This chapter examines the components of the policy that shapes Morocco's urban development, its characteristics, achievements, and limitations. While Morocco has a long history of urban legislation, as well as many sectoral policies that impact urban development, Morocco does not have an explicit national urban policy. A renewed national urban policy in Morocco, i.e. explicitly formalised by bringing the various existing policies into line, is necessary to respond to new, complex, and multi-dimensional challenges. To define this renewed national urban policy, this Review proposes a roadmap containing concrete recommendations structured around four pillars aimed at promoting competitive, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban development, as well as five key enabling factors to achieve these objectives.
National Urban Policy Review of Morocco
Abstract
Morocco has experienced sustained and rapid urbanisation in recent decades, with the urban population increasing from 38.0% of the Moroccan population in 1975 to 65.2% in 2024 (Chapter 2), and is characterised by the formation of a system of large urban areas along the Atlantic coast, with a network of small and medium-sized cities in the interior of the country. Morocco's urban growth has also been accompanied by the emergence of a new configuration of the urban fabric, with new development corridors, including the Euro-Mediterranean, Trans-African and Trans-Atlantic corridors, and new urban strata ranging from metropolises and their functional areas of influence to intermediate cities, small towns, and emerging rural centres.
While urbanisation is a driver of development and economic growth in Morocco and has fostered the emergence of new infrastructure and better access to public services, Morocco's rapid urban growth has also been accompanied by the emergence of many challenges, such as metropolisation, periurbanisation, concentration of cities along the coast, the issue of informal housing, territorial disparities, and the pitfalls related to mobility with congestion and increased pollution. Moroccan cities are also facing the challenges of sustainable development, including strong pressures on water resources and water stress, accentuated by climate change, and aggravated by many factors of vulnerability of cities such as increased coastal urbanisation. Another challenge of urbanisation in Morocco is the need to take into account the architectural and cultural heritage and specificities of Morocco, in particular the importance of traditional urban fabrics, such as medinas (7 of which are classified on the UNESCO World Heritage List), ksour, kasbah and architectural ensembles of cities which constitute cultural specificities of the Moroccan urban fabric.
Morocco must therefore meet the many challenges inherent to its urbanisation, particularly in terms of controlling urban growth and its environmental externalities in a context of climate change, supporting access to employment, housing, basic services and equipment, mobility, as well as in terms of social equity, reduction of territorial disparities, competitiveness, and sustainability. These challenges have been accentuated by the succession of recent crises and shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions in supply chains, soaring oil prices and record inflation in 2022, as well as increased climate risk, which has put a strain on Morocco's urban systems. All these crises, to which was recently added the Al Haouz earthquake of September 2023, which affected rural areas but also urban areas, and in particular that of Marrakech, have highlighted the fragility of the development model and the management methods of cities in Morocco.
Morocco has a long history of urban legislation, with the promulgation of the founding law on urban planning dating back to 1914. Since then, numerous structural reforms, such as the 2011 Constitution, the New Development Model, advanced regionalisation, the Deconcentration Charter and the new Investment Charter, have made it possible to meet the challenges of urban growth. Morocco has also implemented several major structuring projects that have profoundly changed the shaping of the country's urban development, with projects such as Tangier-Med, the high-speed train line (TGV), major engineering structures, technopoles, and development programmes. In addition, a wide range of sectoral plans and programmes have a direct or indirect impact on cities and urban development. However, despite a strong political impetus that has emerged for several years, Morocco does not have a formalised and explicit national urban policy.
In the wake of these advances and in a context of the emergence of complex and multi-dimensional issues, it is essential that Morocco adopt a renewed national urban policy, i.e. explicitly formalised by bringing coherence to the various existing policies, to respond not only to the challenges of urbanisation, whether they have been anchored for a long time or have emerged more recently, but which can also allow Morocco to take better advantage of the opportunities linked to urbanisation, while relying on international frameworks and commitments. The formulation of Morocco's national urban policy is particularly timely considering the preparation for major events such as the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup, during which Agadir, Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Fez will host many matches and play a central role. The organisation of these events can indeed play a role as a catalyst for change for Morocco's national urban policy, since it requires a significant upgrade of infrastructure, including stadiums in cities, transport to connect the main sites, and tourism services.
The OECD Principles on Urban Policy provide a solid framework to guide the development of Morocco's renewed national urban policy, which must also be informed by international frameworks and commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the principles of the New Urban Agenda, and the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement. This chapter thus proposes a roadmap for developing Morocco's national urban policy, based on four pillars for competitive, inclusive, sustainable and resilient urban development, and five key enabling factors to achieve these objectives.
Morocco has a long history of urban development
The history of modern urban planning law and urban legislation in Morocco dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century, with the promulgation of the founding law of urban planning in 1914. This first urban planning law allowed Morocco to be one of the first countries in the world to adopt a legislative instrument in the field of urban planning, which was to deal as a priority with the urgency of the creation of modern Moroccan cities by ensuring them a certain form of sustainability through the guarantee of property rights, the establishment of public utility, etc. as well as by the introduction of graphic documents. It had defined in particular the modalities for the implementation of the city plan; the procedures for creating housing groups; as well as the regulation of the act of building.
This law allowed the creation of a dozen cities between 1915 and 1925, also putting an end to the uncontrolled expansion of urbanised areas. It was then followed by other decrees and laws, changing urban planning law in line with the rapid urbanisation of Morocco and in response to the challenges resulting from this urban growth, including the law authorising the establishment of development plans for city centres and suburbs (1931), the law on urban planning of 1952 with the objective of replacing and supplementing the dahir of 1914 by extending the scope of application to other areas such as suburbs and peripheral areas, and the law on subdivisions and subdivisions of 1953 aimed at preventing clandestine housing and stopping anarchic speculation and unauthorised subdivision operations (Motib et Fatah, 2020[1]).
The first urban planning laws had a guiding and framing character. Their objective was to draw up simple plans for alignment and urban extension. Subsequent laws, in particular those of 1952 and 1992, on the other hand, favoured an increasingly regulatory approach to urban planning, which could sometimes hinder the city's responsiveness to economic development and political and social developments (El Malti, 2005[2]).
After the country's independence in 1956 and for several decades, the 1952 law remained the reference text in terms of urban planning, until 1992 with the promulgation of two laws: Law 12-90 on urban planning and Law 25-90 on subdivisions and housing groups and subdivisions. These two laws have contributed to enhancing the quality of the built environment of cities and neighbourhoods through the obligation to comply with urban development plans, the conditions for issuing subdivision permits, the creation of a housing group, the subdivision, the building permit, the housing permit and the certificate of conformity (GRET-GRIDAUH, s.d.[3]):
Law 12-90 on urban planning has thus enabled great progress in Moroccan urban planning by defining various urban planning documents and prioritising them: Urban Development Master Plan (SDAU), Zoning Plan (PZ), Development Plan (PA), alignment orders, building permits (see Chapter 4 for more details on urban planning documents) and building regulations as well as criminal sanctions. This law has made it possible to provide a framework for urban planning and management by relying on urban planning documents to govern the national territory. Its main objective is to define the rules and procedures for the preparation, approval and revision of urban planning documents, as well as to set general guidelines for urban planning. This law has thus improved the quality of urban planning documents, better coordination between stakeholders and improved citizens' quality of life.
Law 25-90 on subdivisions, housing groups and subdivisions has provided the administration with the tools to monitor the implementation of projects and their compatibility with existing objectives and regulations, in order to intervene in any non-compliant construction and curb the phenomenon of illegal housing.
Despite the improvement in the quality of urban spaces, better management of urban growth, and the professionalisation of actors made possible by these two laws, constraints persist, particularly in terms of the complexity of implementation, operationalisation, urban governance and citizen participation. Indeed, urban planning documents have reached their limits, and their current version may prove to be unsuitable or out of step with the evolution of the territories. In a constantly changing context, the legal framework for urban planning based on long-term forecasts has remained unchanged and relatively rigid practices have led to implementation difficulties since the 1990s. Practices have only been able to evolve within the framework set by Laws 12-90 and 25-90, through modifications introduced in the terms of reference, new regulations in urban planning documents, circulars modifying the application of certain provisions, or even new approaches tested by certain urban agencies interpreting the normative framework in a less strict way. Since 1992, only two bills related to urban planning have been proposed: the Urban Planning Code in 2007 and the law on urban planning documents proposed in 2014, both legislative texts that have not been approved to date.
Another central text in the history of urban planning in Morocco is the Dahir containing Law No. 1-84-188 (October 9, 1984) establishing the first urban agency in Casablanca, before Law No. 1-93-51 of 1993 established the other urban agencies. This last text made it possible to generalise urban agencies at the national level and to regulate them, determining their attributions and mode of management and operation, while maintaining the special legal status of the urban agency of Casablanca, to reach 30 urban agencies. The Majal Federation connects them in a network, including 29 which are under the supervision of the government authorities in charge of Urban Planning and Finance. Four generations of urban agencies have succeeded each other depending on the context (a first generation from 1984 to 1993, a second from 1994 to 1997, a third from 2004 to 2006 and a fourth since 2013). Urban agencies can cover three different territorial areas: i) the territory of the Region; (ii) the territory of a single province, and (iii) the territory of several prefectures and provinces. Urban agencies are public establishments with legal personality and financial autonomy, and are responsible for carrying out the studies necessary for urban planning projects and urban development operations. However, the High Royal Guidelines calling for the improvement of the quality of public service and the establishment of an efficient public administration at the service of the citizen and the imperatives of advanced regionalisation require the repositioning of urban agencies as a strong territorial interlocutor supporting regionalisation and a privileged player in strategic planning by developing their professions and functions. This ambition was recorded during the working session on urban planning and housing chaired by the King in October 2023. This session called for the creation of 12 regional urban planning and housing agencies.
In addition, the institutional and legislative framework for territorial planning has been enriched by land use planning tools, such as the National Spatial Planning Scheme (SNAT) and the first generation Regional Spatial Planning Schemes (SRAT) set up from 2004, but which were not followed by the adoption of a law on spatial planning. New planning documents have been prepared and developed in parallel with the formal urban planning system (Communal Development Plans [PCDs], Communal Action Plans [PACs], Regional Development Programmes [RDPs]). Other laws that have a significant impact on urban development include:
Law 11-03 on the protection and enhancement of the environment promulgated in 2003 and Framework Law 99-12 promulgated in 2014 on the national charter for the environment and sustainable development;
Law 47-09 on energy efficiency promulgated in 2011 and its implementing decree that came into force in 2015 approving the general building regulations setting the rules for the energy performance of buildings. This law also provides for an energy impact study for any urban development programme project or any building construction programme project, regardless of their use;
Organic Law 111-14 on the Regions, Organic Law 112-14 on Prefectures and Provinces and Organic Law 113-14 on the Municipalities – three laws promulgated in 2015 as part of the implementation of advanced regionalisation;
Law 12-66 on the control of urban planning and construction offences promulgated in 2016;
Law 94-12 on buildings at risk of ruin and the organisation of urban renewal operations decreed in 2016;
Law 31-13 on the right of access to information in 2018;
Decree 2-19-40 setting the reference master plan for administrative deconcentration in 2019;
Law 47-18 on the reform of regional investment centres and the creation of unified regional investment commissions promulgated in 2019;
Decree 2-18-577 approving the general building regulations setting the form and conditions for the issuance of planning authorisations entered into force in 2019;
Law 55-19 on the simplification of procedures and administrative formalities promulgated in 2020;
Law 49-17 on environmental assessment promulgated in 2022;
Law 81-12 on the coastline promulgated in 2015 and the implementing decree approving the national coastal plan in 2022;
The Investment Charter approved in July 2022.
Numerous structuring projects have also shaped urban development in Morocco, such as the Tangier-Med port project, the development of which has made it possible to promote economic development and strengthen the attractiveness of the city of Tangier and the northern region of Morocco (Box 3.1). Other projects of a similar nature have followed, including the construction of the Casablanca-Tangier high-speed line (TGV), the ports of West Med and Kenitra, the construction of solar power plants in Ouarzazate and the implementation of the entire renewable energy sector. Other urban infrastructure upgrading programmes were launched in 2005, including the First National Urban Upgrading Programme. Integrated urban development programmes have also been launched since 2013 in major cities such as Tangier, Rabat, Marrakech, Salé, Tetouan, Agadir, Casablanca and Kenitra. Major engineering structures, such as the Hassan II Bridge between Rabat and Salé inaugurated in 2011, major cultural projects such as the Grand Théâtre de Casablanca, or the development of technopoles, are other examples of projects that have contributed to shaping Morocco's urban development.
The Tangier-Med project is a major port structuring programme located near Tangier, in northern Morocco, which has had a significant impact on the urban development of the region, particularly with regard to:
Economic growth: the port of Tangier-Med is one of the largest in Africa and the Mediterranean basin. It has helped boost the local and national economy, attracting international investment and fostering the development of new industries, including logistics, transportation and manufacturing.
Employment: the project has created several thousand direct and indirect jobs, helping to reduce unemployment and improve the living conditions of local residents.
Infrastructure: the growth of the port necessitated the development and improvement of surrounding infrastructure, including roads and railways, as well as public services.
International attractiveness: Tangier-Med has strengthened the positioning of Tangier and Morocco on the international scene, attracting more investors but also tourists.
Source: https://www.tangermed.ma/fr/.
The evolution of these policies reflects the paradigm shift in Morocco's urban development, moving from a reactive management approach to the country's rapid urbanisation to the desire to establish cities as poles of economic development, while responding to the contemporary challenges of urban development and aiming for balanced territorial development. The National Initiative for Human Development launched by Royal Directives in 2005, whose implementation is done in convergence with sectoral programmes, implements a vision to modernise Morocco's approach to urban development, to initiate reforms and projects generating more social inclusion, reducing poverty and promoting the rights of women and children.
The adoption of Morocco's new Constitution in 2011, the implementation of advanced regionalisation since 2015 and the introduction of the National Charter for Administrative Deconcentration in 2018 also mark an important inflection point in the process of reforms and modernisation of Morocco's urban governance. These structural reforms have indeed profoundly transformed the way cities are managed, by promoting a more decentralised approach. Local and regional authorities have thus acquired greater autonomy, with the aim of the Deconcentration Charter being to redistribute competences and resources from the central administration to local authorities, thus aiming to establish a more efficient governance responsive to the needs of citizens (see Chapter 6). These reforms also aim to reduce territorial imbalances and modernise urban governance, in particular by initiating a process of simplification of administrative procedures.
The National Conference on “State Land Policy and its Role in Economic and Social Development" held in 2015 with a view to outlining an integrated and efficient national land policy, as well as the National Conference on Taxation held in 2019, to define the contours of a more efficient, competitive, fair and transparent tax system, have also helped to guide Morocco's urban development strategy.
The New Development Model (NMD) launched in 2021 has made it possible to define a new development vision for Morocco by 2035, advocating a holistic, integrated, participatory and territorial approach focused on innovation, competitiveness and human capital, by combining three dimensions: (i) a competitive city that drives growth; (ii) a city that ensures inclusion and social cohesion; and (iii) a city that preserves resources and builds urban resilience. Finally, the National Dialogue on Urban Planning and Housing, launched in 2022 as part of the implementation of the High Royal Directives, is in line with the orientations of the New Development Model, which recommends establishing “a national reference framework for urban development” (see section A new momentum for national urban policy is supported by strong political backing, but still no concrete proposal for a unified national urban policy).
Many sectoral policies have an impact on urban development
Morocco has a wide range of sectoral plans and programmes that have a direct or indirect impact on urban development (see Annex 3.A for a more complete list of sectoral plans and programmes), including:
The National Port Strategy for 2030, a project developed by the Ministry of Equipment and Transport (Ministère de l’Équipement et des Transports), aims to improve national competitiveness through external trade logistics chains and is a powerful lever for Morocco's urban development. It thus aims to support the evolution of the economy by anticipating the demand for port infrastructure and by further integrating Morocco into global competitiveness (CRI Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, s.d.[4]). This strategy has a direct impact on cities and urban development since, as seen in Chapter 2, Morocco's urbanisation is characterised by a strong littoralisation of cities, with most of the major Moroccan cities located along the coast. Among the most important cities on the coast in terms of population size and economic weight, there are many port cities, such as Casablanca, Tangier, Kenitra, Nador, Jorf Lasfar, Safi, and Agadir. The new Tangier-Med port thus plays a driving role for regional development and has positioned Morocco as a pivot between western and northern Europe and Asia, with the emergence of a competitiveness pool favourable to investment and generating jobs (Box 3.1).
Strategies related to the transport sector, though national-level strategies that do not specifically target urban areas, also have a direct impact on cities by improving the accessibility and connectivity of cities with neighbouring regions, and by making employment and education services and opportunities, healthcare and leisure more accessible to residents. Firstly, the National Urban Travel Strategy (Stratégie Nationale des Déplacements Urbains – SNDU) aims to establish an efficient, high-quality, low-cost, environmentally friendly urban travel system that guarantees sustainable financial viability, by giving priority to public transport (Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales, s.d.[5]). The National Roadmap for Sustainable Mobility by 2040 aims to establish a clear and coherent vision for sustainable mobility and a realistic action plan related to governance, financing and implementation. Subsequently, the 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, the National Road Infrastructure Scheme 2035 (Schéma National des Infrastructures Routières – SNIR), the Road Plan for 2035, the Morocco Rail Plan 2040 (Plan Rail Maroc – PRM) and the Airport Master Plan for 2035 (Schéma Directeur Aéroportuaire – SDA) in force and the studies updating it, are all strategies that have an impact on urban development.
Economic and industrial policies also have an impact on cities and urban development. Policies such as the Emergence Plan in 2005, the National Pact for Industrial Emergence (Pacte National pour l’Émergence Industrielle – PNEI) in 2009 by 2015, the Industrial Acceleration Plan (Plan d’Accélération Industrielle – PAI) 2014-2020, the second generation of the IAP 2021-2025, the Industrial Recovery Plan 2023-2023, the 2015 Vision for Handicrafts, the Strategy for the Development of Handicrafts for 2030 or the Strategy for the Development of Logistics Competitiveness, influence the economic, social and environmental development of cities by stimulating the local economy and creating jobs.
The new Investment Charter announced in 2022 (Centre Régional d’Investissement Casablanca-Settat, s.d.[6]) has a strong impact on Morocco's urban development as it aims to encourage investment in areas with high development potential, especially urban areas. The Charter also includes tax incentives and benefits for companies that invest in projects related to urban development, thus encouraging companies to invest in these cities and develop their business there.
Tourism sector strategies, such as the Azur Plan established as part of the Vision 2010 of Tourism, the Tourism Development Strategy Vision 2020, the 2020-2022 Programme Contract for the support and recovery of the tourism sector, and the Strategic Roadmap for Tourism 2023-2026 with the objective of reinventing Moroccan tourism and positioning Morocco among the 15 best destinations in the world, apply de facto to the cities of Morocco since they welcome a large part of the tourists. Indeed, the two cities of Marrakech and Agadir alone concentrate nearly half of the available accommodation capacity in the country and attract most of the investments (national and international) related to tourism (Hmioui et Alla, 2020[7]).
Environmental policies, including the National Strategy for Sustainable Development (Stratégie Nationale de Développement Durable – SNDD 2030), the National Climate Plan (Plan Climat National – PCN 2030) and the Morocco 2050 Long-Term Low Carbon Strategy, play a crucial role in urban development in Morocco as they encourage the adoption of sustainable urban planning principles, with the SNDD having as its strategic axis to align urban planning with the principles of sustainable development and the PCN 2030 aiming to ensure development of the territories.
The National Strategy for Natural Disaster Risk Management and the National Plan against Floods focus on reducing vulnerability and strengthening the resilience of populations and territories against natural disasters.
Other programmes, such as the National Liquid Sanitation Programme, the National Household Waste Programme, the National Water Plan (Plan National de l’Eau – PNE) 2020-2050 and the Master Plans for Integrated Water Resources Management (Plan directeur d’aménagement intégré des ressources en eau – PDAIRE), the National Programme for the Supply of Drinking Water and Irrigation 2020-2027 (Programme National pour l’Approvisionnement en Eau Potable et d’Irrigation – NAEPI), also have direct impacts since Moroccan cities generate a large share of waste in Morocco and are plagued by stress and a growing risk of flooding.
The National Strategy on Sustainable Development and the National Energy Efficiency Strategy for 2030 aiming for energy savings of around 20% by 2030, particularly in the building sector, have a significant impact on urban development by promoting sustainability and supporting urban renewal projects.
Numerous strategies have been put in place in the field of digital technology and innovation, starting with the National Strategy of Digital Morocco e-Morocco 2010, the Digital Morocco 2013 and 2020 Plans, and the new national digital transition strategy Maroc Digital 2030 which is in the process of being approved. The latter aims at the digitisation of public services, considered as a lever for efficiency and transparency, and which will transform the interaction between citizens and the administration, and gives new impetus to the digital economy as a vector of growth and employment, in particular by encouraging the development of offshoring, support for start-ups, and support for SMEs in their digital transition. This new strategy will have a strong impact on urban development and will play a crucial role in the transformation of Moroccan cities by improving access to public services for the urban population (Adil, 2024[8]).
Other sectoral policies have a significant impact on urban development and cities, as the majority of the population lives in cities. This is particularly the case for education and health policies (Annex 3.A).
The Ministry of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy (Ministère de l'Aménagement du Territoire National, de l'Urbanisme, de l'Habitat et de la Politique de la Ville – MATHNUHPV) has a wide range of programmes and strategies for spatial planning and housing policies, such as Cities without Slums or social housing programmes that have a direct impact on urban development and cities in Morocco (see Box 3.2 for programmes and strategies governing spatial planning and Chapter 5 for housing policies).
The National Charter for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, adopted in 2001, is based on “basic principles" and “strategic orientations” of regional planning emanating from the broad “National Debate 2000-2001”. This charter aims to promote balanced, sustainable and integrated territorial development, taking into account the specificities and potentials of each region of Morocco. It constitutes a reference framework for the development and implementation of public policies in terms of land use planning and sustainable development. The charter provided for a whole “legislative and institutional arsenal” to ensure the implementation of the National Spatial Planning Scheme (Schéma National de l’Aménagement du Territoire – SNAT).
At the legislative level, it envisaged a law on land-use planning and sustainable development specifying the conditions for the design and implementation of the SNAT, the Regional Spatial Planning Schemes (Schéma Régional d'Aménagement du Territoire – SRAT) and sectoral legislation, such as a law on environmental protection and implementing texts for the water law.
At the institutional level, it provided for the Higher Council for Spatial Planning (Conseil Supérieur de l’Aménagement du Territoire – CSAT) and the Permanent Interministerial Commission for Spatial Planning (Commission Interministérielle Permanente d’Aménagement du Territoire – CIPAT) created by the CSAT to monitor and support the implementation of the CSAT's recommendations and contribute to the development of public policies.
However, the framework law on spatial planning has not been adopted. The CSAT has only met twice, in 2004 to take note of the SNAT, and in 2016 to deal with the convergence of public policies. CIPAT has held only 4 sessions (in 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2014) and the two institutions have therefore not been able to fulfil the functions of territorial coordination of sectoral actions (see Chapter 6).
The National Spatial Planning Scheme (SNAT) is a long-term strategic planning document defining the general orientations of national spatial planning, and proposing actions and programmes intended to implement the orientations of the "National Charter for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development" and to reduce disparities between territories. It was presented to the Higher Council for Spatial Planning in 2004.
The Regional Spatial Planning Schemes (SRATs) are regional planning documents that set out the orientations of the SNAT at the regional level (see Chapter 4 for more details on these schemes), serving as a general reference for the elaboration of Regional Development Programmes (RDPs) as a strategic plan and flagship programme for advanced regionalisation in Morocco.
The Public Policy Guidelines for Spatial Planning (Les Orientations de la Politique Publique de l’Aménagement du Territoire – OPPAT) launched in 2019 apply the provisions of the organic laws, making it possible to define the fundamental orientations of the State in terms of territorial planning and development at the national, interregional and regional levels, taking into account the vocations and specificities of the different territories. They aim to promote the coherence of public interventions at the national territory level and to enable the articulation of development choices and the framework for territorial strategic planning documents. These OPPATs are the expression of a renewed vision of national regional development policy based on new paradigms in a forward-looking vision shared by all stakeholders.
The OPPAT supervises the SRATs to ensure the coherence and harmonisation of these schemes and intersectoral convergence, by providing a medium- and long-term framework for sectoral policies at the territorial level.
The National Urban Development Strategy (Stratégie Nationale de Développement Urbain – SNDU) developed in 2008 and piloted in close collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, aims to strengthen the role of local place in urban development. It achieves this through the adoption of an urban strategic planning approach, to establish urban governance based on the principles of territoriality, transversality and contractualisation.
Three elements characterise the SNDU: a steering by two ministries, the establishment of an Interministerial Committee for Territorial Development (Comité Interministériel pour le Développement Territorial – CIDT) to monitor the development of the SNDU, and experimentation at the level of two medium-sized pilot cities of Settat and El Jadida through five-year action plans.
The City Policy (Politique de la Ville – PV) was defined in the Government Programme in 2012 as "a proactive public policy based on a cross-cutting approach aimed at combating precariousness and exclusion, particularly in sensitive urban areas subject to multifaceted pressures" and for which, "the government will favour a national strategy based on good governance and consultation with all partners with a view to redress dysfunctions and to guarantee a coherent development of cities".
A consensual and contextualised reference framework for the City Policy was developed in 2012, leading to the foundations of the urban policy. This initiative was accompanied by the creation of an Interministerial Commission for Urban Policy, the transformation of the Solidarity and Housing Fund (Fonds de Solidarité et d’Habitat – FSH) into the Solidarity and Urban Integration Fund (Fonds de Solidarité et Intégration Urbaine – FSHUI), as well as the creation of a National Agency for Urban Renewal and the Rehabilitation of Dilapidated Buildings.
Despite its efforts, the operationalisation of PV has come up against several difficulties, in particular, questions of content, scale of intervention (neighbourhood, city, territory) and coherence with interventions and programmes already in place and the powers of various actors involved in the initiative (see Chapter 4 for more details).
The National Urban Structure Plan (Schéma National de l’Armature Urbaine – SNAU) was implemented in 2020 as a reference framework aimed at informing decision-makers on the structuring and strengthening of the national urban framework by 2050. This was achieved through the reframing and channelling of urban growth, the refocusing on large cities as engines of development and the adoption of more effective and efficient planning, likely to strengthen the attractiveness and competitiveness of cities. The vision developed at the level of the SNAU is based on the channelling of urbanisation towards the interior of the country, the support of large cities as engines of development, the strengthening of the role of intermediary cities as a factor of resilience of the urban framework and the strengthening of the role of small towns in the supervision of rural areas.
The Cities Without Slums (Villes Sans Bidonvilles – VSB) programme, launched in 2004, is a strategic axis of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) and aims to eliminate urban slums in 85 cities by favouring certain methods such as resettlement, rehousing and restructuring (see Chapter 5).
The Rehabilitation of Buildings at Risk of Collapse Programme launched in 2012 targets improvements to dilapidated buildings and dwellings in order to preserve the lives of inhabitants and citizens and to protect and enhance the architectural heritage of Moroccan cities. These programmes contribute not only to the improvement of living conditions in urban areas, but also to the revitalisation of previously neglected urban areas (see Chapter 5).
The MAD 250 000 Social Housing Programme initiated in 2010, the MAD 140 000 Low Property Value Housing Programme and the 2024-2028 Direct Housing Assistance Programme are programmes that aim to improve access to housing in Morocco and have a direct impact on urban development. Indeed, the way in which these programmes are carried out, depending on whether they integrate sustainability and urban compactness objectives, or on the contrary encourage overconsumption of housing, has direct effects on whether or not cities are compact, inclusive and sustainable. Poorly designed sectoral policies can exacerbate negative externalities such as urban sprawl and discontinuous land development leading to longer journeys, increased emissions and more expensive transport (see Chapter 5).
The New Cities (Villes Nouvelles) Programme was launched in 2004 as a proactive policy by the State to reduce slums and promote social housing. This policy has seen the birth of the cities of Tamensourt (Marrakech), Tamesna (Rabat), Tagadirt, Badis and Chrafat (Tangier), Lakhyayta and Zenata (Greater Casablanca). Mazagan (Al Jadida) and Benguerir were then added to this list, while others could be considered. This is a programme that stems from a policy carried out and decided by the State to better guarantee the country's urban transition and meet its housing needs. Thus, planned cities are being built about twenty or thirty kilometres from the major cities.
The new urban centres are major projects designed to ensure economic competitiveness and promote the creation of central areas, high-level commercial and tertiary activity centres, and sometimes urban tourist areas that live up to metropolitan ambitions and that are supported and carried out by the State. Examples include the development of the Bouregreg valley (Rabat-Salé), the development of the former Anfa airport, the Avenue Royale and the Marina (Casablanca), the bay of Tangier, the development of the Marchica lagoon (Nador), but also the medinas of Casablanca and Fez.
The Programme for the Sustainable Development of the Ksour and Kasbahs of Morocco was launched in 2016 with a view to developing a vision, programming and mechanisms for interventions and enhancement of the Ksour and Kasbah by 2025
Programme for the Rehabilitation and Enhancement of 8 Medinas Architectural and Landscape Charters of the Ancient Fabrics, launched following Royal Guidelines for the rehabilitation of 8 medinas, namely those of Casablanca, Rabat, Salé, Essaouira, Tetouan, Marrakech, Fez and Meknes.
Source: Department of Urban Planning (MATNUHPV) and Moreno Monroy et al (2020[9]), Housing policies for sustainable and inclusive cities: How national governments can deliver affordable housing and compact urban development, https://doi.org/10.1787/d63e9434-en.
Morocco does not have an explicit national urban policy with a coherent vision of urban development
The multiplicity of strategies, plans and programmes of an urban, territorial or sectoral nature, indicates a willingness on the part of the public authorities to address the issue of urban growth in a multidimensional and transversal manner. However, it is also indicative of a lack of a unified vision of urban development in Morocco. Many initiatives co-exist, with different scales and temporalities and insufficient coordination between them. Despite attempts at formalisation, for example through the SNDU and the Urban Policy leading to the creation of an interministerial commission for urban policy, the transformation of the Solidarity and Housing Fund (Fonds de solidarité et d’habitat – FSH) into the Solidarity and Urban Integration Fund (Fonds de solidarité habitat et integration urbaine – FSHUI), as well as the creation of a National Agency for Urban Renewal and the Rehabilitation of Buildings at Risk of Collapse (Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine et la réhabilitation des bâtiments menaçant ruine – ANRUR), and recently the New Development Model recommending the establishment of a “national reference framework for urban development”, to date Morocco does not have an explicitly formalised national urban policy.
Morocco thus belongs to the category of countries that do not have an “explicit” urban policy according to the OECD categorisation, i.e. a policy formally identified and labelled as such in its title (e.g. “National Urban Policy”, “National Urban Development Policy”, etc.), along with nearly a third of countries that responded to the joint OECD-UN-Habitat survey on the global state of national urban policy in 2020 (OECD/UN-Habitat/UNOPS, 2021[10]). Indeed, Morocco’s national urban policy is “implicit”, i.e. it is a strategic policy that is not explicitly labelled as national urban policy but has an urban angle or a significant impact on urban development (Figure 3.1) (OECD/UN-Habitat/UNOPS, 2021[10]).
Source: OECD/UN Habitat/UNOPS (2024, forthcoming[11]), Global State of National Urban Policy 3.0.
Without a coherent framework for a national urban policy in Morocco, urban planning and development efforts are fragmented, posing the risk of unbalanced urban growth, social inequalities, widening territorial disparities, and inefficient resource management. In addition, the lack of a unified national urban policy vision can hinder the effectiveness of public interventions, which can be conducted in isolation or in sectoral silos, without adequate coordination between different levels of government and stakeholders, and without sufficiently aligned objectives. In addition, the lack of a strategic framework does not provide optimal conditions to meet the challenges of sustainable urban development as defined in the New Urban Agenda.
Urban policy carried out in Morocco is broadly consistent with global trends in national urban policies
Like most countries that responded to the OECD-UN Habitat joint survey on the global state of national urban policy in 2020 (47 countries, or 55% of those who responded), one of the three main objectives of Morocco’s national urban policy is to encourage balanced urban and territorial development. The other two key objectives of Morocco’s urban policy are to promote productive and competitive cities, similar to 28% of the countries surveyed, and to enable cities to adapt to climate change and extreme weather, similar to 10% of the countries surveyed. This last response reflects the specific context of Morocco, which is confronted to the impacts of climate change, with an increase in extreme weather events, including extreme heat episodes and very significant water stress. On the other hand, Morocco differs from the other countries surveyed in that it does not cite “a coherent vision of national urban development” or “the coordination of sectoral policies” as the main objectives of a national urban policy, unlike 44% and 31% of the countries surveyed respectively (Figure 3.2) (OECD/UN-Habitat/UNOPS, 2021[10]).
% of countries responding to this question
Note: The bars in light blue represent Morocco's responses to the 2020 National Urban Policy Survey. The countries surveyed were asked to select three expected outcomes of their national urban policy. A total of 86 countries responded to this question.
Source: OECD/UN-HABITAT/UNOPS (2021[10]), Global State of National Urban Policy 2021: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Delivering Climate Action, https://doi.org/10.1787/96eee083-en.
In terms of the main features of its national urban policy (in the 2020 survey, Morocco refers to the City Policy as an explicit national urban policy), Morocco cites the following characteristics: “defines a strategic, long-term and shared vision for national urban development” (like 90% of the countries that provided an answer to this question); “integrates and coordinates cross-sectoral policies” (similar to 83% of countries that responded to this question); “develops coordination mechanisms between different levels of government” (like 76% of the countries that responded); and “develop implementation mechanisms with legal, regulatory and financial tools and support capacity development” (like 76 % of responding countries) (Figure 3.3). Unlike the 83% of countries that responded to this question in the second survey on national urban policies in 2020, Morocco had not given “applies an integrated territorial perspective, promoting a systems approach to cities and connectivity between rural and urban areas” as one of its main features. However, in the new survey on the global situation of national urban policy 2023, Morocco highlights this feature of its national urban policy, reflecting the increased importance of intermediary cities and rural-urban linkages highlighted in the recent National Urban Structure Plan.
% of countries responding to this question
Note: The light blue bars correspond to Morocco's responses. Countries could select several features of their national urban policy. The question was intended for countries with an “explicit” national urban policy, Morocco responded to this question by giving the “Urban Policy” as an explicit national urban policy. 58 countries responded to this question.
Source: OECD/UN-HABITAT/UNOPS (2021[10]), Global State of National Urban Policy 2021: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Delivering Climate Action, https://doi.org/10.1787/96eee083-en.
In terms of the level of priority given to different themes of national urban policy, Morocco stands out from other countries by paying more attention to human development and climate resilience compared to most of the countries surveyed (see respondents' responses in the Figure 3.4 and Morocco's response in the Table 3.1). These priorities once again reflect the context of the country, which has a low human development index – indeed, despite having moved up three places in the 2023-2024 ranking of the Human Development Index to the 120th place, Morocco is still far behind OECD countries – and is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
% of responses given
Source: OECD/UN-HABITAT/UNOPS (2021[10]), Global State of National Urban Policy 2021: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Delivering Climate Action, https://doi.org/10.1787/96eee083-en.
Source: OECD/UN-HABITAT/UNOPS (2021[10]), Global State of National Urban Policy 2021: Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Delivering Climate Action, https://doi.org/10.1787/96eee083-en.
A new momentum for national urban policy is supported by strong political backing, but still no concrete proposal for a unified national urban policy
Although there is not yet an explicit national urban policy in Morocco, a new momentum, supported by a strong political commitment, has been emerging for several years, along with the backing of numerous royal speeches. For example, the royal speech of October 2017 called for a “New Development Model”(Nouveau Modèle de Développement – NMD) including an integrated national urban policy among its objectives. Similarly, the royal message delivered in December 2017 at the 2nd edition of the Arab Ministerial Forum on Housing and Urban Development called for the development of “a common vision around an integrated system of land-use planning” and “reflection on the adoption of new and innovative mechanisms, allowing the design of a new urban system to ensure a better quality of life for the benefit of citizens”, by making “urban centres a space for inclusion and citizen engagement”. In addition, the announcement of a national urban policy among the objectives of the government programme demonstrates the will to develop an integrated and renewed national urban policy (Banque Mondiale, 2018[12]).
More recently, the National Dialogue on Urban Planning and Housing marks a turning point in national momentum for urban planning and housing. Launched in September 2022 at the initiative of the Ministry of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy, this dialogue brought together stakeholders – elected officials, professionals, investors, experts and representatives of civil society – in order to “establish a national reference framework for transparent, equitable, sustainable and incentivised urban development”. The initiative held regional consultations around four main themes: urban planning and governance; housing supply; support for the rural world and reduction of territorial disparities; and the built environment. These regional consultations were accompanied by the online publication of a digital consultation platform aimed at collecting all proposals and suggestions (MATNUHPV, s.d.[13]). This dialogue with stakeholders appears to be a key step in the formulation of a renewed national urban policy, similar to the initiative of Poland, for example (Box 3.3). Based on citizen debate and strong political support, the results of the National Dialogue made it possible to propose an operational roadmap with 40 measures and 12 reforms staggered over the short, medium and long term.
To renew its National Urban Policy, the Polish government initiated a dialogue with various urban development actors. The national government set up an inter-ministerial committee for the preparation of the new national urban policy, chaired by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy (MDFRP). Sectoral ministries with an impact on urban policy are also members of this committee, as well as representatives of associations such as the Association of Polish Cities, the Union of Polish Metropolises and the Union of Polish Local Governments. During the meetings, representatives of the different ministries and local governments present and discuss proposals related to the objectives of the new national urban policy. The MDFRP cooperates with the Association of Polish Cities to engage and invite cities to submit their proposals and recommendations to renew the policy. The national government also invited the Institute of Urban and Regional Development to provide inputs for the new National Urban Policy.
The National Urban Policy 2030 provides for the establishment of an Executive Council. Its aim will be to support the management and coordination of the implementation of the National Urban Policy, in order to respond to the demands for a stronger body in charge of coordinating activities within the framework of the National Urban Policy and strengthening inter-institutional dialogue.
Source: OECD (2022[14]), National Urban Policy Review of Colombia, OECD Urban Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9ca1caae-en.
The need to respond to new complex and multi-dimensional challenges
The recent crises faced by Morocco, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, or the Al Haouz earthquake in September 2023, have demonstrated Morocco's resilience in the face of crises. This has been achieved through its national solidarity, its ability to coordinate various interventions and the implementation of concrete measures to protect its population and strengthen the country's resilience. However, it also highlighted the limitations of the current framework for managing, regulating and implementing urban development to address the complex and multi-dimensional challenges it faces. The formulation of a renewed National Urban Policy in Morocco is therefore a strategic and necessary response to meet these challenges, but also as a means of making better use of the opportunities linked to urbanisation and other major global transformations.
Rapid demographic changes
As seen in Chapter 2, Morocco has been experiencing rapid urbanisation for several decades. The share of the Moroccan population living in cities has increased from 38.0% in 1975 to 65.2% in 2024 and is expected to reach nearly 70% by 2030 and 75% by 2050. In addition to this rapid urbanisation, Morocco is also facing an ageing population, especially in cities where life expectancy is longer and the fertility rate is lower than in rural areas (in 2021, the life expectancy of men and women in urban areas was 77 years and 79.9 years respectively, compared to 71.5 and 75.6 years in rural areas, while the fertility rate per woman in urban areas is 1.9 compared to 2.4 in rural areas). These demographic trends pose challenges in terms of demand for housing, infrastructure, public services, and jobs in Moroccan cities. This is not only to respond to the rapid increase in the urban population, but also to ensure that cities are suitable for all ages – a set of challenges that must be addressed by the renewed national urban policy.
Accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss and vulnerability to natural disasters
Cities in Morocco are both major sources of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and areas that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Morocco is experiencing an increase in its average temperatures, leading to more intense and frequent heat waves, especially in cities that are affected by the urban heat island phenomenon that amplifies the intensity of heat waves. Droughts are also more severe and frequent, putting a lot of pressure on people's water supplies, especially in urban areas where water demand is higher. Despite the drought episodes, events of high rainfall intensity have also affected several cities in the country, causing floods and floods, such as in Casablanca or Tangier in 2021. Coastal urbanisation in Morocco is particularly marked and another vulnerability factor when it comes to climate change, in particular rising sea levels. These pose a threat to the main coastal infrastructure, residential areas and economic activities, as more than 60% of the population and more than 90% of Moroccan businesses are located in the main coastal cities.
The loss of biodiversity is another key issue for Morocco's national urban policy. While Morocco enjoys a wealth of plant and animal species thanks to the diversity of its ecosystems and natural environments, Morocco’s biodiversity is experiencing significant erosion due to rapid urbanisation, increasing land occupation, overexploitation of natural resources and pollution. The preservation of green spaces and the promotion of biodiversity in urban areas are therefore essential, and these considerations must be integrated into urban development policies and programmes.
Moroccan cities are also vulnerable to natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Morocco is located in an active seismic zone, particularly along the Atlas Mountains and in the north of the country. Towns and villages built on these seismic risk areas, often with structures that do not comply with anti-seismic standards, are particularly vulnerable to the risk of earthquakes. This vulnerability is accentuated by socio-economic factors such as population density in certain at-risk areas, poverty and the lack of resilient infrastructure.
Morocco has made tangible progress in strengthening its resilience to natural disasters and climate change by gradually moving from an emergency response approach to a more integrated proactive approach to risk management based on risk reduction, anticipation and protection. Morocco’s renewed national urban policy however must integrate responses to climate change and ensure sustainable development, while promoting greener and more energy-efficient cities to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve the climate goals of net-zero emissions and energy transition.
Rethinking the metropolitisation phenomenon
“Metropolisation” has so far been the model of urbanisation in Morocco, with the development of a few large cities that concentrate a large part of the country's population and economic activity. Six cities and their functional urban area are home to nearly 60% of Morocco's population. These are the functional urban areas of Casablanca (23.4% of the total population), Rabat (10.9%), Fez (6.9%), Marrakech (6.2%), Tangier (5.7%) and Agadir (5.5%). This concentration of populations, economic activities and services in these few large urban centres offers several advantages for the country's development, in particular thanks to the effects of agglomeration. Indeed, the geographical proximity of economic actors, facilitating the exchange of information, collaboration and innovation, allows cities to be more competitive, to attract investment, and to promote innovation (Ahrend et al., 2017[15]).
However, metropolisation presents many challenges (see Box 3.4 for the case of Casablanca). One of the major challenges associated with metropolisation in Morocco is urban sprawl, which sees cities expand on their periphery in often disorderly ways. Urban sprawl often comes with many negative consequences, including excessive consumption of agricultural land, increased pressure on infrastructure and public services, and increased motorised travel, congestion, and pollution. Metropolisation and urban sprawl also accentuate socio-spatial inequalities, with the least well-off sections of the population often finding themselves relegated to underserved peri-urban areas. In addition to the disparities between city centres and the peripheries, metropolisation has also seen the gap between highly urbanised regions and other regions widen. Indeed, metropolises attract most public and private investment, both national and international, leading to an imbalance compared to smaller cities and rural areas. In addition, young people and skilled workers in rural areas and small towns are encouraged to migrate to the metropolises in search of better educational and employment opportunities, accentuating the rural exodus and weakening the development potential of the less urbanised areas of the country. The quality and diversity of services is also significantly higher in metropolitan areas, with people living in remote areas of functional urban areas having to travel long distances to access essential services. Finally, the intense urban concentration in certain regions of Morocco exerts significant pressure on local resources, accentuating the environmental challenges of cities (e.g. in terms of waste management and pollution) (Annex 3.B).
The challenges of metropolisation have been highlighted by recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, the spread of the pandemic had challenged the resilience of cities in Morocco, and in particular metropolises. In Morocco, the cities most affected by COVID-19, particularly by the economic impacts of the pandemic, have been metropolises and industrial and tourist cities, characterised by a high demographic concentration and/or by their connectivity and integration into global supply and trade chains, also highlighting the vulnerability of metropolises highly dependent on specific economic sectors such as tourism. Recent crises have also revealed the existing inequalities within metropolises. Disadvantaged populations, often housed in densely populated and unhealthy neighbourhoods, have been particularly affected by the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.
These challenges therefore call for effective urban planning and governance to optimise the benefits of metropolisation while mitigating its potential pitfalls. An integrated national urban policy that reconciles economic development and sustainability is crucial to promote controlled urbanisation, foster the development of efficient transport and encourage the intelligent densification of urban spaces to avoid the harmful effects of urban sprawl.
Morocco's economic engine...
Casablanca is the largest agglomeration in Morocco, both in terms of surface area (17 000 hectares) and population with its 4.4 million inhabitants in its functional urban area (i.e. the city centre and its commuting zone). It is also the economic lung of Morocco, with the Casablanca-Settat region generating about a third of the national GDP. The region's GDP per capita is among the highest in the country, reaching MAD 50 129 (about EUR 4 600) per capita in Casablanca-Settat in 2020, 1.6 times higher than the national average. Casablanca also embodies Morocco's openness to the world, in particular thanks to its port, Morocco's leading commercial port and one of the most important in Africa. It is also home to the Casablanca Stock Exchange and many international financial institutions.
… which concentrates many challenges
However, Casablanca is also the city of social disparities where wealth and misery rub shoulders. While Casablanca is the centre of finance and business in Morocco, it also faces many challenges, such as rapid urban sprawl, a significant presence of slums and basic settlements, as well as a major problem of congestion and waste management. Casablanca's urban sprawl has been rapid in recent decades: among urban areas with more than one million inhabitants, Casablanca experienced the highest growth in population and urbanised area between 1975 and 2014, multiplying its number of inhabitants by 2.3 and its built-up area by 2.5. Casablanca is also the site of the largest concentration of slums in Morocco, with 17% of its housing stock made up of slums or basic housing. Traffic jams are common in Casablanca, caused by an overuse of private vehicles, numerous works, and an insufficient supply of public transport to meet demand. This congestion has many negative consequences, including an increase in air and noise pollution, a decrease in the well-being of residents, and the economic costs caused by the loss of workers' time, reducing productivity, and the decrease in the attractiveness of the city. Casablanca also faces a very significant waste management challenge, with 4 000 tons of waste produced per day. However, projects such as the Treatment, Recovery and Landfill Centre (Centre de Traitement, de Valorisation et d’Enfouissement – CTVE) could improve waste management in Casablanca.
Source: Casa Baia (2022[16]), Casablanca: details of the new landfill and household waste recovery centre, https://casabaia.ma/casablanca-le-detail-du-nouveau-centre-denfouissement-et-de-valorisation-des-dechets-menagers/.
The digital transition
The digital transition is one of the megatrends of the twenty-first century, transforming the economy and society, fostering innovation, generating more efficiency and improving services, thus stimulating growth. The digital transition encompasses the widespread adoption of digital technologies that are revolutionising the way people interact, how businesses operate, and how governments deliver services to their citizens. This transition is driven by innovations such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and big data, which make it possible to collect, analyse and share large amounts of data. The digital transition also offers unprecedented opportunities for cities, improving urban management and citizens' quality of life, and promoting sustainable development, including in the context of smart cities. Morocco is a pioneer in Africa in terms of digital transition with the implementation of successive national digital strategies aimed at promoting the development and adoption of new technologies, and the creation of the Digital Development Agency, responsible for implementing the State's strategy for digital development and promoting the dissemination of digital tools and the development of their use among citizens. During the COVID-19 crisis, the Moroccan government has continued its policy of improving broadband connectivity, while encouraging companies to seize the opportunities created by Moroccans' new lifestyles and habits such as teleworking, distance learning, etc. (OCDE, 2019[17]) (OECD, 2019[18]) (OECD, 2023[19]).
However, the digital transition also raises significant challenges for cities, such as the risk of widening the digital divide between those who have access to information and communication technologies and those who do not, or data security and privacy concerns that need to be addressed through adequate smart city data governance (OECD, 2023[20]).
In order to enable Moroccan cities to seize the opportunities enabled by the digital transition such as improving the quality of life of city dwellers, optimising urban services, promoting citizen participation, increasing energy efficiency, and supporting economic development, while confronting its challenges, Morocco can rely on the renewed national urban policy as a lever to promote investments in the digital infrastructure, strengthening the digital skills of the population, and putting in place regulatory frameworks and security measures to protect citizens' personal data and ensure the security of infrastructure against cyberattacks.
Applying the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and its Implementation Toolkit to develop Morocco's renewed National Urban Policy
The OECD Principles on Urban Policy provide a solid framework for developing Morocco's renewed National Urban Policy. The OECD Principles on Urban Policy, adopted in 2019 during the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the OECD Regional Development Policy Committee in Athens, provide a guide for national and local governments to put in place competitive, sustainable and inclusive urban development policies. The Principles are structured around three axes: (i) how to target the right scale of action for all cities; (ii) how to adopt a coherent, integrated and effective strategy; and (iii) how to involve the various stakeholders in the design, implementation and evaluation of urban policy (Box 3.6).
Since 2019, the Principles have served as a source of inspiration for many OECD countries, regions and cities to improve policy and institutional frameworks for urban development. In Chile, for example, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has launched the “Cities 2050” programme, which aims to strengthen the capacity of cities to develop urban development plans, thus implementing Principle 10 “Strengthen the capacity of actors in cities to innovate and fulfil their missions effectively, efficiently and inclusively”. Its design recognises the OECD Principles as a key accelerator of the urban agenda in Chile. Since 2021, Hungary has been preparing its Spatial Planning Policy in line with the long-term development objectives of the National and Regional Development Concept using the Principles as the cross-cutting basis of its policy. For example, Hungary has launched a special support programme to strengthen rural-urban linkages, thus implementing Principle 3 "Support interdependencies and co-operation between urban and rural areas". Poland, for its part, attaches particular importance to less developed and resilient medium-sized cities in its updated national urban policy, thus implementing Principle 1 “Maximise the potential of cities of all sizes to advance national and global prosperity and well-being over time” (Box 3.5) (OECD, 2022[21]).
In 2013, Chile approved its National Urban Development Policy (Politica Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano). Among the mechanisms for implementing this policy, the country had established a National Council for Urban Development (Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano), which is now merged with the National Council for Rural Development (Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Rural) to create the National Council for Territorial Development (Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Territorial). More recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development launched the Cities 2050 programme, which aims to strengthen the capacity of cities to develop urban development plans. Its design recognises the OECD Principles on Urban Policy as a key accelerator of the national urban agenda in Chile.
Since 2021, Hungary has been preparing its spatial planning policy (Nemzeti Településpolitika) in line with the long-term development objectives of the National and Regional Development Strategy for 2030. The OECD Principles on Urban Policy are a cross-cutting element of the policy. For example, the policy aims to harness the potential of cities of all sizes, in line with Principle 1, by encouraging the implementation of local plans. Hungary is also implementing Principle 3 “Support interdependencies and co-operation between urban and rural areas” by launching a special support programme to strengthen links for more than 60 municipalities. In addition, Hungary uses Principle 7 “Foster a national and multi-level urban policy approach” to make development planning simpler and more transparent, creating the conditions for integrated, modern and digital planning of housing and land-use development.
Poland uses the OECD Principles on Urban Policy to update its National Urban Policy. This new version of Poland's National Urban Policy pays special attention to less developed and less resilient medium-sized cities, as well as territories that are at risk of marginalisation in the long term, applying in particular Principles 1 “Maximise the potential of cities of all sizes” and 3 “Support interdependencies and co-operation between urban and rural areas”.
Source: OECD (2022[21]), Implementation toolkit of the OECD Principles on urban policy, OECD Regional Development Papers, No. 31, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/630e0341-en.
While these Principles should serve as a reference framework to support the development of Morocco's renewed national urban policy, the toolkit for their implementation can also offer a compass for applying the Principles in Morocco by drawing on concrete international experiences. The OECD Implementation toolkit of the OECD Principles on urban policy includes a practical self-assessment guide for governments to assess the state of their urban policy, its operational mechanisms and its results in four steps: (i) define the purpose and scope of the evaluation; ii) for each Principle, carry out a diagnosis of the public policies already in place, the process of implementation of these policies, and their impact; (iii) identify options for reform and policy improvement; and (iv) decide on actions and reforms to be carried out (Figure 3.5). This self-assessment guide allows policymakers to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their urban policy through the lens of the OECD Principles, identify any missing preconditions, and make informed decisions to improve public policies, based on concrete evidence (OECD, 2022[21]).
Finally, Morocco's renewed national urban policy can draw on the OECD's messages and key recommendations on many topics such as risk management, territorial development, contracts between levels of government, and youth participation (Annex 3.B).
Source: OECD (2022[21]), Implementation toolkit of the OECD Principles on urban policy, OECD Regional Development Papers, No. 31, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/630e0341-en.
The OECD Principles on urban policy consolidate the lessons of more than 20 years of OECD work on cities and urban policy to guide governments in implementing an urban future that is competitive, sustainable and inclusive; supporting governments to pursue better policies and improve the well-being of all urban dwellers; preparing cities for technological, demographic and environmental changes; and assisting Governments in meeting their commitments under major global programmes. There are 11 Principles and they are organised around three pillars (Scale, Strategy and Stakeholders):
1. Targeting an effective scale of policy action in all cities:
Principle 1: Maximise the potential of cities of all sizes to advance national and global prosperity and well-being over time
Principle 2: Adapt policy action to the place where citizens live and work
Principle 3: Support interdependencies and co-operation between urban and rural areas
2. Adopt a coherent, integrated and effective strategy to build smart, sustainable and inclusive cities:
Principle 4: Set a clear vision for national urban policy that is fit for the future
Principle 5: Leverage the potential of cities of all sizes for advancing environmental quality and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Principle 6: Promote inclusive cities that provide opportunities for all
Principle 7: Foster a national and multi-level urban policy approach that sets incentives to align and integrate sectoral policies to jointly promote development and well-being in cities
Principle 8: Harness adequate funding for effective implementation of responsibilities for urban policy at all levels of government
3. Engaging stakeholders in a co-designed, co-implemented, and co-monitored urban policy:
Principle 9: Promote stakeholder engagement in the design and implementation of urban policy
Principle 10: Strengthen the capacity of actors in cities to innovate and fulfil their duties effectively, efficiently and inclusively
Principle 11: Foster monitoring, evaluating and accountability of urban governance and policy outcomes
Source: OECD (2019[22]), OECD Principles on Urban Policy.
The renewed national urban policy must be based on international frameworks and commitments
To be effective and relevant in the current global context and to respond to the multi-dimensional challenges generated by global megatrends, Morocco's renewed national urban policy must be based on international frameworks and commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the principles of the New Urban Agenda, the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Morocco's commitment to recognise the primacy of international agreements, particularly concerning sustainable development, is anchored in the 2011 Constitution, where the issue of sustainable development in Morocco is addressed within a framework of regional land use planning ensuring the preservation of natural potential without compromising the rights of future generations (Articles 31, 35 and 143).
The Sustainable Development Goals provide a universal framework for addressing the challenges of urbanisation, including SDG 11 which aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. However, SDG 11 is not the only sustainable development goal that is relevant to Morocco's cities. Other SDGs are equally relevant, particularly in the context of Morocco, such as SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), and SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production). The voluntary review of the implementation of the SDGs in Morocco distinguishes three types of SDGs according to their state of progress (Haut-Commissariat au Plan, 2020[23]):
Targets that have already been achieved, including those of eradicating hunger, reducing maternal and infant mortality, generalising primary schooling, achieving gender parity in school cycles and universal access to water and electricity.
Targets that will be achieved before 2030, such as the fight against poverty, the improvement of nutrition for children under 5 years old, and the generalisation of schooling in all school cycles.
Targets that represent major challenges to be achieved by 2030, such as reducing social, territorial and gender inequalities, promoting economic growth and decent work, especially for young people and women, preserving marine and terrestrial biodiversity, and combating the effects of climate change.
Aligning Morocco's national urban policy with the SDGs will better target key needs-based interventions, such as access to affordable housing, sustainable mobility, and waste management, while promoting equitable access to public opportunities and services, in order to accelerate the achievement of this third category of targets.
Similarly, Morocco's national urban policy must affirm the crucial role played by cities in achieving the SDGs. Indeed, most SDG-related policies and investments are shared responsibility between different levels of government. It is estimated that 65% of the 169 targets underlying the 17 SDGs will not be achieved without the adequate involvement of local and regional governments. Like many OECD countries, Morocco must therefore rely on the SDGs as a tool to improve multi-level governance, and in particular vertical coordination. For example, the national governments of Germany and Japan are promoting the “territorialisation” of the SDGs by supporting cities and regions in their own SDG strategies, both financially and in terms of capacity building (OECD, 2020[24]).
Morocco's national urban policy can also draw on other global frameworks. The New Urban Agenda adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in 2016 proposes guidelines for the planning and management of urban spaces on which Morocco's national urban policy can build to promote urban growth models that avoid urban sprawl and the negative environmental consequences of urbanisation, and promote the principles of efficient density, social mixing, integration of urban services, and citizen participation. Integrating the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement into Morocco's national urban policy would also strengthen the commitment of local governments and cities against climate change, encouraging the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and emphasising the resilience of infrastructure and populations. Finally, the Sendai Framework provides guidance to reduce natural disaster risks through improved risk governance, emergency preparedness and the promotion of resilience.
A roadmap for a renewed national urban policy in Morocco
To face urbanisation challenges, but also to take advantage of the opportunities of urbanisation and global megatrends, and to meet the present and future needs of cities and their inhabitants by taking into account both the local specificities of Morocco, in particular the presence of traditional urban fabrics (medinas, ksour, kasbah, etc.) and global commitments, Morocco must put in place a renewed national urban policy that is unified and coherent. After the multiple recent crises and shocks that Morocco has faced, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the Al Haouz earthquake, it will also be an opportunity to rethink cities and urban development paradigms and to engage in a reflection on how cities can anticipate and respond to future crises.
To respond to increasingly complex multi-dimensional challenges, Morocco's renewed national urban policy could be structured around four pillars in line with the guidance provided by the OECD Principles on Urban Policy:
Foster economic development and reduce territorial disparities (Principles 1 and 3). This first pillar aims to stimulate the economic growth of cities while encouraging balanced territorial development. It aims at productive and competitive cities as the main outcome of the implementation of the national urban policy. To achieve this objective, the national urban policy must strengthen the role of metropolises as drivers of economic activity, competitiveness, employment and innovation in Morocco, ensuring that the positive economic benefits of metropolisation benefit the entire national territory and aiming to build a cohesive and prosperous urban network. To promote the economic development of cities, it is also necessary to consider peri-urban areas as an essential area for the economic development of cities. This implies the improvement of infrastructure, particularly transport to improve connectivity not only within the city but also between city centres and the periphery, as well as interurban and digital connectivity. Effective and transparent land management should also be put in place to encourage investment in cities. In order to reduce territorial disparities, it is necessary to maximise the potential of cities of all sizes, and in particular small and medium-sized ones, to become poles and drivers of growth and to contribute in a sustainable way to the prosperity and well-being of their populations, and to implement strategies that value interdependencies and collaboration between urban and rural areas.
Promote inclusive growth in cities (Principle 6). This second pillar aims to build cities for all and ensure that all urban dwellers have equitable access to opportunities in public services, affordable and quality housing, transport, education, health, jobs and economic opportunities, cultural facilities, leisure and public spaces, thereby strengthening social cohesion. Fostering access to opportunities for all in cities also helps support the economic growth of cities and the country, enabling all individuals to participate fully in the economy, which increases productivity, stimulates innovation and business creation, and creates an enabling environment for investment. This pillar could be structured around the following main axes: (i) ensuring universal access for all inhabitants of urban and peri-urban areas to essential services that drive social inclusion, such as water and sanitation, energy, education, transport, health, culture, while also promoting digital inclusion; (ii) promote local action to support employment and entrepreneurship in cities, including by sharing competences between the national and local levels and adapting policies to local contexts; (iii) promote access to employment opportunities for all by setting up training and integration plans; (iv) refocus the City Policy (Politique de la Ville) on its initial objectives, i.e. on its priorities in the fight against precariousness and exclusion, and allow for better targeting of priority neighbourhoods or sites; (v) Promote access to affordable, sustainable and adequate housing, both in terms of quality and location, in particular by promoting a reasoned, better quality and better targeted social housing policy; (vi) promote access to public spaces for all in cities, including women, the elderly, children, youth, persons with disabilities, and more generally persons with special needs; (vii) integrate vulnerable population groups, putting in place targeted measures to ensure their full participation in urban life; and viii) seize the opportunity of the major upcoming global events (Africa Cup of Nations 2025 and World Cup 2030) to develop social and solidarity economy strategies and initiatives in cities.
Build environmentally sustainable Moroccan cities that promote climate change mitigation (Principle 5). The third pillar advocates responsible management of resources and the promotion of sustainability goals in Moroccan cities. This pillar aims to promote urban development that is environmentally friendly, in particular by promoting the energy transition, and that supports the achievement of Morocco's climate objectives. This pillar may be based, inter alia, on the potential benefits of urban density and urban form to minimise environmental externalities and CO2 emissions by: (i) promoting the decarbonisation of the built environment and urban infrastructure, including residential buildings, through the integration of building standards and energy renovation programmes for existing buildings; ii) encouraging the decarbonisation of urban and peri-urban public transport as an alternative to the private car when credible alternatives for users exist; and iii) by encouraging soft mobility through the development of dedicated infrastructures such as cycle paths and sidewalks allowing safe walking. Other actions that can help achieve this objective include: (i) strengthen incentives to encourage energy efficiency in planning documents and permitting processes; ii) implement nature-based solutions (NBS), such as the creation of urban parks and green spaces, and promote the protection of biodiversity and solutions such as urban agriculture; iii) integrate water issues at the heart of national urban policy; (iv) improve solid waste management in cities, including through the implementation of circular economy strategies for more efficient use of natural and land resources, and more sustainable consumption and production patterns; and (v) promote the transition to a more sustainable tourism sector, including by integrating sustainability into tourism policies, promoting more sustainable practices such as waste reduction, energy efficiency and water conservation, and raising awareness among tourists.
Strengthen the economic, social and environmental resilience of Moroccan cities, including their capacity to adapt to climate change (Principle 5). Promoting resilience as a central pillar of Morocco's national urban policy is essential for cities that face increasing risks, ranging from natural disasters, climate change impacts, health crises, and macroeconomic shocks. This pillar therefore underlines the importance of preparedness, the adaptability of cities and their ability to bounce back from a shock. To achieve this objective of resilience, Morocco's renewed national urban policy will be able to draw inspiration from the reconstruction and resilience-building efforts implemented in the aftermath of the Al Haouz earthquake. Several actions can be taken to achieve this objective, including: (i) modernise the urban planning regulatory framework to adapt it to current and future challenges; ii) integrate the risk dimension into all territorial plans through the development of emergency plans, the establishment of early warning systems, the development of hazard observatories, and the generalisation of the mapping of priority risk areas for interventions; iii) operationalise the Major Hazards Observatory; (iv) better integrate the resilience of infrastructure, services, economy and people into urban planning documents; (v) invest in the construction and renovation of infrastructure and buildings that are able to withstand extreme events, such as buildings that comply with seismic standards or drainage systems to prevent flooding; (vi) systematically integrate climate change adaptation priorities into urban planning; (vii) raising awareness of a culture of risk and resilience; and (viii) maximise the potential of data and new technologies to model risks and their impacts on populations and infrastructure.
To achieve these four pillars, several key enabling factors from the OECD Principles on urban policy are needed, including:
Promote strategic and integrated urban planning (Principles 7, 9 and 11): Integrated strategic urban planning fosters policy coherence by establishing a common vision and long-term objectives for urban development, involving all stakeholders (different levels of government, businesses, citizens), thus ensuring that all actions and initiatives are aligned with coherent objectives. In addition, integrated strategic urban planning encourages coordination between different public policy sectors. By integrating policies, strategic planning also allows for a better allocation of financial and human resources, avoiding duplication and ensuring the efficient use of public funds. To foster strategic and integrated urban planning, it is necessary to: (i) adopt a forward-looking approach to urban planning based on reliable data; ii) prioritise densification and urban renewal; iii) encourage a flexible approach to planning that takes into account territorial specificities and different contexts, without systematically resorting to exceptional urban planning; (iv) ensure greater coherence between different documents and levels of planning, and between different actors; (v) monitor and evaluation of planning; and vi) maximise the opportunities for urban planning at the metropolitan level, particularly according to living and employment areas.
Strengthen vertical and intersectoral coordination at the national and local levels (between municipalities) and promote stakeholder participation and engagement (Principles 2, 7 and 9): Strategic, technical and territorial coordination between the different levels of government in urban policy in Morocco is essential to achieving harmonious and sustainable urban development. A lack of adequate coordination can indeed lead to negative consequences, such as inefficiency and duplication of efforts, delays in the implementation of projects and incoherence of policies and strategies, which can impact the quality of life of citizens, degrade the urban environment by inefficiently managing resources, compromise the ability of cities to respond to crises, and erode citizens' trust in governments. Intersectoral coordination must also be strengthened in order to avoid that the various policies that have an impact on urban development are thought of in silos. To this end, it is necessary to institutionalise the principles and mechanisms of vertical and horizontal coordination by putting in place incentives, regulations and mechanisms to manage trade-offs, including budgetary ones. It is also necessary to evaluate the prerogatives and coordination missions of the three levels of regional, prefectural and communal government with regard to the organic laws, and strengthen the role of the prefectures/provinces and that of the urban agencies in terms of intersectoral consultation. Morocco's renewed national urban policy will be able to rely on mechanisms under development such as the National Framework for the Convergence of Public Policies (CNCPP) set up by the Ministry of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies (MICEPP) and which will include the requirements, processes and good practices to be applied throughout the life cycle of a public policy (design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). In addition, in order to implement an efficient national urban policy, it is necessary to promote governance and territorial policy that goes beyond the purely administrative borders of cities and takes into account functional urban areas, i.e. cities and their living and employment area. Urban policies developed and implemented at the level of the functional urban area make it possible to provide a response adapted to territorial realities by integrating socio-economic, environmental and mobility issues that go beyond administrative borders. In addition, planning public services and infrastructure at the scale of the functional urban area allows for better coordination and ensures greater coherence in the implementation of urban development strategies. It is therefore necessary to encourage coordination between systems and networks of cities through inter-municipal cooperation, and in particular to strengthen metropolitan governance to respond to the specific challenges of certain territories, which could be done, for example, by transforming certain Intermunicipal Co-operation Establishments (ECIs) into metropolitan authorities. Finally, there is a need to involve all sectors of society, including urban dwellers, by putting in place institutional mechanisms to ensure the participation of vulnerable population groups, raising awareness of the value of their participation, and using innovative mechanisms to engage with the private sector and academia, the voluntary sector, and civil society.
Promote the systematic evaluation of the national urban policy and its outcomes and impacts (Principle 11): A strategic urban policy should be effective in responding to current and future urban challenges such as globalisation, climate change, demographic changes such as population ageing and population growth and decline, migration, and the digital transition. It is therefore necessary to assess the extent to which Morocco's renewed national urban policy meets these expectations and delivers the expected results for the well-being of the population, both strategically and operationally. To this end, several actions can be implemented, such as: i) clarifying the objectives and targets that Morocco's national urban policy must achieve; ii) integrating an urban policy evaluation approach, defining key performance indicators to review the actions put in place; (iii) promoting the use of data in public policy decision-making, including big, smart, open and geospatial data; (iv) investing in the modernisation of statistical processes; (v) strengthening accountability mechanisms to prevent corruption risks, engage citizens, and promote integrity and transparency, including in city public procurement; and vi) setting up observatories at the level of the metropolises and regions in charge of this evaluation.
Optimise urbanisation financing (Principle 8): To meet the present and future needs related to urbanisation, for example in terms of housing, infrastructure, transport and public services, Morocco must be able to mobilise adequate financing. The first step is to define financing needs in the context of prospective planning of urban projects and infrastructure in the medium and long term, while taking advantage of urban planning tools and schemes to optimise investment needs. Second, it is necessary to draw on a wide range of financing tools, both public and private, from optimising public investment capacities to mobilising the private sector and international cooperation through official development assistance. For example, governments can use economic instruments such as taxes and royalties to catalyse the necessary revenues, or mobilise private investment by leveraging the New Investment Charter, use land value capture instruments, public-private partnerships, or encourage social and environmental impact financing such as green finance and bond issuance. (OECD/Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, PKU-Lincoln Institute Center, 2022[25])
Strengthen strategic, technical and human capacities at the national and subnational levels (Principle 10): Strengthening strategic, technical and human capacities at the national and subnational levels is crucial to implement Morocco's national urban policy, particularly to address the increasing complexity of the challenges faced by cities, and to take advantage of new innovative methods and technologies to confront them. In addition, advanced regionalisation aims to transfer more powers and competences to local authorities, including municipalities. Local capacities must therefore be strengthened to enable better planning and management of cities. To this end, it is necessary to encourage municipalities to define a clear vision of their current capacities, to promote continuous training for subnational government staff, to establish school for urban professions, to use digital tools to build capacity, and to encourage continuity of public action and independence from electoral cycles.
Source: Authors' elaboration.
References
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[1] Motib, I. et F. Fatah (2020), « Limites des « documents d’urbanisme » comme instruments de la planification urbaine dans l’amélioration du fonctionnement des villes marocaines », Revue Espace Géographique et Société Marocaine, vol. 37/38.
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[31] OCDE (2021), Renforcer l’autonomie et la confiance des jeunes au Maroc, Examens de l’OCDE sur la gouvernance publique, Éditions OCDE, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/588c5c07-fr.
[22] OCDE (2019), Principes de l’OCDE sur la politique urbaine, https://www.oecd.org/cfe/cities/Principes-OCDE-sur-la-politique-urbaine.pdf.
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[26] OCDE (2016), Étude de l’OCDE sur la gestion des risques au Maroc, Éditions OCDE, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264267145-fr.
[19] OECD (2023), « How can smart cities boost the net-zero transition? : Proceedings of the 3rd OECD Roundtable on Smart Cities and Inclusive Growth (3 July 2023) », OECD Regional Development Papers, n° 65, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/bc554887-en.
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To improve risk management, Morocco can (OCDE, 2016[26]):
Develop a holistic strategy with a common long-term vision and shared objectives, thereby making risk-related policies a national priority
Establish a national risk assessment programme
Strengthen the culture of risk among public decision-makers, citizens and companies
Develop an incentive framework to increase risk prevention and resilience efforts
Continue to promote greater flexibility in emergency response by improving the level of preparedness of all actors involved, introducing early warning systems
Adopt a fiscal approach that supports disaster risk financing in public accounts by incorporating estimates of potential future damages
Since the late 1990s, Morocco has been on a stable development trajectory, with sustained growth and gradual reforms. This has led to the diversification of the economy, poverty reduction and advances in education. Strategic choices, such as state involvement in the economy and trade openness, as well as political and social reforms, have transformed the Moroccan economy. Morocco can further accelerate its development thanks to the “demographic windfall”, but must massively create quality jobs, improve training and strengthen the coherence of public policies. To this end, Morocco can (OCDE, 2018[27]):
Make the industrial offer more competitive by supporting innovation and strengthening logistics and inland transport
Increase the level of training to boost growth by acting on financial and human resources, on system inputs, and on the mode of governance of the education system
Address the mismatch between training and employment by bringing the provision of university and technical training closer to the needs of the labour market and by developing lifelong learning
Strengthen the role of sector strategies in policy coherence by improving sector planning and policymaking, strengthening public policy coordination, and developing a culture of evaluation within the administration
To improve the integrity of the public sector and strengthen trust in Moroccan institutions, Morocco can implement a number of actions building on the long-term national anti-corruption strategy (OCDE, 2018[28]):
Strengthening budget transparency
Ensuring integrity in government procurement
Criminalising corruption
Strengthening tax administration
Promoting efficient and healthy markets
Improving the integrity of the private sector
Regulating lobbying to prevent the capture of public policies
Encouraging reporting of corruption by strengthening whistleblower protection
Empowering civil society
Supporting an independent and dynamic media activity
To strengthen the implementation of territorial development policies, it is necessary to (OCDE, 2018[29]):
Enhance the effectiveness of reform implementation by improving dialogue among stakeholders
Set policies at the right scale
Engage in a multi-level territorial dialogue, with the involvement of civil society and the private sector to take into account the emergence of metropolises
Support the growing urbanisation of Morocco through the development of indicators, the deepening of knowledge of metropolitan perimeters and the modalities of their governance at the scale
Support the implementation of CREMs to strengthen urban-rural links
Strengthen the production and use of territorial indicators capable of feeding territorial public action, at the national and local levels, within the framework of shared mechanisms
Better coordinate public action by the different levels of government by clarifying the competences and resources of each
Strengthen capacities at the national, regional and local levels as part of a process of readability, effectiveness and coherence of public policies for territorial development
Ensure truly inclusive participatory processes
Establish a high-level, multi-sectoral and multi-level coordination committee to conduct integrated territorial development policies
The Checklist of priorities for a State-Region contract aimed at inclusive, sustainable and resilient territorial development proposes 10 priorities relating to the three stages of State-Region contracting (consultation; negotiation and signature; monitoring and evaluation) as well as innovative contractual modalities adapted for countries familiar with the use of contracts and for their new users in a decentralisation process (OCDE, 2023[30])
This Checklist applies to the case of Morocco and leads to the following recommendations in favour of the “progressiveness and differentiation” that govern the implementation of the regionalisation reform:
Systematically and formally shared diagnoses and the identification of priorities for regional development must guide the consultation phase prior to the signing of the contract. The diagnoses, communicated to all stakeholders, must take into account national and regional development orientations, be based on territorial reference indicators, and include financial commitments for the implementation of the contract. This phase must also allow the mobilisation of the relevant actors, and promote the formal consultation of the stakeholders concerned by the implementation of the contract (in particular the economic world and the inhabitants, the ultimate beneficiaries);
The negotiation and signature phase must begin with a step of identifying the parties involved in the contract, to ensure that the key players in the implementation of the contract are also the signatories, in order to promote its execution. This negotiation and signature phase should also allow the establishment of a formalised negotiation system at the regional and interministerial levels, around a legitimate coordinating authority for each of the two main parties, the State and the Region, signatories of the contract. The negotiation will promote a sequencing that will first allow agreement to be reached on the priority objectives of the contract. Finally, this phase should also lead to the signing of reciprocal commitments – including financial commitments – by the stakeholders; and a credible timeline of actions and achievements. This provisional phasing of the activities to be carried out will also make it possible to prioritise, or revise the hierarchy, of the actions to be included in the contract, according to the new public policy priorities (particularly in the event of a major crisis or disaster). The adaptability of State-Region contractual commitments is essential to the resilience of regional development;
The monitoring and evaluation phase must establish an appropriate governance system that will allow the representativeness and appropriation of the State-Region contract by all the actors contributing to its implementation. This adapted governance system must also make it possible, when circumstances so require, to modulate the scope of the interlocutors, the schedule for the execution of the contract and/or the contractual priorities, with the same concern for adaptation and resilience mentioned above. In particular, an internal monitoring system (carried out by the signatories or their representatives) and/or external monitoring (citizens, companies, etc.) must promote the performance of the contract. Finally, future contracts should include an appropriate evaluation mechanism to determine the validity of the contract, measure its performance, and suggest improvement measures to inform the development of contracts for the next period.
To support Moroccan youth actors in the development and implementation of public policies and services that meet the needs of young people, it is recommended to (OCDE, 2021[31]):
Further develop the normative framework for youth by:
Initiating a reflection to complete and improve the existing legal and regulatory framework, in particular to promote the election of young people to local elections;
Breaking down the existing regulatory framework to specify the governance, composition, role and means of existing participatory mechanisms and institutions specific to youth;
Continuing the development of the legal framework relating to associative commitment.
Implement an integrated government approach in the development of public youth policies by:
Updating and implementing an integrated governance framework for youth that would include an inter-ministerial committee for youth (based on the existing one for sectoral policy), a precise and concrete action plan associated with institutional communication adapted to the expectations of young people, as well as a monitoring and evaluation system to regularly update the relevance of the actions envisaged.
Supporting the territorialisation of youth policies by integrating youth into the entire cycle of local government development plans, strengthening the performance of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports at the regional level and empowering territorial actors in the field of youth.
Strengthen institutional capacities and multisectoral coordination dedicated to youth by:
Initiating a reflection on the modernisation of the management of human resources for young people, in particular on the distribution of skills, the training of staff and the identification of mobility opportunities to develop their action and capacities and allow greater agility;
Consolidating horizontal and vertical institutional coordination, in particular through the strengthening of the governance of the Interministerial Committee on Youth and the pooling of skills between all levels of government;
Supporting the technical, financial and human capacities of institutions and mechanisms dedicated to youth (youth centres, Advisory Council for Youth and Associative Action) as a whole and more regular exchanges between the different levels of government;
Ensuring the full operationalisation and institutionalisation of youth consultation bodies at regional and local levels.
Integrate a “youth” dimension into the formulation of public policies by:
Capitalising on existing tools and mechanisms (such as participatory budgeting initiatives developed with youth) to systematise their use, in particular to foster the development of a budgeting process that takes into account youth-oriented public spending and whose information is accessible to young people;
Strengthening the capacity of public decision-makers to anticipate the impact of new laws and regulations on different groups of the population according to their age, gender or region;
Strengthening the collection and availability of data disaggregated by age and sex, in particular by optimising the use of existing data and information collection organisations in Morocco.
Enable the participation of Moroccan youth in public life by:
Recognising, protecting and promoting civic space as an enabling environment for young people to relate to public institutions;
Putting in place incentives and innovative forms of participation to remobilise the interest of young people and facilitate their participation in political decision-making;
Rethinking the participation of young people throughout the public policy cycle in a comprehensive manner through strategic and coherent planning of participation opportunities, information and communication adapted to informed participation, and the strengthening of existing participation mechanisms to support a shift in dialogue modes towards greater regularity, reciprocity and more innovative formats;
Supporting the acquisition of a culture of commitment and participation from an early age through the strengthening of civic and citizenship education - in and out of school - as well as associative involvement.