ABSTRACT
The main goal of this chapter is to examine the urban proposals for Luanda and the architecture produced in the field of collective housing during the modern period. The modern period, although relatively short, was marked by intense planning and architectural activity and occurred at the same time as the Portuguese dictatorship regime known as Estado Novo. 1 The social condition that led to massive migration towards the city of Luanda, the relationships with the local population as well as the natural characteristics of Luanda were responsible for the specific conditions that made possible the development of a city in the capital of Angola that is unique worldwide. The period covered by this chapter starts in the 1940s and ends in 1974, the year of April’s Revolution in mainland Portugal that made possible the independence of Angola in 1975. The choice of this time period is directly related to the importance that urban dynamics has had in the Angolan territory, when compared with the previous half-century, a period marked by relative neglect towards the colonies by the government in the metropolis.
