Becoming dissonance

North African cities have undergone substantial transformations over the last two centuries, with modernity arriving alongside the colonial period. This dual feature makes the built heritage very rich semantically, but also controversial, as it distances itself from tradition. Arguably, in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, those instances are even more evident than in other places. Drawing on Casamémoire, a significant local cultural organization, the article explores how the perception of these areas is gradually evolving, as they acquire heritage value and transition from ‘external minority' to ‘local heritage'. Casamémoire is presented as one of the field actors that deals concurrently with administrative institutions and with a cultivated part of the population, as well as public willingness to enlarge the social basis of its heritage interests. The association contributes to updating the official and recognized discourse on heritage, and managing recent colonial legacies in order for the importance of colonial heritage to gain recognition. Some of the Casamémoire's activities are presented in order to show how the situation has developed over the last three decades. The article illustrates how Casamémoire has become a pivotal player in Casablanca’s evolution towards understanding its tangible modern inheritance

Cultural heritage · Industrial heritage · Urban planning · African Studies and Geopolitics · Cultural Identity and Heritage · North African History and Literature

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