ABSTRACT
This chapter describes that has sought to shed light on the processes of urban restructuring operating in Marrakesh and their implications on the local population. It focuses on the political, economic and social shifts and their impact on power relations in the city. The chapter attempts to demonstrate how institutional practice has turned Marrakesh and its heritage into a commodity and how this practice legitimates its agenda by way of a hegemonic discourse. The chapter also provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book moves beyond the institutional dimension of state control and investigate the ideological elements of control. It looks at the various strategies and practices which the private sector, against the state and non- governmental organizations, employs to brand Marrakesh. The book focuses on the field of urban policy and the technocratic elite’s effort to maintain a certain ideological rigidity in the guise of technical, and market, expediency.
