How were European and African neighbourhoods separated in colonial-era Brazzaville?

In colonial-era Brazzaville, urban planning was characterized by a marked separation between distinct residential zones. The city was designed with a central administrative and commercial core that remained primarily European until the early 1960s.12

Surrounding this central core were two types of residential areas:

• European neighbourhoods: These were spacious, planned areas designed to serve the colonial administration and European residents.12
• African neighbourhoods: These were more populous and less-regimented sections of the city. Specifically, African residential areas developed in the northeast, known as Poto-Poto, and in the southwest, comprising the districts of Bacongo and Makélékélé.12

Following independence in 1960, this rigid spatial separation began to blur due to factors such as increased social and economic mobility among the African population, urban renewal efforts, and significant rural-to-urban migration.1