Blocking the Casbah

The situation in Cahill Expressway reminded me of a project by Le Corbusier. The segregating form of Cahill Expressway is very much similar to Corbusier’s masterplan in Algiers where he uses road infrastructure as a separating component in his masterplan. While the planners for Sydney did not intend to have Cahill Expressway to split the CBD into different components, Corbusier did so intentionally in Algiers.

Le Corbusier's masterplan in Algiers

Corbusier’s masterplan in Algiers consisted of three main elements as shown in the diagram below: a new business district on the Cape of Algiers (at the tip of the Casbah) consisting of cargo ports (blue), an elevated highway arcing connecting suburban blocks containing fourteen residential levels beneath it towards the industrial zones (yellow) and a curvilinear residential block with road on top of the blocks of residential (red).

The viaduct highway connects the residential zones to the industrial zones bypassing the Casbah beneath it. The curvilinear residential blocks acts as a wall that separates the Casbah and the business districts. This is done consciously by Le Corbusier to marginalize the Casbah.

Planners often think of road infrastructure as a means to connect different points. However, we should also be aware that these huge structures could also act as a segregating component for better or worse.