Spatial planning in post-colonial Morocco: an institutional design for decolonization

In recent times, the decolonization of planning systems has garnered significant scholarly attention encouraging the consideration of more diverse contexts. This study uses a historical institutionalist approach to reconstitute the history of planning institutions in the context of Morocco as a former French colony and builds an institutional understanding of the current framing of its practices. It then uses an institutional design approach to propose potential trajectories for the gradual decolonization of its systems. This paper discusses the Moroccan planning tradition as a dual-level approach: formal planning conducted by planning professionals and informal urban governance implemented by the state. Thereby, the study suggests that a potential way towards the decolonization of the practice is to create a trajectory where planning professionals are encouraged to cultivate a more systematic interaction with informality.