the article, the authors outline the spatial development of Praia in an historical perspective with a particular emphasis on the colonial period. Subsequently, they discuss those elements regarded as vestiges of colonial built heritage in the contemporary urban space of Platô and the changes in the urban landscape of the district. These matters and their analysis lead to a better understanding of what the authors consider to be the disappearance of the colonial legacy of Platô. The article is based on data collected during field work conducted in Praia in February 2017.
Historical Overview
Praia is located on Santiago, the largest island in the Cape Verde Archipelago. The islands were discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the second half of the fifteenth century. 12 Ribeira Grande now Cidade Velha, situated 10 kilometers west of Praia, was the first seat of the colonial authorities. It was, however, severely damaged during a French attack in 1712 during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a result of the devastation, the administration was gradually moved to nearby Praia, whose strategic location on a basalt plateau overlooking a small bay was much safer for the heart of the colony. 13 Over time, the city gained in economic and geopolitical importance. The governor’s residence was moved to Praia in 1769 to 1770. 14 However, Praia was not granted municipal rights until 1858, despite having its own barracks, hospital, and paved roads. 15
Colonial settlements were concentrated primarily on the abovementioned plateau (planalto in standard Portuguese), known as the Platô, or Plateau of Praia, which covers approximately 70 hectares and is situated 30 meters above sea level.
Under the governorship of Marcelino António Bastos (1796-1802), the first road on Platô (Rua do Corvo) was paved and the first settlements with ceramic tiles on roofs were built. The expansion and modernization of the city continued during the governorship of João da Mata Chapuzet (1823-1826), when most of the streets and pavements were leveled and paved, and barracks and pharmacies erected. 16 Figure 1 shows Praia in 1882 with a regular grid of streets intersecting at right angles with an equally regular settlement. This layout is typical of many colonial cities. 17 Although isolated buildings were erected outside Platô, their presence was associated with the agricultural use of lower and more fertile areas surrounding the plateau and with the construction of Gamboa, a small port near the southern part of Platô (bottom of Figure 1).
Cidade da Praia in 1882.
By the time of Cape Verde’s independence on July 5, 1975, Platô had been built up almost entirely. The surrounding lower areas and nearby hills had been affected by urban sprawl, which, except for the administrative buildings in the port, mainly consisted of residential buildings inhabited by poorer social groups. The architecture of the newly established colonial residential districts differed significantly from that of Platô, mostly in terms of the regularity of the urban structure and the architectural style of the buildings, which were lower and much more dispersed. In 1930, Praia had a population of 6,500 residents, only 1,700 (26 percent) of whom lived outside Platô. After 1960, when the plateau had been completely built up, the nearby territories were gradually urbanized. At the time, 62 percent of the population lived outside Platô. By 1985, the number of inhabitants of Praia’s principal district sank to 5 percent of the city’s population. 18 In 1970 to 2000, Platô gradually lost 72 percent of its population. 19
In the mid-1970s, Praia had about 50,000 residents. 20 According to the 2010 census, this number has risen to over 130,000 (accounting for 26.5 percent of the nation’s population), making Praia the largest city in the country. 21 The explosive population growth since decolonization has resulted in conspicuous changes in the urban landscape and rapid spatial development of the capital—predominantly onto the adjacent plateaus and the hills surrounding the historical center. 22 Spontaneous, unplanned, and unrestricted urbanization has led to several problems like for example water scarcity and a lack of access to electricity and public transport. J. Sarmento defines this phenomenon as the “unhygienic low building standards of sprawling Praia.” 23 However, H. Drotbohm draws attention to the increasing crime rate in Praia, which is associated with drug dealing, gang violence, and robberies. 24 These social conditions are a consequence of the rapid influx of immigrants from rural areas, other islands, and neighboring West African countries unaccompanied by political and/or housing programs to meet the increased demand. 25 This has resulted in many challenges typical for African cities, such as providing basic social services and building infrastructure. 26 Under these circumstances, the chaotic, dispersed, and much older architecture located outside Platô has progressively made way for newer buildings. Outside Platô, the contemporary urban space of Praia has increasingly fewer vestiges of colonial built heritage. Moreover, those elements still visible in the urban landscape are frequently in poor condition. As a result, Platô is now the only district of Praia in which colonial urban planning is clearly visible. This part of the city was examined by the authors during the field work that constitutes the basis of the following analysis.
However, before we start a detailed analysis of the changes taking place in Platô, it is worth mentioning the political situation of Cape Verde after independence. Political and economic changes in the postcolonial period also had a significant impact on how the urban space of Praia was shaped. The first ruling party of independent Cape Verde, founded by Amílcar Cabral, was left-wing Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde), with the first president Aristides Pereira. PAIGC was simultaneously the leading party in Guinea-Bissau and at the time the authorities aimed to unite the two countries. However, the idea was dropped after the coup d’état in 1980 in Guinea-Bissau. PAIGC was renamed Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde–PAICV (The African Party of Independence of Cape Verde). Along with the introduction of a single-party system, the liquidation of large landed properties belonging to Europeans was planned, and the creation of state farms began. The country tightened its cooperation with the countries of the socialist bloc while becoming dependent on foreign aid. Important political changes occurred after the fall of The Iron Curtain, including the democratization of the state in 1990 (successful from today’s perspective). A multiparty system was introduced, and in 1991 the first free elections were held, won by Movimento para a Democracia MpD (Movement for Democracy) with president António Monteiro. PAICV returned to power in 2001 when Pedro Pires was selected as a president. The election of 2011 was won once again by the candidate of the MpD Jorge Carlos Fonseca—the current president of Cape Verde.
Political changes that took place in Cape Verde since independence are apparent in the contemporary space of Praia. The period of the first PAIGC/PAICV dictatorship is visible today mainly in the symbolic sphere (street names and monuments). Along with the democratic changes in 1991, some of the Portuguese symbols were restored. In 1980, five years after independence, Praia had only 37,676 inhabitants, overtaking the second Mindelo by only 900 inhabitants (36,746). The postcolonial development of administrative functions and the long-term drought that affected the Island of Santiago resulted in the population of Praia growing faster than other cities. The city had 61,644 inhabitants in 1990 (Mindelo 47,109), 127,832 in 2010, and 159,050 according to the projections for 2017. 27 Such rapid population growth and expanding spatial needs of the city residents, which cannot be satisfied by old colonial buildings, induce transformations of the urban tissue of Praia.
An important element shaping the contemporary Cape Verde and the development of its capital are also migrations in the twentieth century. Due to the isolated location and difficult geographical conditions, the archipelago has always been dependent on migration. 28 The countries of the main concentrations of Cape Verdean emigrants are the United States, Portugal, Angola, Senegal, France, the Netherlands, and São Tomé and Príncipe and result from three major migration waves in the 1920s, 1940s and finally between 1960s and the early 1980s. Remittances played a significant role in the development of the archipelago. For example, in 2000, they accounted for 22 percent of the country’s income. It is estimated that 50 percent of total remittances could be sent through informal (i.e. nonrecorded) channels. 29 Such considerable inflows to both state and individual citizens’ budgets shaped the development of the country and its capital after independence.
The impact of political and economic changes on the urban space of Praia during the postcolonial period will be discussed in more detail later in this article.
Traces of Colonial Built Heritage in the Contemporary Urban Space of Platô
Evidence of Platô’s colonial past is omnipresent in its contemporary urban space. This is apparent in its general features, typical of many colonial cities in the Global South. For instance, the
location of the city on the coast and its port function 30 ;
location of the city by a safe bay, which enables more effective defense against potential attacks by pirates and other hostile forces;
location on the high elevation 31 ;
limited size of the settlements and the urban setting, which was compact in form during the first phase of urbanization;
regular grid of streets and buildings 32 ;
structures adhering strictly to European architectural and construction standards 33 ;
great significance of military installations, represented by the military barracks and the fortifications on the slopes of the plateau;
marked politicization of the urban space to emphasize power and maintain control of public sentiment (a feature typical of major colonial administration centers);
lack of evidence of intraurban racial segregation. This phenomenon was common in British colonialism, 34 but atypical for the Portuguese. Praia’s development was based mainly on the principle of racial assimilation. This was a legacy of the French Revolution (1789-1799). 35
Along with the general features of Platô, the remnants of its colonial past constitute specific elements in its urban space. These can be divided into four groups (the transformations within each group have a crucial impact on the urban landscape of Platô and are discussed in more detail below):
urban architecture—the elements included in this group are the most numerous. These are represented by all the buildings erected before 1975, the legacy of Portuguese urban planning. They may be regarded as material colonial heritage (through their physical presence in the urban space, and their size, shape, and architectural style) and as immaterial colonial heritage (through the preservation of the functions the Portuguese originally assigned them). 36
streets—their length, width and direction being the material colonial heritage, and their nomenclature and prestige its immaterial dimension.
symbolic elements—those objects that, whatever their material dimension (they exist physically in urban space), primarily constitute commemorative immaterial colonial heritage. These include monuments, commemorative plaques and cemeteries.
public spaces—the least numerous on Platô. These include city squares and parks, as well as markets set up during the colonial period.
Changes in the Urban Landscape of Platô
The term “urban landscape” was introduced to the academic literature in 1960 by Kevin Lynch in his essay “Image of the City,” now regarded as a classic on urban geography. 37 At the 17th Session of UNESCO in Paris in 1972, the “Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage” was adopted. This established the World Heritage List. 38 Urban landscape preservation became one of UNESCO’s priorities, and cities and parts of cities make up the largest group of cultural sites on the List. UNESCO adopted the “Declaration on the Conservation of Historic Urban Landscapes” 39 in 2005 and the “Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscape” 40 in 2011. These introduced a new term to contemporary discourse on protecting historical cities “Historic Urban Landscape” (HUL). This is a tool for managing the historical resources of cities undergoing rapid civilizational change. 41 The Historic Urban Landscape approach incorporates the recognition that the solution enabling sustainable and effective management of urban landscape and the link between a society and its heritage is an understanding of the diversity of cultures. 42 Its aim is to avoid the situation when conserved cultural heritage is only a reminder of an ancient past but rather it stimulates the interaction between cultural heritage and the actions of a community. 43 Recently, the greater emphasis is placed upon the integration of the concept of HUL within the dynamic process of urban development. 44
Praia, despite undergoing expeditious transformations, is unquestionably a city of abundant historical resources. Despite this, however, Platô has not been inscribed on the UNESCO List. 45 The changes taking place in the contemporary urban space of Praia demonstrate that the historical part of the city is not being managed according to the HUL concept. The transformation of the urban landscape is gradually eradicating the historical components that make up its colonial built heritage. This is most evident in the case of architecture and slightly less so in the case of symbolism and urban nomenclature.
Figure 2 presents colonial and new elements of the contemporary urban landscape of Platô, comprising architecture, monuments and street names.
Map presenting architecture, monuments and streets of contemporary Platô divided into colonial and new elements.
Architecture
In recent years, researchers in colonial studies increasingly focus on such topics as colonial architecture, urbanism and reordering the space in the postcolonial period. 46 The changes in architecture after the formal decolonization of African countries were analyzed in relation to many cities in Africa, for example Maputo, 47 Ibadan, 48 or Dakar. 49
There are now approximately 549 buildings within the boundary of Platô. 325 (59.2 percent) of them date from the colonial period. Having been erected in different epochs, they represent a variety of architectural styles. For instance, the military barracks were built in 1826, whereas the Liceu Domingos Ramos (Domingos Ramos High School) only goes back to 1960. The remaining 224 buildings (40.8 percent) date from after 1975 and are not regarded as colonial heritage.
As Platô was almost completely built-up before independence, the new buildings now standing replaced others from colonial times which were purposefully demolished. The conversion mostly involved residential, service, or residential-service buildings rather than administrative or public ones. At the time of writing, 30.8 percent of the buildings in Platô are residential, 18.8 percent service, 20.6 percent residential-service, and 13.1 percent administrative and public, 50 12.6 percent are uninhabited, demolished buildings, and the function of the remaining 4.1 percent was impossible to determine.
The architectural changes of the last four decades—the dominant feature of the urban landscape of contemporary Platô—are conspicuous primarily on account of the significant differences between colonial and modern buildings, and on the scale of the process.
Furthermore, new buildings are often directly adjacent to colonial buildings. This gives the urban space a peculiar “coral reef” character, where buildings of different sizes, from different epochs and erected in different styles stand side by side, creating a new common urban landscape.
The most visible changes in Platô between 1975 and 2017 have occurred among the largest group of buildings—those that perform residential, service and residential-service functions. The colonial buildings have a similar construction and size and are primarily single-story with sloping roofs (mostly gable and hip or exceptionally pyramid-hip) covered with ceramic tiles (Figure 3).
Colonial residential buildings in Platô located on Rua Michele Bombarda (a), and Rua Cesário de Lacerda (b).
Residential, service and residential-service buildings erected since 1975 have replaced an utterly different colonial architecture. Although they share side walls with other buildings, just like the buildings from colonial times (there are only forty-nine freestanding buildings in the whole of Platô), they represent completely different architectural styles. The new buildings are mainly two-story (forty-nine) or higher (151) modern constructions with flat roofs (Figure 4). The differences in architectural styles are most visible where colonial and new buildings are directly adjacent to one another (Figure 5). This specific coexistence, as well as the replacement of old buildings with new ones, is typical of the urban landscape of Platô.
Residential-service buildings in Platô erected after 1975 located on Avenida Amílcar Cabral (both a and b).
Urban landscape of Platô—Coexistence of colonial and new buildings located on Avenida Andrade Corvo (both a and b).
It is worth asking why the contemporary urban space of the historical district of Praia has been transformed to such an extent and why it all happened so quickly. After 1975, the new authorities failed to introduce a consistent development plan that would have regulated and monitored the urban sprawl and the transformations resulting from demographic and economic pressure in existing districts, especially Platô. The technical condition of the buildings that had not been subjected to appropriate protective measures deteriorated significantly over time, and thus the dwelling houses no longer offered the adequate quality of life. Poor sanitary conditions and the threat of buildings collapsing provoked the owners of the plots and the residents of Platô to replace old buildings with new ones, which was allowed by the city authorities. Many foreigners—mainly Asians from China that came to Praia at the time, benefited from this situation and invested in infrastructure development. 51 For instance, they built higher and larger buildings on Platô replacing the old ones—examples of which were observed on Rua António Mena. Thus, the changes occurring on individual building sites were not coordinated and the actions taken were rather ad hoc. This led to the aforementioned coral reef character of the urban space (Figures 4 and 5). It is also visible in Figure 6 presenting colonial and new architecture on three streets of Platô. Differences in the height and roof type of both groups of buildings are also apparent.
Architecture on three streets of Platô divided into colonial and new buildings.
Platô has not been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The historical center of Praia was only inscribed on the Tentative List (the gateway to the proper List) in 2016. According to UNESCO, Platô has been designated national cultural heritage and nationally protected pursuant to resolution No. 67/2013 since May 2013. Despite this and many other legal regulations, as well as the efforts on the part of the Cape Verdean authorities to protect this heritage, the practical supervision of the implementation of the adopted regulations is insufficient and new construction continues to transform the image of Platô. 52
Moreover, Platô is the only Praia district whose population has been continuously decreasing since 1975. The population has steadily decreased from 4,357 in 1970 to 1,019 in 2010. 53 This is due to an imbalance in the functionalities of the buildings in Platô. The previously mentioned single-story residential buildings are being replaced by multi-story service buildings. Moreover, the sanitary and technical conditions of the colonial residential buildings are constantly deteriorating and rising land prices are forcing poorer residents to move to other districts. 54 Additionally, a lack of parking places, combined with more cars, has worsened peak hour traffic congestion on Platô’s main thoroughfare (Avenida Amílcar Cabral). The abovementioned factors led to a decline in the prestige of Praia’s historical district in relation to the rest of the city. This trend only seems to have been reversed in recent years.
The situation of administrative and public colonial buildings is quite different. For the purposes of this article, this group includes governmental and military buildings, schools, churches, museums, cultural facilities, and hospitals. Their technical condition, following regular renovations and repairs, is generally much better than that of the residential and service buildings built before 1975. Despite more than four decades of independence, most administrative and public buildings continue to perform the same functions they did in Portuguese times. J. Lagae makes an interesting observation with regard to another African city—Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo). He states that its colonial built legacy “has been reappropriated over time by a wide variety of agents, some of them simply reusing it as available hard-ware while others have invested it with new meanings through divergent, sometimes even conflicting operations.” 55 The administrative buildings of Platô seem to be an example of such reappropriation—undertaken in the main by the first group of agents mentioned by J. Lagae.
As these buildings represent the authorities, they have been duly cared for, and are, at the same time, both the calling card of the city, and its main tourist attractions. These buildings currently constitute the dominant objects in the urban landscape of Platô. It is therefore worth analyzing a few examples in some detail.
One of the oldest buildings in the city is the Quartel Jaime Mota (Jaime Mota Military Barracks) (Figure 7), erected on the Avenida Andrade Corvo in 1826 for the Portuguese garrison that maintained order in the colony. The building, which is single-story with a central two-story tower, performs the same function as it did in the past. It now serves as a barracks for the Cape Verdean army. It is named after Jaime Mota, a Cape Verdean independence fighter killed in Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) by the Portuguese army.
Quartel Jaime Mota.
The Presidential Palace, on the other side of the Avenida Andrade Corvo, is an architectural complex erected at the end of the nineteenth century (Figure 8). It was the official residence of the governor of the Cape Verde colony until 1975, and has been the official residence of the President of the Republic since.
Presidential palace.
Both depicted buildings constitute colonial built heritage and also have an immaterial dimension. On one hand, they typify the style of colonial architecture, and on the other, they recreate the functional structure of the buildings of Platô introduced by the Portuguese. Changing the name of the barracks is the only decolonization that has taken place, and it is merely symbolic. The buildings where the army of the former colony was stationed now bears the name of a fighter killed by the same army during the struggle for independence.
Apart from these two examples, there are many and varied public buildings erected by the colonizers that still perform their original functions. Examples include: Pró-catedral Nossa Senhora da Graça (The Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace) built in 1902; the Praia City Hall, built in 1845 and subsequently expanded; the Agostinho Neto Hospital, built in 1882; and the Liceu Domingos Ramos, built in 1960. 56 The hospital and secondary school have been renamed in honor of independence fighters. Domingo Ramos, like Jaime Mota, was an independence fighter killed by Portuguese army in a forest in Guinea in 1966, while Agostinho Neto was the first president of independent Angola and one of the leaders of the independence movement in Portugal’s African colonies. 57
The authorities in the newly established states ordered the symbolic decolonization of their cities by changing the names and patrons of particular buildings while retaining both them and their functions. These transformations are typical of some Sub-Saharan African cities, for example Banjul in Gambia or Saint-Louis in Senegal. The comparison of these two cities with Praia seems justified as nowadays they all have a similar population (less than 250,000 inhabitants). The possibilities of spatial development of Banjul and Saint-Louis were significantly limited. In case of Banjul, due to its location on a small headland by the Gambia River estuary and in case of Saint-Louis, because of its situation on an island by the mouth of the Senegal River. Moreover, the two cities, just like Praia, were capitals of colonies in the past. The authorities of both Senegal and The Gambia, pursued measures toward decolonizing urban space similar to the steps taken in independent Cape Verde. Some street names have been changed and some buildings have been replaced with new ones. Nevertheless, the historical districts of these cities are still dominated by the material elements of the colonial built heritage, although new elements are systematically appearing. 58
In conclusion, the majority of buildings in Platô date back to the colonial past, and are colonial in architectural style, combining both neoclassical and local elements. 59 In the main, they perform residential, service and residential-service functions. Most are in poorer technical condition than the public buildings from the colonial period. The gradual deterioration of the technical condition of these buildings has led to them being demolished to make way for new ones. Historical and modern buildings stand side by side in Platô. This illustrates the pace of change in the urban space of Praia.
Streets
Streets make up another element of the urban landscape. Changes in urbanonyms are very common. Most often they occur along with political changes in a particular country. Naming streets has a commemorative purpose and as notices M. Azaryahu “it is instrumental in transforming the urban environment into a virtual political setting.” 60 Changes in urbanonyms in relation to various cities of the world were undertaken in publications of, for instance: B. Yeoh 61 (Singapore), L. Bigon (Dakar), 62 M. W. Wanjiru and K. Matsubara (Nairobi), 63 M. Azaryahu (Berlin), 64 or D. Light (Bucharest). 65
Platô has thirty-five streets, all of which were demarcated during the Portuguese colonial period. They are one of the most durable examples of material colonial legacy in the urban space. Their prestige, spatial layout, and individual courses, lengths and widths are all the result of colonial urban planning. The orthogonal street grid is typical of many cities established by the Europeans in their colonies, and not just in Africa. 66 Nearly all the streets in Platô are either parallel or perpendicular to each other. The Rua Neves Ferreira, reflecting as it does the topography of the plateau, is an exception.
Apart from their physical features, streets can also perform symbolic and political functions in the urban space. Just as all the streets in Platô were demarcated by Portuguese urban planners, they were all named by the colonial authorities. Because Praia was the most important city in the colony, many of its street names referred to the political sphere. This was by no means unique. The urban space of many important colonial administrative centers was politically marked to emphasize the empire’s supremacy. Urban nomenclature has been, and still is, one of the basic tools for creating political narration in important cities around the world (especially capital cities).
The streets in Praia were demarcated and named during the colonial period. The longest was called Rua Sá da Bandeira in honor of Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, the first Marquis of Sá da Bandeira, who served five times as Prime Minister of Portugal (President of the Council of Ministers) between 1832 and 1870. The Portuguese authorities likewise demarcated for example Rua do Corvo, Rua de Conselheiro Serpa Pinto/Rua Serpa Pinto, Rua de Lacerda, and Rua do Tenente Valadim, all of which were named after important representatives of the Portuguese colonial empire in the nineteenth century. João de Andrade Corvo (1824-1890) was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1871–1878, Alexandre de Serpa Pinto (1846-1900) was a Portuguese colonial administrator and an explorer of southern Africa, João Cesário de Lacerda was twice governor of Cape Verde (in 1887-1889 and 1898-1900), and Eduardo António Prieto Valadim (1856-1890) was a hero of Portuguese colonial conquest in the late nineteenth century.
After independence, the authorities of the newly established state decided to rename quite a few streets, thereby symbolically breaking the bonds of the colonial past. Similar actions were undertaken in many countries in postcolonial Africa—not just with street names, but also cities (Leopoldville—Kinshasa, Bathurst—Banjul), and even entire countries (Northern Rhodesia—Zambia, Upper Volta—Burkina Faso). This type of change also occurred outside of Africa, along with shifts of political systems, in Asia, North America (e.g., in Cuba after the 1959 revolution) or in Europe (e.g., in Poland after 1989 or in Germany after 1945). The new Cape Verde authorities needed an area in which they could, in a spectacular way, demonstrate a clean break with the colonial era, which the majority of the population perceived as negative. Making changes to the urban nomenclature of Praia was the easiest and cheapest way to achieve this end. They could be introduced immediately, at very little financial and political cost. Cutting colonial ties at the economic or diplomatic level was much less profitable, logistically more difficult, and politically more burdensome.
When the Portuguese colonial empire in Africa collapsed in 1975, the Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) assumed power in Cape Verde. This left-wing formation, which had a geopolitical orientation and aimed to work with socialist states (e.g., the USSR, the PRC, and Cuba), was founded in 1956. Prior to the Carnation Revolution, its main goal, which it pursued, inter alia through military operations (PAIGC troops began fighting the Portuguese colonial army in 1962), was to liberate the colony from Portuguese rule. Once this was achieved and Praia became the capital of an independent republic, street names were changed as a token of opposition to the previous system.
The longest and most representative street in Platô—Rua Sá da Bandeira was renamed Avenida Amílcar Cabral. The new name (which it still has) refers to the founder of the PAIGC—Amílcar Cabral, considered the father of independence of both Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. The change was especially symbolic given that Cabral was killed in 1973, most likely on behalf of the Portuguese secret services just before the collapse of Portuguese colonialism in Africa. A parallel street, Rua de D. Luís, was renamed Rua 5 de Julho (later Avenida 5 de Julho) to celebrate Cape Verde’s Independence Day.
Other streets were renamed, although interestingly, not all the changes were permanent. Rua do Corvo was renamed Rua Unidade Guiné–Cabo Verde, a reference to the idea of uniting the two countries. This was mooted after independence, but dropped after the 1980 coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau that deposed Cabral’s half-brother, Luís Cabral. Rua Serpa Pinto was renamed Rua Guerra Mendes in honor of the first Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau, Francisco Mendes (1939-1978), a prominent member of the PAIGC.
As the idea of uniting Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau had come to nothing, PAIGC was renamed Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde—PAICV (The African Party of Independence of Cape Verde). Subsequently, a process of democratization was launched in 1990. This led to the first free election in 1991. PAICV was defeated by the Movimento para a Democracia MpD (Movement for Democracy) and the country decided to initiate broader political and economic contacts with the former colonizer, Portugal.
These events have also had a symbolic impact on the urban space of Praia. The authorities decided to remove several names associated with the period of PAIGC/PAICV rule and restore some previous ones. Rua Unidade Guiné–Cabo Verde was renamed back to Avenida Andrade Corvo and Rua Guerra Mendes to Rua Serpa Pinto. Avenida Amílcar Cabral and Rua 5 de Julho (in colonial times Rua de D. Luís) have not been renamed. Praia may be considered exceptional in that while many countries of the Global South abandoned pro-Soviet policies and turned to the West after the fall of the Iron Curtain (e.g., Burkina Faso, Angola, Zambia), the return to a symbolism that so unambiguously recalled the colonial period was a phenomenon virtually unparalleled.
As indicated above, street naming in Platô was a tool for achieving specific political objectives and was subjected to continual transformations. The physical dimensions of the streets (e.g., their size and layout) remain one of the most durable elements of the historical landscape of Platô, whereas their immaterial and symbolic dimensions are highly changeable and unstable. This situation is not unique to Praia, but is also found in many other postcolonial metropolitan areas of the Global South. 67 Praia, however, is noteworthy by virtue of having had several street names (for instance Rua do Corvo) recalling the colonial period restored after they had been eliminated from the urban space.
In 2017, the names of thirty-one of Platô’s thirty-five streets referred to the colonial period. The remaining four were decolonized after 1975 and given new names related to winning independence.
Symbolic Elements
Capital cities whose urban space is devoid of symbolic objects are very rare. Monuments and plaques exist primarily to perform a commemorative function and can “provide an opportunity for the present generation to look at aspects of the past which have literally been buried or indeed obfuscated by time.” 68 However, as with the urban nomenclature, this group of objects is also used by the authorities to bring their domestic and foreign policies to light. The symbolic and political features of these objects, which can change with the political system, ruling party or national borders, evoke certain feelings in society.
It is worth mentioning an event that took place in Baghdad under U.S. occupation in April 2003. A crowd of Iraqis, with the help of U.S. marines, toppled a monument to Saddam Hussein. Something similar occurred in the Nowa Huta district of Cracow, Poland, in 1989, when a monument to Vladimir Lenin, despised by the people, was removed. 69 Events like these took place in several African countries as well. Directly after independence some proceeded to remove or replace colonial monuments, especially those symbolically charged, publically celebrating a new beginning. 70 A statue of King George V was demolished in Nairobi in 1964, Statues of General Gordon and Lord Kitchener 71 in Khartoum suffered the same fate in 1958, as did the equestrian statue of King Leopold II in Kinshasa in the late 1960s. 72 A monument to Cecil Rhodes was removed from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 2015, following the loud “Rhodes Must Fall” protest. As rightly notes L. Larsen “Within these ex-colonies, such symbolic messages are especially expressed in the capital city where the seat of government is located and where political authority is centered.” 73 Praia might be considered an example of such a capital city.
There are ten statues at the foot of the plateau and in Platô itself. This is the largest number anywhere in the city. The first group of monuments recalls the colonial period. Their presence in the urban space, similarly with street names, has at times had a turbulent history. The second group of monuments comprises statues erected after 1975.
The colonial monuments comprise six objects. The largest is the Monumento de Diogo Gomes (Diogo Gomes Monument) on Rua Pedro Álvares Cabral (Figure 9). Diogo Gomes, a Portuguese navigator and explorer, is considered the most likely discoverer of the island of Santiago (in 1460) on which Praia is situated. 74 The monument is approximately 10 meters tall and is located on the southern edge of Platô, from where there is a view of the bay and the port. The Diogo Gomes statue is also visible from Rampa São Januário, one of the three entrance roads to Platô. The object was unveiled in 1958, on the centennial of Praia being granted municipal rights. The statue was demolished after independence, thereby sharing same fate as other African monuments, for instance those of King George V, General Gordon, Lord Kitchener, and King Leopold II. It was, however, restored, as were many street names, after the country’s democratization in 1991. 75 It is therefore yet another example of the influence of political change on the urban landscape. 76
Diogo Gomes monument.
Apart from the Diogo Gomes statue, there are five other colonial monuments on Platô, two of which commemorate historic events. The statue of Descoberta de Cabo Verde (Cape Verde’s discovery), located on Praça Domingos Ramos, in the northern part of Platô, and the Obelisk Plate 1460-1960, erected on the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the island of Santiago by Diogo Gomes, whose monument is about 80 meter away.
The three remaining monuments are busts commemorating important figures in colonial Praia. Two are located on Praça Alexandre Albuquerque. This is the main square and houses the cathedral, the palace of justice, and the town hall. They are both busts of Cape Verde governors. The first, unveiled in 1926, honors Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque, who ruled the colony in 1869–1876 (Figure 10). The second, unveiled in 1927, honors Alexandre Alberto da Rocha Serpa Pinto, the governor of Cape Verde in 1897. The last colonial monument is a bust of a physician, Dr. Antonio Lereno, on Praça Luís de Camões. It is the work of Portuguese sculptor Maximiano Alves (1888-1954).
Governador Albuquerque monument, located on Praça Alexandre Albuquerque.
All the remaining monuments in Platô were erected after independence. The Jaime Mota memorial, next to the Quartel Jaime Mota, honors this PAIGC militant, who fought for the independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, and was killed in Portuguese Guinea in 1974. The memorial consists of photographs of Mota and the inscription Patrono da Unidad (Patron of Unity), alludes to the idea of uniting the two colonies. Another monument is the cross on the intersection of Rua Neves Ferreira and Rua Júlio Abreu, on the edge of Platô. According to the inscription, it is a reconstruction of the cross unveiled in November 2006.
Although the rest of the monuments are situated outside Platô, their proximity to the historical district and the significance of their symbolism are worth considering when discussing the urban landscape of Platô, as they serve to complement it. The first is the Amílcar Cabral monument. This is the highest statue in Praia and is located at the foot of the Praia plateau, next to The National Library of Cape Verde (Figure 11). The monument was unveiled in 2000, immediately after the library was opened. According to the inscription, it honors the founder of the Cape Verdean people and was built by the Government of Cape Verde, financed by the People’s Republic of China, and solemnly unveiled by President António Monteiro on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the republic on July 5, 2000. Directly under the statue is a small museum with a temporal exhibition on the life of Amílcar Cabral and his contribution to the struggle for independence. The intentional, and indeed symbolic, position of the statue is noteworthy. The figure of Cabral has turned its back on the colonial part of the city and faces the expanding and developing new districts of Praia. The Monument to the Aid for Disasters is located on the roundabout next to Platô, where the Rampa São Januário and Avenida Combatentes da Liberdade da Patria intersect. It was unveiled in March 2006 to commemorate the victims of the famine that afflicted the city in 1949 and to honor those who rushed to help the starving people.
Monument of Amílcar Cabral.
Due to the fact that both colonial and postcolonial monuments on Platô were created in different periods, they present various styles (Figures 9-11). Those from the 1920s on Praça Alexandre Albuquerque are small busts portraying the governors of the time. The statue of Diogo Gomes, erected thirty years later, is much larger. Raised on a high pedestal, it dominates the surrounding landscape and is visible even from outside of Platô. The biggest Amílcar Cabral monument resembles monuments of communist dignitaries from socialist countries. The neosocialist style of the statue evokes both the character of Cabral’s views as well as the relations of Cabo Verde with China.
In addition to the monuments mentioned above, cannons dating from the Portuguese period should also be considered symbolic objects. They are situated on top of one of the slopes of Platô, by the bay (Figure 12). These remnants of the former epoch now serve tourists and locals as benches, from which they can admire the bay and the neighboring hills where other districts of Praia are located.
Portuguese cannons on the slopes of Platô.
Interestingly, there is no cemetery within the boundaries of Platô. In colonial times, people were buried in a nearby cemetery on the slope of an adjacent hill. This is now the largest cemetery in Praia. Its historical part, which dates back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (according to the dates on the tombstones), is an insignificant part of the entire necropolis, and, except for one tiny restored corner where Jews were buried, it is not protected, and is gradually deteriorating and slowly disappearing.
Public Spaces
Public spaces in Platô primarily consist of public squares. There are three such objects within the borders of the historical district of Praia: Praça Alexandre Albuquerque, Praça Luís de Camões and Praça Domingos Ramos. Each was demarcated and built in colonial times. The monuments mentioned above, some street furniture, and trees (mainly kapok and mango trees), were also installed on the squares by the Portuguese. These parks provide locals and tourists with a recreational, green area that offsets the urban landscape of Platô—just as they did before 1975.
The Praça Alexandre Albuquerque is the largest and most important square in Platô. It was demarcated in 1826. The square is situated in the southern part of Platô and covers nearly 0.7 hectares. As with the street that runs alongside the monument, it commemorates a colonial governor Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque (Figure 10). It is worth noting that in the period between independence and democratization, the square was called Praça 12 de Setembro (Amílcar Cabral was born on September 12, 1924). Even in colonial times, the square was the center of Praia, as it was surrounded by some of the most important institutions of the colony: The Praia City Hall, the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (now the Banco Comercial do Atlântico), the Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace, Palácio da Justiça and Palácio da Cultura. The square and the enclosing buildings are one of the few places in Platô where the urban landscape, as originally created by Portuguese town planners, can be seen virtually unchanged. The square contains the busts of the two Portuguese governors mentioned above, street furniture such as benches, a fountain, and a colonial brick gazebo dating from 1924. The renovated Esplanada Morabeza café, which opened in 2011, is one of the few new facilities.
The Praça Luís de Camões (also known as the Praça António Loreno Square) is in central Platô, and the Praça Domingos Ramos is in the middle of a roundabout in front of the main entrance to the Liceu Domingos Ramos, in the northern part of Platô. The former was demarcated and built by the Portuguese. It was named after Portugal’s greatest poet, a precursor of the baroque, who lived in the sixteenth century. In the center of the square, there is a colonial monument to Dr. Antonio Loreno. The latter is the smallest square in Platô.
Another example of a public space is the Mercado do Platô food market. This is a roofed, two-story steel-brick structure built in 1924. It is located on Avenida Amílcar Cabral.
Additionally, the Presidential Palace is surrounded by spacious gardens that can be considered green areas. They are, however, fenced off and inaccessible to the public. They cannot therefore be treated as public space.
The Disappearing Colonial Built Heritage of Platô
As the foregoing examples illustrate, colonial built heritage is still present in the historical center of Praia. There is no doubt, however, that the remnants of Portuguese rule in Cape Verde are fading away year by year, and are being replaced by new elements, which are creating a new urban landscape for Praia.
On July 5, 1975 Cape Verde gained independence. However the colonial period ended that day only formally, as it has informally continued in many aspects after 1975 until today (for instance: dependency of investments, exposure to multinational capital, leakages in the economy). Portuguese gradually departing Praia, were leaving behind fully developed urban tissue full of elements that are material and symbolic evidence of their presence as well as impact on the urban landscape of the city. Independence was a direct factor in promoting the population and spatial growth of Praia. 77 Over the ensuing four decades, the colonial period has been reevaluated and perceived differently depending on the views of the ruling party. Along with the changing attitudes toward the former epoch, the symbolic dimension of the urban space has been successively transformed. In addition, the rapid population increase has prompted many other social and economic changes. The present-day urban space of Platô, along with its historical landscape, is the result of the processes that shaped the city before and after 1975—and all of them have left visible traces. It is therefore worth noting that contemporary urban space of Platô is not only the heritage of the colonial period but also of the time after 1975, when Praia (including Platô) and its colonial heritage were redefined and transformed by the new inhabitants and new, independent authorities—the actors responsible for a complex development of the city.
Platô on account of its location, is a compact territory that is naturally delineated and separated from Praia’s other districts. What was an obvious military and strategic forte in colonial times now hinders a more thorough integration with the rest of the city. However, Platô’s clear and naturally determined boundaries have led to a situation where it is the only district whose colonial elements constitute a compact system illustrating the character of Portuguese colonial urban planning. In the other parts of Praia, colonial heritage, particularly colonial architecture, is highly dispersed and therefore more vulnerable to urban pressure.
Moreover, the spatial layout of Platô, which is practically the same as it was in 1975, is a visible and well preserved legacy of colonial urban planning policy. This is particularly noticeable when city plans from the second half of the nineteenth century are compared with the contemporary spatial arrangement of streets and buildings. Nonetheless, the architecture itself has been subjected to intense transformations. New buildings are increasingly replacing colonial ones, which are deliberately being torn down or which have collapsed under the pressure of time and because they have not been maintained. This mainly concerns single-story residential buildings, rarely public ones, which have in many cases been restored in recent years and now constitute one of Praia’s most popular tourist attractions.
Platô’s urban landscape is based on a colonial foundation, which is still evident today, however urban development and new buildings are slowly changing the look of the district. The functions of Platô have also changed. In the past, when the city was limited to the plateau, it was a place where power centers, residential homes and workplaces were concentrated. While it is no longer a residential district, many jobs are still concentrated there, as it is where the city’s administrative buildings, hospital, and schools are located. 78
The lack of a consistent program to preserve Praia’s historical district may have many different causes difficult to determine from the perspective of four decades since the formal decolonization. Economic matters may play a significant role. During the early days of independence, newly established postcolonial states faced much more serious and pressing issues (to say nothing of the expense) than preserving monuments and colonial built heritage, which in many cases, was perceived as difficult and negative. A. King (2006) notes that even in the scientific literature, the perception of “postcolonial city” problems has so far been viewed through the prism of the problems of the “third world city.” The issues such as air pollution, megacity size, traffic management, “slums” and water scarcity were discussed much more often than those connected to heritage preservation. 79
According to UNESCO, the Cape Verde authorities have only appeared to show any interest in preserving colonial built heritage in recent years. 80 Nevertheless, as stated by L. Gomes, these are mainly government initiatives rather than those of local authorities and private parties, although there have recently been more of them. 81 Possibly, after more than forty years of independence, and in view of the boom in tourism and the stable and democratic authorities (until 1990), the preceding epoch will be reevaluated and colonial built heritage will be regarded as having economic potential that can, with appropriate actions and promotion, become a viable source of income for such a dynamically developing city. As shown by the renovation of the Presidential Palace, the Quartel Jaime Mota and the Ethnographic Museum (on Avenida 5 de Julho), we might just be witnessing the beginning of this process.
However, questions such as “Whose heritage?,” “Whose heritage are we actually talking about?” “Who is it for?” “And who is affected by it?,” posed by S. Hall in 2002, 82 and again by J. Lagae in connection with colonial legacy in Africa in 2008, 83 remain unanswered in the context of Praia. Although deliberations on these questions are not included among the aims of this article, we would like to point out that the issues they raise are highly relevant and decidedly necessary for a further exploration of the urban space of Praia.
Despite of the interest in preserving colonial built heritage, the changes that have occurred, and which are still taking place, in Platô, especially in residential and service construction, are so rapid and extensive that the historical district might soon only reflect colonial urban planning, and cease to constitute a compact complex of colonial architecture, as the number of colonial buildings is constantly decreasing (Figure 13a and b). In 2014, the opening of the Diaspora Museum (Museu da Diáspora) in one of the destroyed buildings on Platô was announced (Figure 13a). Its aim is to record and preserve the history of migration movements to and from Cape Verde. 84 The building was owned by the Ministry of Finance and Planning, and the architect of the project a Cape Verdean César Freitag. The cost of this public investment is estimated at 430,000 euro. The facility was supposed to have opened in 2015 on the fortieth anniversary of the independence of Cape Verde, however, in 2018, no steps had been taken to start the initiative, and the building is still in ruins. Four years after the announcement of the museum opening, the only sign informing about the investment is a board placed on the façade of the building, which is to be restored maintaining its original structure. 85
Examples of buildings falling into disrepair located on Rua Serpa Pinto (a) and Rua Borjona de Freitas (b).
The lack of adequate measures to stop colonial buildings from deteriorating and being replaced by new ones (e.g., a UNESCO listing) might soon lead to the loss of any opportunity to preserve the consistent appearance of Platô, if it has not already done so. As demonstrated in different African countries, colonial cities can be protected while simultaneously performing the commemorative, symbolic and touristic functions on which their income is based. Gorée Island, Senegal, 86 and Fort Jesus, Kenya, 87 are examples of combining protection of colonial legacy and profiting from tourism. This possibility may well be irrevocably lost in Praia.
The urban space of Platô is currently undergoing a lot of changes, but as they have not been coordinated or synchronized, it is proving impossible to preserve a consistent appearance of the historical center of Praia. This has resulted in the urban landscape resembling a coral reef, with many buildings of differing sizes and architectural styles. This looks chaotic, but, at the same time, it reflects the transformations that have taken place in Cape Verde since decolonization. Apart from the area around the Praça Alexandre Albuquerque (the city’s largest park), where the architecture is almost entirely colonial, there are no lots on Platô exclusively containing buildings erected prior to 1975.
One issue worth highlighting are changes in urbanonyms. The current urban nomenclature demonstrates the dynamism of the period after 1975 and the significance of the political changes for the symbolic dimension of the urban space of Praia. From 1975 to 1990, street names were changed and colonial monuments were demolished and replaced by others commemorating the struggle for independence and the attempt to create a union with Guinea-Bissau, for instance Agostinho Neto Hospital, Quartel Jaime Mota, Liceu Domingos Ramos, Avenida Amílcar Cabral, Rua Unidade Guiné–Cabo Verde, and Rua Patrice Lumumba. The dictates of the PAICG/PAICV party, and its anti-Portuguese roots and socialist political profile (and pro-Soviet foreign policy), in particular, are clearly visible.
Once PAICG/PAICV had come to end, democratization and an abrupt political turn Westward became noticeable in the urban landscape of Platô. The new authorities partly brought back colonial symbolism. Several Portugal street names were restored and the monument to Diogo Gomes was put up again. 88 Platô’s urban space managed to maintain traces of all of these changes.
The answer to the question of whether Platô’s colonial built heritage is indeed disappearing should distinguish its types. As shown by the foregoing deliberations, the most considerable transformations have taken place among residential and service buildings, whereas those that have occurred in administrative architecture have been far more limited. The changes in public spaces and symbolic elements, however, have been infrequent and partially revoked, as indicated by the examples of names of streets and monuments.
Conclusions
Platô is beyond a doubt the only Praia district that has been completely planned by colonial urban planners. It is also exceptionally abundant in colonial built heritage. Nevertheless, the changes that have occurred since independence are so extensive as to justify the phrase “disappearing colonial built heritage” used in this article. It is, however, worth posing two key questions: Should the changes discussed in the article be perceived as negative? And were they avoidable?
As Platô is steadily depopulating, and its colonial legacy, which could be utilized as a source of tourist income, is being superseded by new elements, the answer to the first question leads to rather pessimistic conclusions. The lack of any measures to preserve the heritage of the former epoch (excluding the assessment of its achievements and the negative balance of few gains and numerous losses for colonized areas) seems to be a serious misstep from today’s perspective. Not only does this represent a potential loss of tourism revenue that could support and stimulate the city’s development, but it might also prevent future generations of Cape Verdeans from gaining a tangible knowledge of the history of their country. Moreover, the international community may also be deprived of the opportunity to appreciate so valuable world heritage—especially if Platô is seen as an example of the Shared Built Heritage concept (SBH) introduced in 2003 by the ICOMOS Scientific Committee on Shared Colonial Architecture and Town Planning. 89 L. Bigon and A. Sinou explain that “this concept is intended to include historical urban and rural structures or elements, reflecting multi-cultural and colonial influence.” 90
The answer to the second question, however, is a lot more complicated, as all the factors that have shaped the development of Praia since independence have to be considered. The Cape Verdean capital has been rapidly expanding and developing both demographically and spatially. The population, that started to increase in the years preceding decolonization, has grown even more rapidly after independence, 91 however, in the sort of conditions of unremitting poverty and chaos typical of most African cities in the postcolonial period. As the long war of independence from Portugal was not fought on the islands in contrast to other Portuguese colonies (e.g., Angola in 1961-1974, Guinea-Bissau in 1963-1974 or Mozambique in 1964-1974), Portuguese buildings were not destroyed due to military actions. Eventually, the independence movement in Portuguese colonies in Africa ended in victory for the PAICG. This resulted in the alliance with socialist states, and this, in turn, influenced the urban space. It is also worth noting that, perhaps in light of the problems affecting newborn countries, preserving the heritage of the previous, negatively perceived system, is normally put aside in favor of more pressing issues.
Furthermore, dynamism is a typical feature of urban space and its changes are a ubiquitous phenomenon. It is therefore difficult to find any city in which the new does not replace the old and where the balance between preserving historical heritage and meeting the needs of development are perfectly balanced.
The colonial built heritage of Praia is not only being damaged by intentional political actions (as in case of nomenclature changes), but also by a lack of any protective measures. The uncontrolled mechanisms that have resulted have contributed to the urban sprawl and led to the transformation of the urban landscape of the city. The effects of these processes have yet to be recognized and evaluated. Nevertheless, there are some disquieting signs that may foreshadow problems, which Praia, along with many other metropolises of the Global South, will have to overcome in the future. Platô in 2017 is an area of constant change and an ever-transforming construction site. However, it might be also regarded as a witness of the city’s colonial and more recent history. Its contemporary urban landscape is not only the result of colonial activity, but also, perhaps predominantly, of more than forty years of Cape Verde as an independent state. The changes that have occurred in the urban space of Praia, small African capital city of a peripheral location, reflect those taking place in many other postcolonial African cities.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors received financial support for the research from Rada Konsultacyjna ds. SRN of the University of Warsaw, and for the publication of this article from the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw.