After eviction,before emergence: Temporal displacements and differentiated futures in Boribana,Abidjan (2019–2022)

Abstract

In Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), many inhabitants have had to cope with eviction and forced displacement in the last decade under the governmental project of émergence, or developmental policies which are intended to transform Côte d’Ivoire into an emerging, worldclass economy. This article analyzes experiences and temporalities of displacement in Boribana, one of the neighborhoods in Abidjan impacted by a large-scale infrastructure project, the Fourth Bridge Construction Project (FBCP). The article proposes to analyze the impact of the FBCP and evictions among Boribana’s inhabitants from 2019 to 2022 as temporal displacements, thus going beyond analyses of eviction which emphasize spatial displacement and socio-economic dispossession. By emphasizing the process of temporal displacement, the article shows how evictions transform social temporalities and orientations towards the future. Evictions often impact the capacities of residents to imagine and work towards future opportunities and possibilities to cope with uncertainty and precarity. Furthermore, this article contends that exclusionary policies and evictions produce differentiated futures as they affect the temporalities and futures of differentiated citizens unevenly and ultimately reinforce inequalities.