The Habous Quarter, or New Medina, was constructed in the 1930s as the French Protectorate administration tried to reconcile urban expansion with the preservation of traditional Moroccan commercial life. Architects designed the quarter from scratch in a Moroccan vernacular style: whitewashed buildings, arcaded streets, zellige-tiled interiors, and a grid layout that is slightly more navigable than a genuinely historic medina.
The neighbourhood is pleasant to walk and significantly calmer than the souks of Fes or Marrakesh. The central market area has good bookshops, pastry sellers, and oud workshops. The Mahkama du Pacha, a 1930s palace used as a court and administrative building, is worth a look for its carved plasterwork and courtyard — it is one of the finest pieces of traditional-style architecture from the French period, built entirely by Moroccan craftsmen.
The Habous is also one of the better places in Casablanca to buy handicrafts without excessive pressure. The shops around the square stock pottery, brassware, babouches, and djellabas at prices that are lower than in the medinas of the imperial cities.