Living in Lourenço Marques in the early 20th century: urban planning, development, and well-being

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the complexity of the daily life of Lourenco Marques according to its multiracial and multicultural social composition, on what were the main constraints to the city’s development, the expectations of the population and on how colonial policy brought rational solutions. Putrefaction of garbage, bad smells, and pollution, gave a poor image of the city, kept away potential investors and jeopardized more daring projects, such as the preservation and improvement of the Polana beach, already considered an elegant seaside resort and a potential pole of tourism. The Garden of the Residence of the General Governor in Ponta Vermelha developed around of what would become the governor’s residence, in an area initially belonging to the Mac-Murdo concessionaire involved in the construction of the Lourenco Marques-Transvaal railway connection, before becoming municipal property by provincial decree of 1896.