Environmental Assessment of the Urbanization of the Gonaïves Plain, Haiti, from 2002 to 2022
- The city of Gonaïves grew from 3.2 square kilometers in 1956 to 6.9 in 1993 and reached 14 square kilometers in 2002.
- Urban sprawl has taken 14.8 square kilometers of the plain, which the zoning reserves for intensive agriculture.
- Only 5.5 of the 31.15 square kilometers intended for extension, 16.7 percent, have been built.
- The sprawl is described as an anarchic peri-urbanization, driven mainly by diaspora building.
- The consequences are pressure on water resources, higher land values, loss of biodiversity, especially birds, and a fall in agricultural production.
The thesis asks why the city of Gonaïves is extending into the agricultural plain, which the zoning of the Urban Development Master Plan reserves for intensive agriculture, and what this does to the environment and household livelihoods. It uses mapping, surveys and field visits.
The city grew from 3.2 square kilometers in 1956 to 6.9 in 1993 and reached 14 square kilometers in 2002. Mapping shows 14.8 square kilometers taken in the plain, while only 5.5 of the 31.15 square kilometers intended for extension, 16.7 percent, are built. The consequences are pressure on water, higher land values, loss of biodiversity, especially birds, a fall in farm output, and changes in the diet and way of life of farming households. The author concludes that the zoning is far from being applied.
How to cite
Université de Liège; Université catholique de Louvain, Environmental Assessment of the Urbanization of the Gonaïves Plain, Haiti, from 2002 to 2022, https://lescientifique.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/wp-1712677963188.pdf
- Rights holder
- Université de Liège|Université catholique de Louvain