House construction and social engineering in the Beaux Métiers and Formation Sociale manuals of the Bibliothèque de l’Étoile (1943-1966)

After the Second World War, the Belgian colonial authorities changed their policy towards the Congolese population. The Ten-Year Plan for the Economic and Social Development of the Belgian Congo (1949-1959) emphasized the improvement of the living standard of the colonized. Providing decent accommodation for the African population in the colony’s booming urban centers became a spearhead of post-war colonial policies, together with ameliorating health care and educational facilities. In this ...