Assessment of derogatory practices on urban  planning, Morocco 

In the context of the globalisation and liberalisation of the Moroccan econo-my, Morocco had to reform itself and make its administrative and regulatory procedures more flexible. One step was the introduction of exemptions in urban planning legislation to compen-sate for shortcomings and deficien-cies in the existing legal framework. This instrument was intended as a transitional solution until the com-prehensive reform of the urban plan-ning regulations but has since proved its worth in day-to-day urban manage-ment.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of derogation prac-tice, as known in Morocco, on urban planning. It was carried out by IPROconsult Morocco and was com-missioned following a call for tenders by the Department of Urban Planning of the Ministry of Urban Planning and Regional Development. 

The aim was to examine the practice of the derogation and the points of friction that had arisen, and to propose suitable solutions to regulate the current system.

On the basis of interviews with affected stakeholders, own research and reviews of legal documents and geographical data, the system of dé-rogation was evaluated. The resulting recommendations were made availab-le to the Ministry together with the study.