Global investments in large-scale infrastructural development have proliferated in recent years in Africa. Proponents argue that the investments are vital for further economic and social development in peripheral regions. Critical scholars and activists contend that such development model fails to generate opportunities for local populations because infrastructure and associated land acquisitions tend to displace and resettle them with little adequate follow-up. Mozambique currently represents a frontier of global investments that have led to over fifty displacement and resettlement projects. The expansion of the investment frontier is likely to lead to more of such projects.

Meanwhile, the country has established relatively progressive policies that oblige investors to conduct community consultations and obtain consent for those who would be resettled. Yet, grievances and redress systems remain weak, and processes of reconstructing livelihoods and adequate infrastructure in resettled communities are often controversial. Previous studies have largely focused on getting the procedures right, such as determining the fairer compensation. However, little is understood about new community-building and place-making that emerge out of resettlement experiences and new infrastructure development. As resettlement projects are becoming a part of larger regional and territorial development, including urbanization, it is urgent for us to understand what kind of places are made in and around resettled communities and explore the future transitions of these places.

In this NWO-Aspasia Project, two PhDs and the principal investigator undertake ethnographic and visual studies to explore the nature and extent of various resettlement experiences in central and northern part of Mozambique. Further, based on the insights derived from these field-based studies, a series of policy recommendations will be elaborated.

• prof. dr. Kei Otsuki