Haitian Cities: Actions for Today with an Eye on Tomorrow
- Around 90 percent of Haitians lived in the countryside in the 1950s, and more than half now live in cities and towns.
- The urban population doubled from just over 3 million to nearly 6 million between 2000 and 2015, with up to 133,000 new city dwellers a year.
- Official statistics give a 52 percent urban rate and the Bank's estimate is 64 percent.
- Up to 35 percent of urban residents lack improved water, two-thirds lack improved sanitation and only 12.4 percent of solid waste is collected.
- Over 93 percent of land and 96 percent of people face natural hazards, with disasters costing nearly 2 percent of GDP a year.
- Building permit fees are 15 percent of construction cost, compared with 2.5 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The review starts from the shift of Haiti from a country where around 90 percent lived in the countryside in the 1950s to one where more than half live in cities and towns. Between 2000 and 2015 the urban population doubled from just over 3 million to nearly 6 million, and as many as 133,000 people a year become city dwellers. Official statistics give a 52 percent urban rate, while the Bank's satellite-based estimate is 64 percent. It sets out three challenges. Planning: up to 35 percent of urban residents lack improved water, two-thirds lack improved sanitation, solid waste collection is 12.4 percent, and over 93 percent of land and 96 percent of people face natural hazards. Connecting: urban transport is slow and unaffordable, which fragments labor markets. Financing: municipal resources are limited and decentralization is incomplete. The report proposes actions on each dimension.
How to cite
World Bank, 2017, Haitian Cities: Actions for Today with an Eye on Tomorrow, accessed via HaitiDocs, https://www.haitidocs.org/doc/wb-2017-haitian-cities-actions-today-eye