haiti tomorrow (english version)

MARCH 2010

OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES FOR RECONSTRUCTING

THE COUNTRY

GOVERNMENT OF HAITI

Inter-Ministerial Committee For Territorial Development

CIAT

2 3CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN

CONTENTS

OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

FOR RECONSTRUCTING

THE COUNTRY

GOVERNMENT OF HAITI

1. Transforming the disaster into an opportunity

2. The new forms of regional solidarity - The Northern region - The Capital region - The Southern region

3. The road network - A strategic tool for creating a new national identity - A primary network expressing the stakes of decentralization - A role of distributor to a secondary network - A third network of strategic roads

4. The ports and airports - The strategic infrastructures of a national development plan - Maritime transport - The airports

5. The spiral of vulnerability - An alarming permanent feature

6. The integrated management of catchment areas - A global project - A virtuous chain linked to the reconstruction strategies

7. Networking the towns

8. The regional economies

9. The urban question 10. Types of built-up areas and activating projects - The concourses and sociability centers - The transport facilities - The development hubs - The integrated projects - The city centers - The sea front - Symbolic architecture

11. What tools for the reconstruction ?

12. Table of projects

"the present of past, it is memory

the present of present, it is action

the present of future, it is expectation"

Paul Ricoeur

p. 5

p. 11

p. 14

p. 18

p. 23

p. 29

p. 35

p. 39

p. 47

p. 51

p. 66

p. 68


TRANSFORMING THE DISASTER INTO AN OPPORTUNITY

A major earthquake that shatters the centre of a country is a rare event in history. Th is natural disas-ter destroyed indiscriminately the symbols of the state, the public buildings, the architectural herita-ge, and both formal and informal constructions.

If the human and economic costs are so high, it is also because the buildings on every level of the social pyramid were unable to resist the eff ects of an earth-quake.

Th is new situation highlights the state of extreme vulnerability of a country whose structures have been undermined over time, in both their urban and environmental dimension. In the present case, the notion of human fault is added to that of hostile nature; and this new fact ought to be the lynchpin of a national reawakening that restores the confi dence of the population.

Reawakening the taste for collective action and the common good is one of the keys to reconstruction. Th is is no longer the subject of a debate waged in vain for far too many years; it has now become a vital necessity. Th e construction of a strong and sustainable economy, overseen by a responsible and decentralized state, was already an objective before the earthquake. Owing to the necessity of the situa-tion, this will have to be achieved urgently, with one direct consequence: the reconstruction project will be the foundation of the transformation of the state, and not the opposite.

Th is unique situation is probably an opportunity if there is a connecting thread to link up the mosaic of actions that will be undertaken in the coming years. Th is connecting thread will take the form of three central objectives:

-Reducing social inequalities (education, housing)

-Creating a new balance in the national territory by reducing the weight of the Port-au-Prince region

-Halting the process of environmental degradation to take the country out of its state of extreme vulnerability to natural events.

Using the population movements as a lever for the deconcentration of the state.

A new fact is now transforming how we see these objectives: 600,000 people left the capital aft er the earthquake and Port-au-Prince has lost 800,000 inhabitants altogether.

Th is dramatic situation is also an opportunity for the future provided that the planning takes diff erent timeframes into account. Four timeframes may be considered:

- Th e time for vital urgent action- Th e “transitional” time - Th e time for structuring projects- Th e time of social transformation

By starting with the last timeframe, we can say that this is on a “generational” scale. Such a project will take 20 years and will coincide with another mutation: the coming of globalized societies.

Th e rapid intrusion of the mobile phone, not restricted to one social class with the requisite standard of living, is one current expression of this. Haiti, through its diaspora, is also a prematurely globalised society and this particularity is an asset for the future.

Th e time for structuring projects, starting with the main infrastructures, may be considered to last 10 years. Th is goal also coincides with the perspective of the Hope II law and the objectives of the international community.

1


Designing the reconstruction actions as “virtuous chains” and not as a simple addition of sector-based plans.

At all levels of regional and urban development, the projects must be inter-connected in order to guarantee the enduring eff ects of the actions undertaken and their capacity to change the course of things.

For example, one could cite the idea of guaranteeing a cost of domestic energy by proposing alternatives to the use of charcoal, then associated with a reforestation program based on the creation of three national parks. Th ese parks would in turn reinforce a policy of tourist development and be the base for setting up an environmental police force.

“Activating” projects: a link between urgent needs and the long term.

Th e construction of chains of projects could also take the form of « activating projects » that embody the public presence around the country, linking up the urban populations through district associations and quickly giving meaning and visibility to the reconstruction actions.

It is important that the presence of the state be reinforced and perceptible in order to restore the confi dence of the population in public action. By relying on local liaisons, the state will be able to multiply its means of action.

Th e task will be complex and the actors numerous. Public action will have to be precise to generate projects that are simple, quantifi able and manageable over time. Th ese projects must also become the levers of economic and social transformation through the appropriate link-up between the diff erent objectives pursued. Th e challenge, in the current context, will be to construct cross-level interactions rather than a simple addition of sector-focused solutions, which could be the natural consequence of taking urgent action.

CARTE OCHA

Th e « transitional » time is the most diffi cult to take into account. It is over the next two years that the transformation of the country will hinge on the question of the behavior of the displaced populations.

Th e movement of the population is on a large scale. It is now essential to be able to off er a choice to these populations to imagine another life plan involving participating in the national reconstruction process in the regions.

Off ering them housing and a job is the fi rst priority. Th is will specifi cally require the organization of labor-intensive projects for the road and water networks and the environment.

Rebuilding an education system: an immediate challenge

In the present emergency situation, special consideration needs to be given to the question of education. Apart from the unacceptable number of victims, the destruction of thousands of schools in the region of Port-au-Prince is surely the most appalling and unjust fact. Th e displaced populations include many schoolgoing children and students whose schools were destroyed or are no longer capable of functioning. If the reconstruction is to be given an immediate focus, it ought to be in the implementation of an education structure combined with a health policy. Th e creation of such a structure, decentralized and no longer concentrated in the capital, would be the symbol of the country’s rebirth. Th e Haitian diaspora, which makes a large contribution to the funding of schooling and whose roots are by nature distributed over the territory, could provide the support for such action implemented with the aid of the international community.

Th e structuring of the actions of reconstruction , answering to very diff erents timeframes, concern all the decisions taken for regional and urban development. Th ese sciences, applicable over the long term and in a formal world, must here be adapted to a situation dominated by urgency and informality.

Th is implies adopting a series of simple and operational decisions that lay the foundations for a set of «virtuous chains» that the population can understand.

TURGEAU DISTRICT


THE NEW FORMS OF REGIONAL SOLIDARITY

Th e Capital region

Th is region forms the center of the Ouest department. It is the region most aff ected by the earthquake which produced here the immense majority of victims.

It is also the region which in recent decades has experienced a large population infl ux; in the past 20 years the population of Port-au-Prince has doubled, rising from 1.5 to 2.8 million inhabitants. Th is situation, directly linked to the deterioration of living conditions in the rest of the country and to an abnormal concentration of business activities and basic services in the capital, in turn led to the deterioration of conditions in the capital itself, a situation now revealed by the scale of the damage and the number of victims of the earthquake.

Th e Capital region contains 29% of the national population. Its reconstruction must follow a « qualitative » plan based on controlling the seismic and environmental risks while not contributing to a renewed increase in its population. Th is modernization must concern the center of the capital as well as the suburban areas that will need to be built to rehouse the populations made homeless by the earthquake.

Th e Southern region

Th e four departments in the south, Nippes, Sud, Grande Anse and Sud Est, make up 24% of the population. Th e area is vulnerable to cyclones, fl oods and earthquakes; it could also become an area with a high tourist, agricultural and environmental potential open to the South of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Over the next decade, these three territorial alliances are likely to become the setting for renewed eff orts in environmental protection, designed to reduce the vulnerability of populations and property. Th ey should be the theatre of the implementation of a coordinated policy for the creation of new infrastructures favoring balanced economic development.

It is the structural link-up between these diff erent stakes that we seek to spell out in the framework of a development strategy for the country. In the emergency created by these exceptional conditions, the framing of reconstruction actions will necessarily derive from a political project capable of creating the conditions for a governance guaranteeing these new territorial balances. Th e political agenda must form part of the general agenda of the reconstruction.

METROPOLITAN NETWORK

REGIONS

Th e option of a decentralization of the Haitian state, backed up by a fairer share-out of investments around the country, is now recognized as a necessity.

With this objective in mind, if one overlays the map of the population movements on that of the limits imposed by the geography, three main regions logically stand out.

Th e Northern region

Th e group of 5 departments, Nord Ouest, Nord, Nord Est, Artibonite and Centre, clustered around the Artibonite agricultural plain, is now the most heavily populated region in Haiti. Taking into account the population movements aft er the earthquake, it now has 4,766,000 inhabi-tants, making up 47% of the population.

Th is region is less vulnerable to cyclones and earth-quake risks than the south of the country. Howe-ver, it requires an immense management program of fl ood risks in the catchment areas, with one particu-larly vulnerable point: the city of Gonaïves. Th is city of 300,000 inhabitants is the symbol of the country’s independence, a strategic location impor-tant for the future and a place requiring an exceptio-nal policy of environmental protection. Th e policy of investments in the infrastructures, associated with the protection of the latter, consti-tutes the key priority project that will enable the economic redevelopment of the country to take off . On this condition, the Artibonite plain, the region of Hinche and the northern coastal strip around Port de Paix, Cap Haitien and Fort Liberté could in the future become the major economic drivers of Haiti. More to the south, Saint Marc and Mirebalais are the key links with the Capital region and with the Dominican Republic.

DEMOGRAPHY AND REGIONS

2

NORTHERN 4 424 482 +342 000 4 766 000 47%

CAPITAL 3 867 000 - 854 000 3 013 000 29%

SOUTHERN 2 164 000 +262 000 2 426 000 24%

TOTAL 10 455 539 10 206 000

Population before the earthquake

RÉGIONS Population movements (displaced persons and victims)

Current population

NORTHERN REGION

SOUTHERN REGION

CAPITAL REGION

13CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN

REGIONAL SOLIDARITY12

OCEAN ATLANTIQUE

MER DES CARAÏBES

MER DES CARAÏBES

REPUBLIQUEDOMINICAINE

JACMEL

JEREMIE

LEOGANE PORT AU PRINCE

HINCHE

MIREBALAIS

SAINT MARC

GONAÏVES

PORT DE PAIX

CAP HAÏTIEN

OUANAMINTHE

MIRAGOÂNE

REGION SUD

LES CAYES

REGION NORD

GRANDGOÂVE

PETITGOÂVE

BELLADERE

MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

ST MICHELDE L’ATALAYE

MARCHAND DESSALINES

PETITE RIVIERE

FORT LIBERTE

GROS MORNE

REGION CAPITALE


A STRATEGIC TOOL

For numerous years now, considerable international funds have contributed to the development of the road network of the country under the authority of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications. Th e template adopted for the road projects structuring all the main roads is a 2-way 1-lane road 9 meters wide. Th e Saint Marc road that has just been completed is the most common example quoted. Th is type of road functions correctly in a situation of constant use and moderate speed, and is adapted to the local reality: the road is a public space of social interaction. Th ese roads become dangerous if they allow the possibility of driving at high speed, and they become unsuitable if there is a sharp increase in car ownership. It will also be necessary to examine region by region the question of economic development and its eff ect on the circulation of people and goods. For the major routes, the eventual widening of roads and, in the short term, the creation of ring-roads around the cities must be planned to cope with the inevitable increase of car ownership, especially if there is no alternative to road travel.

Th e principal diffi culty at present is the absence of continuity in this network: driving through cities and towns, whose social and commercial life seems to concentrate on the roads, is always diffi cult and time-wasting for transit traffi c. But, going beyond the situation at this time in the history of the country, two factors will condition the quality of the forthcoming reconstruction phase: the control of the environmental risks and the management of these infrastructures over time.

Unless these two factors are properly integrated, these infrastructures will be destroyed as quickly as they are built. Th is is a question as serious as that of the antiseismic protection of buildings and a recurring question arising each year during the rainy season.

A map of priorities, associating the road works carried out and the actions designed for their secu-rity and maintenance, will have to be drawn up at country level, followed by a coordinated program of long-term maintenance.

A primary network expressing the stakes of decentralization

Th e creation of a reliable, continuous and protected primary network is the primary need of the reconstruction process. Th is network will ensure the transport continuity of Haiti’s territory. By following rigorously the routes of the projects

THE ROAD NETWORK

3 currently under way and by sticking in the fi rst phase to the model of a 2-way 1-lane road, a priority route of 825 km can be identifi ed.

It consists of two sectors : the southern road between Jérémie and Belladère (425 km) and the Artibonite loop on this road to Mirebalais (400 km).

Th e Southern road

Th e road between Jérémie, Les Cayes, Miragoâne, Léogâne, Port-au-Prince, Mirebalais and Belladère follows the route nationale 2 and then the route nationale 3 prolonged up to the Dominican Republic leading to Santo Domingo which is 260 km from the frontier.

Th e Artibonite loop

From Mirebalais it follows the planned interior route up to the junction of Saint Marc where it joins up to the route nationale 1 for Gonaïves and Cap Haitien. Th en it follows the route nationale 3 to Hinche and Mirebalais.

In this way, the coastal road 1 is protected from truck traffi c and three distinct routes link Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien, thus evening out the traffi c across the agricultural plain. Th e mountain route from Gonaïves to Cap-Haitien will of course have to be recalibrated to permit truck traffi c.

A role of distributor to a secondary network

Th is general route will play the role of a distributor network reinforcing the central status of Artibonite. A secondary network would then provide the junctions to the major cities: Port-de-Paix, Fort Liberté and Ouanaminthe in the North and Jacmel on the southern coast.

A third network of strategic roads

Th e third network prolongs this primary network to the small towns and rural areas of the country. It will have to be designed in line with an implementation strategy linked to the development of agricultural production and the environmental and energy projects: roads necessary for the reforestation and integrated management of catchment areas, access to the dams or to a wind-solar park if it is built.

Designing the road network as the structuring element and the catalyst of urban developments.


THE ROAD NETWORK

ATLANTIC OCEAN

CARIBBEAN SEA

CARIBBEAN SEA


JACMEL

GRANDGOÂVE

PETITGOÂVE

JEREMIE

LEOGÂNE PORT AUPRINCE

HINCHE

MIREBALAISLA CHAPELLE

PIGNON

St RAPHAEL

DESDUNES

BELLADERE

SAINT MARC

GONAÏVES

PORT DE PAIX

GROS MORNE

MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

St MICHELDE L’ATALAYE

MARCHANDDESSALINES

PETITE RIVIERE

CAP HAÏTIEN

OUANAMINTHE

MIRAGOÂNE

REGION SUD

REGIONNORD

LES CAYES

104 km

97 km 96 km 118 km

137 km

RN2

65 km

55 km

128 km

87 km

88 km

171 km

103 k

m 72 km

FORTLIBERTE

REGIONCAPITALE

PONT SONDE

LOOP

STRATEGIC CONNECTION

NET WORKING TERTIARY

RN7

RN2 RN8

RN4

RN1

RN3

RN3

RN1

RN1

RN2

RN3

RN5RN1 RN6

RN6

RN5 NUMBERING OF ROADS

72 km

OUTSTRIP IN KILOMETERS

72 km


THE PORTS AND AIRPORTS

Reconstructing the relation with the sea in the fr amework of a national economic project.

Regional development, which underpins the framework of the reconstruction process, requires the networking of the country with structuring faci-lities. Th is networking meets a triple objective:-To limit the risk of the country becoming paralyzed when natural disasters occur-To favor the movements of people and goods in the country-To create new opportunities of opening up to the outside world

Th e earthquake has shown the necessity to reduce the country’s exposure to natural risks and its dependence on the airport and port infrastructu-res of Port-au-Prince. Hence, apart from the fact of increasing the number of the country’s entry and exit points by air or sea, the opportunity provided by the reconstruction process should be taken to better protect these infrastructures from climatic risks. Th is additional objective may have an impact on their location, and hence on the choice between reinforcing the existing infrastructure or creating a new one.

Maritime transport

Owing to its geography, and in comparison with its size, Haiti possesses an exceptional coastal strip on most of its periphery. Th is confi guration must be taken advantage of to favor maritime activities, with transport as the priority. Th e closeness of the ports of the north and south coasts to the neighboring countries also gives them a clear tourist vocation.

Furthermore, relay ports for the regional Caribbean traffi c, not aff ecting the maritime transport of the country but generating economic activity, could be built by private investors, for example on the northern coast at Mole Saint Nicolas, as well as on the southern coast near Saint Louis du Sud.

In addition to the three principal ports, six secondary ports complete the maritime transport network: Port de Paix, Fort Liberté, Saint Marc, Miragoâne, Jérémie, Les Cayes and Jacmel.

In the other coastal towns, where inshore navigation plays an important role particularly where there is no alternative by road, simpler infrastructure consisting of quays or simple landing stages is enough. Th ese facilities could be installed in the towns located on the northern coast of the southern peninsula, between Anse-à-Veau and Les Irois , and on the south-eastern coast between Marigot and Anse-à-Pitre .

Th e airports

Based on the same objectives of regional balance and openness to the outside world, the international air traffi c will be distributed between three principal airports located close to the principal cities: Cap Haitien, Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes.

Taking into account the current volume of passengers (900,000/year for Port-au-Prince), single-runway airports are largely suffi cient, even should there be large growth in traffi c. Th e capacity of these airports can in fact rise to 9 million passengers/year, on condition that there are suffi cient and properly maintained taxiways and parking areas. Hence the focus should be on these infrastructures as well as on the modernization of the passenger reception conditions in the terminals and the modernization of the air traffi c control facilities. Moreover, the possibility of lengthening the runways to 2,800-3,000 m should be considered, as this would allow the airport to receive medium-haul and long-haul aircraft in compliance with the current environmental standards (noise and fuel consumption).

Th e vulnerability of the present airport of Cap Haitien, located in a fl ood zone, points to the need for a new site in Madras, 20 km east of Cap Haitien. Th is new location would favor the tourist development of the north-eastern coast of Haiti around Fort Liberté and in all the Dauphin sector.

In terms of maritime freight, Haiti must provide itself with several ports capable of receiving container ships. Th e principal ports will be located in Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien and Gonaïves.

Th e partial destruction of the present port of Port-au-Prince, which accounts for 80% of the country’s maritime traffi c, calls for its immediate repair to restore a minimum of functional capacity. On the other hand, the prospect of a development of its capacity raises the question of its longer-term maintenance on the present site.

Th e almost permanent traffi c jams on the roads of Port-au-Prince situated along the coastal strip is harmful to the city’s functioning as well as to the economic effi ciency of the port activity. Shift ing the two ports and restructuring the Croix des Bossales market form an option that would solve this problem. A site capable of hosting a new port can be found north of the capital, near Cabris island, where the water depth is suitable for a port able to receive the largest container ships.

Th e hypothesis of a transfer would open up the possibility of creating a new and effi cient economic hub to the north-west of the capital. Th e transfer of the port installations would also free up a central site of Port-au-Prince and create the conditions for a major urban transformation.

Th e two other main ports of the country off er maritime outlets for the economic hubs developed in the framework of the northern region, notably the agricultural production of Artibonite.

One of these outlets is the port of Cap Haitien, for which regular dredging operations are necessary to keep it clear.

Apart from the question of transport, the creation of a major port in Gonaïves would make a signifi cant contribution to regional development. Th e population of Gonaïves, a large city, rose from 200,000 to 300 000 inhabitants aft er the earthquake.

While it raises the question of the necessary urban restructuring of the city, in a context of decided vulnerability to climatic risks, this spontaneous movement of population corresponds to the reinforcement of the regions desired by the state and must be made lasting as far as possible. Th e existence of a port of national importance would help to create jobs, an essential condition for retaining the present population.

4THE STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURES

OF A NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PLAN

CINA QUAY

SAINT MARC PORT

PORT-AU-PRINCE PORT

INSHORE FISHING NEAR JÉRÉMIE

THE PORTS AND AIRPORTS20 21CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN

ATLANTIC OCEAN

CARIBBEAN SEA

CARIBBEAN SEA


JACMEL

GRANDGOÂVE

PETITGOÂVE

JEREMIE

LEOGÂNEPORT AUPRINCE

HINCHE

BELLADERE

SAINT MARC

PORT DE PAIX

MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

CAP HAÏTIEN

OUANAMINTHE

MIRAGOÂNE

LES CAYES

FACTORIES

FISHING

INSHORE FISHING

SECONDARY PORT

INTERNATIONAL PORT

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

LOCAL AIRPORT

GONAÏVES

GROS MORNE

PETITE RIVIERE

FORTLIBERTE

LA CHAPELLE

PIGNON

St RAPHAEL

DESDUNES

MIREBALAIS

St MICHELDE L’ATALAYE

MARCHANDDESSALINES

PONT SONDE

TOURISM


THE SPIRAL OF VULNERABILITY

conservation and regards reforestation as a factor in rural development. All the territory has been mapped and expert appraisals have led to the drawing up of an impressive number of action programs.

On the ground, however, this mass of knowledge about what should be done is totally disconnected from the concrete realizations. For example, there is still no model of a successful program which could serve as a benchmark.

Th e shock of the earthquake ought to mobilize the government, the parliament and the aid donors to eliminate the numerous «obstacles» blocking the eff orts of those acting in good-will. Likewise, the farming community needs to play a central role in these programs.Only a rapid expansion of actions involving mutual interest will enable these problems to be tackled eff ectively

Deforestation, emblem of a catastrophic situation

Th e present rate of forest cover in Haiti is less than 2% (compared to 47% in the Dominican Republic) for all species (mangroves, dry forests, forest reserves, nature parks). 30 million trees are cut down annually to cover 70% of energy needs, without any parallel reforestation project to regenerate these resources.

In the short term, the existing forest cover must be preserved before anything else is done. At the same time, the trees planted must represent an investment value, whereas their present value resides solely in their transformation into charcoal.

5An alarming permanent feature

Th e earthquake of January 12th 2010 revealed in an extremely brutal manner the very serious fragility of the country in terms of natural disasters. Th e spectacular images linked to the earthquake may temporarily eclipse but not erase those of other recurring and equally devastating calamities. Th e fl ooding of the agricultural plains and coastal towns, the landslides and the obstruction of natural runoff channels are all due to the increasing rainproofi ng of soils linked to the over-exploitation of the available resources. he country’s spectacular deforestation has left it defenseless against erosion. even the areas classifi ed as «protected zones» do not escape this destruction: the large forest of Les Pins, for example, has lost nearly 12,000 hectares of high-quality forest; its area has been reduced to 4,000 hectares.Th e fact that there is no law that confers indisputable real estate ownership rights, and the strong demographic pressure (which has increased the proportion of labor-intensive crops to the detriment of land-intensive crops such as plantations of fruit trees), are the principal political and economic causes of this catastrophic situation.

Much expertise – few achievements

Th e fi rst projects for the development of catchment areas, reforestation and soil conservation appeared in the years 1940 to 1980 and oft en ended in failure because they put the emphasis on the physical aspect of the process; the problem was seen as a technical problem which called for technical solutions.

Since the 1980s, a more realistic approach has sought to take on board the farming world with its social and economic motivations. It goes beyond the sole framework of water and soil

THE GEOGRAPHY OF RISKS24 25CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN

CAP HAÏTIEN

LES CAYES

OCEAN ATLANTIQUE

CARIBBEAN SEA

CARIBBEAN SEA

GONAÏVES

PORT-AU-PRINCE

CATCHMENT AREA SUBJCT TO FLOODING

AREAS LIABLE TO FLOODING

HURRICANE PATHS

SEISMIC FAULTS

EPICENTRE OF EARTHQUAKE OF JAN 12 2010

AREAS AT RISK


THE CASE OF GONAÏVES

ARTIBONITE CATCHMENT AREAS

Th is city, the symbol of Haiti’s independence, has become over the years the victim of the ecological deterioration of catchment areas. 300,000 people live in this outlet for that immense collector of wa-ter, the Artibonite valley.

Th e photos of the fl oods of 2008 show the extent of a disaster that will happen again. Th e current images also show a city unable to get rid of the mud that poured into it.

Th e saving of this metropolis, which took in most refugees aft er the earthquake, is a national cause. But it must fi t into a wider project: the treatment of the catchment areas and a new development of the farming plains.

GONAÏVES


THE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF CATCHMENT AREAS

management plan run by local structures (catchment area authorities). Th is process will require 10 years to be sustainably installed.

Treating as an absolute priority the question of domestic energy to end the deforestation.

To make the management and development of catchment areas the symbol of the restoration of the country, two complementary measures ought to be included in the reconstruction program:

To reduce the value of the trees cut down by making available to 700,000 families cooking equipment using propane gas; at the same time, the installations of bakeries, distilleries and laundries must be modifi ed.

Th is program should be completed by the end of the period of « transitional urgency » and benefi t from credits linked to the reconstruction of the country. No reforestation policy is sustainable without an ambitious energy policy.

Th ree national parks managed by the highest authorities of the state.

To change the policy for the protection of natural areas, the current protected areas must be made secure and guarded by an environmental police force. But this measure must be amplifi ed to make an impression on public opinion by setting up three large national parks on the model of the Dominican Republic.

Th ese parks will include the fi nest landscapes in the north and south of the country and give a strong sign of the country’s determination to reconstruct the country’s natural system. Until such time as the structures of the state are reformed, these three large parks should be directly managed by the highest authorities of the state.

6A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Th e term « management of catchment areas » is a concept that has evolved considerably over the years. From being a purely technical operation, it has become a wide program with many facets focused on the co-management of the resource. Th e basic idea is that trees play a fundamental role in the conservation of soils, the preservation of water resources and ecosystems. For this reason, reforestation cannot have genuine impacts if it is not part of a plan of economic and social development and if arrangements are not made to replace fi rewood, charcoal and construction timber by substitute materials. In this country, where 80% of the territory is located in uplands, inappropriate cropping practices create considerable damage by removing the topsoil, thus increasing the risk to urban dwellers. Th e cost of the annual damage from all risks is estimated at US$ 1.6 billion.

Framing the policy for catchment areas in an ambitious plan in terms of regional development.

To halt this spiral, the catchment area must be organized in a project based on the cultivation of certain crops such as coff ee and cocoa, and the planting of fruit trees to create new wealth. Th ese projects must imperatively be backed up by a


A VIRTUOUS CHAIN LINKED

TO THE RECONSTRUCTION

STRATEGIES

VITAL URGENCY

Th e major policy announcements on the environment

Importation of coal and construction timber

Substitution of cooking equipment in damaged houses

Use of part of Cash for Work for environmental projects

Sanctuarization of the protected areas by setting up an environmental police force.

TRANSITIONAL

URGENCY

Institution of unassailable land ownership rights

Setting up of the national program for the substitution of charcoal

Reinforcement of the public structures managing agriculture and the environment

Treatment of priority catchment areas

Campaign to raise awareness of the importance of reforestation.

Launch of the education system at every level

Programming studies of three large national parks.

Setting up of nurseries and production of seedlings

THE STRUCTURING

PROJECTS

Treatment of catchment areas linked to the national parks.

Development of a tourist industry in the protected areas.

Protection of the develop-ments produced through the reconstruction program

Setting up of decentralized governance structures in the treated areas.

Progressive setting up of the national parks run by the highest authorities of the state.

IN ONE TIME

GENERATION

Achieve a level of fores-tation identical to that of the Dominican Republic: 50%

Make agriculture an economically prosperous activity.

Achieve a level of devel-opment making it possible to reduce very considerably the country’s vulnerability to natural phenomena.

SUBSIDY FOR DOMESTIC COOKING EQUIPMENT USING PROPANE GAS

INCREASE THE AREAS OF DRY FORESTS (JATROPHAS, ETC.)

NEW POLICY FOR THE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF RISKS

DEVELOPMENT OF WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY

DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURING OF FARMING SECTORS RESTORING THE POROSITY OF SOILS (COCOA, VETIVER, FRUIT TREES, ETC.)

CREATION OF UNASSAILABLE LAND PROPERTY RIGHTS

REDUCTION OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC PRESSURE ON LAND

MAJOR EDUCATION POLICY

CREATION OF THREE NATIONAL PARKS COVERING THE PROTECTED AREAS

FLOODS

DEFORESTATION

LANDSLIDES

NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR REPLACING WOOD AND CHARCOAL

NATIONAL REFORESTATION PROGRAM

CAMPAIGN TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF TREATING NATURE WITH RESPECT

Subsidizing the purchase of a «propane cooker» and guaranteeing the price of this domestic fuel is an essential solution for stopping the consumption of charcoal. Associating this daily use with the mobile telephone is an interesting evolution towards the principle of controlled modernity.

THE FOREST OF GRANDE-ANSE

THE CENTRAL PLAIN

THE ARTIBONITE DELTA


THE FOREST AND AGRICULTURAL PROJECT

PORT-AU-PRINCE

CAP HAÏTIEN

LES CAYES

ATLANTIC OCEAN

CARIBBEAN SEA

CARIBBEAN SEA

GONAÏVES

LOCATION OF THE 3 NATIONAL PARKS

AGRICULTURAL PLAIN – PROJECTED STATE

AGRICULTURAL PLAIN – CURRENT STATE

AREA TO BE REFORESTED

COCOA & COFFEE CROPS

NATIONAL PARK BOUNDARIES

PARC DE LA HOTTE

PARC DE LA SELLE

PARC DE LA CITADELLE


would be at least a half-hour from the residential areas). Th ese areas will be designed on the model of the existing towns:

Les Gonaïves, on the way to Marchand Dessalines, would be the fi rst urban area. Its construction would inject dynamism into Gonaïves and tackle the question of the city’s vulnerability from a diff erent angle;

Saint Marc, Pont Sondé and Petite Rivière will form the second urban area;

Mirebalais and La Chapelle will play a special role in direct contact with Port-au-Prince and on the road leading to Santo Domingo. Th is location and the presence of a new university will make the sector particularly attractive. Hinche and Pignon will form the urban centers of the central plain.

Saint Michel de l’Attalaye and Saint Raphaël in the north will complete this plan which will include a second university. Th e loop, connected by two main roads to Cap Haïtien, will give the capital of the north a truly Caribbean dimension.Th e plains of the Centre and Artibonite are the main farming and breeding regions of Haiti. A new urban layout, based on a road connected to the container ports of Gonaïves, Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince (when the latter’s port is moved westwards) and easily linked to the Dominican Republic, would create attractive areas intended for the processing industries. Th e creation of customs-free zones along this route would accelerate its development.

Historically, agriculture and the urban activities have been split off from each other, leading to the under-equipment of the farming plains to the benefi t of the towns. Everywhere in the world, the goal is to mix the industrial and urban economies in order to off er their populations a pleasant living environment and the same level of infrastructures.

Th is is the challenge to be taken up in Haiti to develop the processing industries and modernize and redynamize the agriculture sector while off ering another choice of life to the populations that are concentrated in the towns, leading to the creation of large poor districts.

Aft er the earthquake, the Artibonite and Centre departments held a population of 2.6 million inhabitants. Th is 300 km loop (passing through Saint Michel de l’Attalaye) off ers a wide margin for development while being close to nature and avoiding the large urban concentrations.

NETWORKING THE TOWNS

Th e development of the road network will progressively reduce travel time and make travel more dependable. Th is control of time will permit a more rational allocation of the urban functions around the country. It will also help to generate urban models that move away from the hitherto accepted model of the proliferation of cities from their centre outwards. Th is process has progressively asphyxiated Port-au-Prince by multiplying its social and health problems. Sanitation, public spaces, the services and the infrastructures have not been able to keep up with this anarchic growth of the population.

Th e development of mobility associated with the rapid development of virtual means of communication will change the behaviors of the inhabitants. Th e networking of towns is an interesting contemporary model when the territories permit it.

Th e «loop» of the Centre and Artibonite could be based on such a model like a kind of “Haitian Randstat”. In Holland, on a comparable scale, over 7 million inhabitants live in this almost continuous linear urban strip surrounding a large agricultural plain.

Around the plains of the Centre and Artibonite, urban areas could be designed between the existing towns, benefi ting from a network of infrastructures and services that are prioritized and shared out in the diff erent urban sectors.

Th e ports of Gonaïves, Cap-Haitien and Saint Marc, the universities close to Mirebalais and Saint Michel de l’Attalaye, the markets and the bus stations on the principal interchanges and all the other infrastructures (health, administration, schools, etc.) would be shared on a scale enabling their optimization. A reliable and regular public transport system would service this loop in both directions at a guaranteed commercial speed and link up with the better structured traditional means of transport in each urban centre.

On this base of shared infrastructures and services, one can imagine fi ve conurbations developed at a distance of around 30 km from each other (all the services

Nederland Randstat : 7 million of habitants

loop of the Centre and Artibonite : 2.6 million of inhabitants

7Constructing networks of towns to share the use of infr astructures and services and end the creation of mega urban concentrations.

Associating agriculture and the processing industries in the same economic project and over the same area.

SAINT MARC

"KOMBIT SANT LATIBONIT"


CAP HAITIEN

FORT LIBERTEFORT LIBERTE

MADRASMADRAS

OUANAMINTHEOUANAMINTHE

HINCHEHINCHE

SAINT MARC

GONAIVES

MONTAGNES NOIRES

MONTAGNES NOIRES

MASSIF DE

MASSIF DETERRE NEUVE

TERRE NEUVE

MASSIFMASSIFDU NORD

DU NORD

MASSIFMASSIF

DU NORDDU NORD

CORDILLERE

CORDILLERECENTRALE

CENTRALE

CHAINE DES MATHEUX

CHAINE DES MATHEUX

MONTAGNESMONTAGNES

DE TROU D’EAUDE TROU D’EAU

CANAL DE ST MARC BELLADEREBELLADERE

GROS MORNEGROS MORNE

St MICHELSt MICHEL

DE L’ATTALAYEDE L’ATTALAYEMARCHANDMARCHAND

DESSALINESDESSALINESDESDUNESDESDUNES

PETITEPETITE

RIVIERERIVIERE

MIREBALAISMIREBALAIS

St RAPHAELSt RAPHAEL

PIGNONPIGNON

PONTPONT

SONDESONDE

LA CHAPELLELA CHAPELLE

ATLANTIC OCEAN

FACTORIES

UNIVERSITY - CLUSTER

DAMS

FARMING AREAS

URBAN CENTRES

FISHING

INSHORE FISHING

SECONDARY PORT

INTERNATIONAL PORT


LOCAL AIRPORT

I

LIMBÉLIMBÉ

C


- nature and discovery tourism in the zone situated between Borgne and Anse-à-Foleur, prolonged towards Port de Paix and l’Ile de la Tortue.

Th ese zones would be the natural prolongation of the tourist facilities of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic (Monte Christi and Puerto Plata).

Th e tip of the Mole Saint Nicolas is very well placed for the construction of an international maritime hub for container traffi c, but is also has real potential as a tourist resort.

Th e Capital region

It will naturally profi t from its reconstruction and modernization. Its weight, even though reduced to the benefi t of other regions, will still be considerable.In the current situation of a reduced population, there seems to be no obvious need to imagine large extensions of the capital. Th e reconstruction of the centre is the fi rst need, combined with the relocation of the aff ected populations (around 450,000) in new fragmented districts. Th e development satellite in the north must be set up around the new urban centre of Mirebalais, which will probably be the place that symbolizes the new decentralization.

Th e Arcadins coast, once rid of its truck traffi c, will also recover its tourist vocation linked directly to the capital.

Th e Southern region

On the northern coast of the peninsula, Miragoâne will fi t into the network of towns located in the zone of infl uence of Port-au-Prince: Leogâne, Grand Goâve and Petit Goâve.

Th e western and southern coasts, from Jérémie to Les Cayes and Jacmel, should once again become areas of natural and agricultural excellence. To this end, the coastal strip will need to be reinforced and protected by the treatment of the massifs. Th e creation of two national parks in the only forested massifs still existing is a prior necessity. Th e recomposition of the landscape and the training of an environment police force will be undertaken in parallel in this framework.

Th is southern coast turned towards Jamaica, the southern Caribbean and Latin America, can thus recover its place in the world supply of « nature tourism ».

Th ere is also room on this coast for another port. Private projects exist, and they can become viable in the framework of a restored environment.

All the coastal villages are involved in fi shing activities. Th ese should be developed along rational lines along the entire coast by adopting fi shing methods going beyond the rim of the continental plateau.

THE REGIONAL ECONOMIES

Th e principal infrastructures will redesign the Haitian territory. Around new transport facilities via the ports, the airports and the roads, regional economies will be able to reinforce themselves and become attraction centers instead of having business activity concentrated only on Port-au-Prince.

Th is objective for the future is based on the new map of population distribution as it appears one and a half months aft er the earthquake:

47% for the Northern region29% for the Capital region 24% for the Southern region

Th ese relative weights of the population already point to a possible allocation of the future eff orts in regional development.Th e reconstruction phase will have a leverage eff ect in this direction, with three priority areas:-the treatment of the damaged areas-the solutions adopted for the 600,000 inhabitants who have found refuge outside the Capital region-the acceleration of environmental and agricultural programs to settle the populations and protect the new infrastructures.

Th e Northern region

It is reasonable to regard the Northern region, and particularly the Centre and Artibonite departments, as off ering in the future the best chance for structuring the national economy. It is also the only place where an original model of development mixing agriculture, breeding and processing industries can be imagined based on the structuring of a network of medium-sized towns.

Th e northern coast (Port de Paix, Cap Haitien, Fort Liberté, Ouanaminthe) is also an area with great development potential. A new international airport built in Madras would open the possibility of developing a tourist area of great interest catering to three types of tourism:- mass tourism in the Dauphin residential area, with Fort Liberté bay in the centre, suitable for the construction a large wintering marina for cruise ships- cultural tourism concentrated around the Citadelle and Cap Haitien

8L'ÎLE À VACHE

LE BARRAGE DE PELIGRE

LA CITADELLE

JACMEL

40 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 41

THE NORTHERN REGION

CAP HAITIEN

PORT DE PAIX

FORT LIBERTE

MADRAS

OUANAMINTHE

SAINT MARC

GONAÏVES

ILE DE LA TORTUE

ILE DE LA GONAVE

MONTAGNES NOIRES

MASSIF DETERRE NEUVE

MASSIFDU NORD

MASSIFDU NORD

CORDILLERECENTRALE

CHAINE DES MATHEUX

MONTAGNESDE TROU D’EAU

CANAL DE St MARC

GULF OF GONAVE

ATLANTIC OCEAN

PORT-AU-PRINCE BAY

BELLADERE

GROS MORNE

MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

PONT

SONDE

MIREBALAIS

HINCHE

PETITE

RIVIERE

LA CHAPELLE

PIGNON

St RAPHAEL

DESDUNES

St MICHEL

DE L’ATTALAYEMARCHAND

DESSALINES

FACTORIES


DAMS

WINDMILL

AGRICULTURAL PLAINS

PROJECTED STATE


FISHING

INSHORE FISHING

SECONDARY PORT

INTERNATIONAL PORT


LOCAL AIRPORT

TOURISM

42 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 43

THE CAPITAL REGION

LÉOGÂNE

ILE DE LA GONAVE

CHAINE DE LA SELLE

CARIBBEAN SEA

BAIE DE PORT-AU-PRINCE

CANAL DE St MARC

CANAL DE LA GONAVE

JACMEL

PORT-AU-PRINCE

HINCHE

SAINT MARC

MIRAGOÄNEGRAND

GOÂVEPETIT

GOÂVE

MIREBALAISBELLADERE

MARCHAND

DESSALINES

PETITE

RIVIERE

St MICHEL

DE L’ATTALAYE

GONAIVES

LA CHAPELLE

PIGNON

DESDUNES

PONT SONDE

FACTORIES


DAMS

WINDMILL

AGRICULTURAL PLAINS

PROJECTED STATE


FISHING

INSHORE FISHING

SECONDARY PORT

INTERNATIONAL PORT


LOCAL AIRPORT

TOURISM


THE SOUTHERN REGION

JEREMIE

DETROIT DE JAMAIQUE

MIRAGOÂNE

LES CAYES

CARIBBEAN SEA

CANAL DE LA GONAVE

CANAL St MARC

ILE DE LA GONAVE

GRAND

GOÂVE

PETIT

GOÂVE

BAIE DE PORTAU PRINCE

PORT-AU-PRINCE

MIREBALAIS

LÉOGÂNE

CHAINE DE LA SELLE

JACMEL

MASSIF DE LA HOTTE

FACTORIES

UNIVERSITY – CLUSTER

DAMS

WINDMILL

FISHING

INSHORE FISHING SECONDARY PORT

INTERNATIONAL PORTINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

LOCAL AIRPORT

AGRICULTURAL PLAINS PROJECTED STATE


BELLADERE

SAINT MARC

LA CHAPELLE

TOURISM


THE URBAN QUESTION

Each type of organization of housing, from the shantytowns to the city center grids, will require its own method of appropriate intervention, ranging from Indian models of intervention, such as those adopted for the city of Gujurat, to European-style urban development plans. Th ere will not be only one solution, but a series of solutions for stabilizing the urban centers and regulating their growth.

Until January 12th the risk of earthquake was not part of Haitian reality. Now it must be taken into account and this off ers an opportunity for all to adopt a diff erent approach to modernity.

Th e reconstruction of Port-au-Prince will bring about this raising of awareness. It will have to be rebuilt according to antiseismic regulations guaranteeing the future, and above all a page must be turned on the practices of the past that generated a precarious habitat on dangerous sites. A housing policy will be necessary and it must be implemented in the framework of the reinstallation of families that have lost their house, whether they want to stay in Port-au-Prince or agree to live in other regions.

Furthermore, the inhabitants of the disadvantaged districts have the right to have access to a minimum level of basic services, which can be achieved via one-off actions undertaken in partnership with them. Th e district associations structuring social life are the interlocutors who can give a diff erent meaning to « urban action » in a context where the scarcity of human and fi nancial resources hinders the implementation of a genuine urban development policy. Th e reactions of the inhabitants, who organized themselves during the crisis into oft en spontaneously formed emergency committees, are the beginnings of this organization that must be reinforced and given a legal framework..

9

Adapting the urban approaches to the realities of the country to progressively regain control of the cities.

Th e country has lived for numerous years in a manner whereby survival overrides every other consideration. Deforestation and its cohort of dramatic consequences is its primary expression. Th e fl ow of population to the urban centers then had the eff ect of creating shantytowns in all of them. Th e nation as well as the cities are in a process of disintegration and in a state of great vulnerability.

Th e absence of regulation and control explains the scope of the present drama. Th e earthquake did not fi t into the picture as Haitians saw it. It now acts as a revelation of the general situation.

« Never again » is the slogan most oft en heard at this time. It is applicable to the construction of the new urban areas to be created in the framework of the reconstruction. It is also applicable to the reconstruction of « formal » demolished areas like those in the center of Port-au-Prince where an approach adopting best practices may be contemplated.

Th e question will be more complicated for all the “informal” districts that resisted the earthquake but which feature the same defi ciencies as before January 12th.

Direct action taken in all these areas is an insurmountable task in the short term. It will be necessary to imagine other population movements to regions developed in the framework of a new policy of regional development, before then reconquering the unsuitable housing districts that subsist today.

BEFORE AFTERCITY OF GUJARAT IN INDIA

A principle of best practices adapted to the habitat of the disadvantaged


LAND

A recurring question that has become an obstacle to action the development of cities.

In the diff erent timeframes of the reconstruction, the implementation of each project necessitates action involving land which will strongly depend on the urban context.

Urgent land measures

On the sites destroyed by the earthquake, the state has to make a quick decision to authorize or not their reconstruction, depending on their vulnerability to seismic and climatic risks.

Th is fi rst priority immediately raises the issue of land. If a site is declared unfi t for building, appropriate sites must be found to rehouse the inhabitants. In these urgent actions, the land ownership rights must not be an obstacle, and once a rehousing site is found, the state must be able to take possession of it rapidly, if necessary by a temporary occupation decision. Of course, this emergency decision can be contemplated only if the arrangements for the compensation of the owners are eff ective.

Land actions in the informal sector

Th e omnipresence of informality in Haiti, expressed notably in the temporary or permanent occupation of land, raises the question of the land ownership rights and dysfunctions in this fi eld.

A signifi cant share of the existing urban pattern in Haiti is created by the informal occupation of land. Th e inhabitants move onto land without acquiring any rights to it and build their own dwelling on it. Th e state, lacking in appropriate means of control, is unable to prevent this self-organized and illegal occupation, and at the same time the owners of the land concerned generally remain passive.

Th e result is a complex situation with contradictory interests overlapping: on one side are the offi cial owners with rights and on the other are the inhabitants aspiring to be regularized and become owners aft er 20 years of de facto occupation. Th is situation involves a fragile balance, with latent social tension. A break with the status in favor of the offi cial legal owners, to the detriment of the informal occupants, carries real social risk. Conversely, the regularization of the informal occupation raises the question of the compensation of owners.

In the period of transitional urgency, an activating project such as the creation of public services in informal districts shows the inhabitants that the state is truly present, but it does not solve this tricky question, on which the state will have to take up a position in the reconstruction phase.

In another register, the activating projects involving city streets aim to canalize the oft en anarchic occupation of public areas by commercial activities and to restore to the roads a minimum of eff ectiveness in their transport function. Th ese projects require access to suffi ciently large plots of land in the cities to create markets and bus stations. It will probably be diffi cult to expropriate the land in this case and it will have to be acquired by mutual agreement, backed up with the possibility of urban pre-emption.

Th e projects in a structured urban context

For the activating projects such as the creation of development hubs, the realization of integrated projects, the reconstruction of a city-center grid or the reconquest of the coastal strip, the options in terms of public use of land depend on the complexity of the sites and the motivation of land owners concerned by the operation.

To implement these projects, the authorities can adopt several possible strategies:

• Start with a publically owned site and, as required, add on additional pieces of land to reach the required area. Th is is typically the strategy for the implementation of development hubs in medium-sized towns.

• Leave the initiative of reconstruction to the owners and impose only the urban development directives. To simplify and accelerate the implementation, the state can also urge the owners to set up an urban real estate association.

Th e state could also decide to intervene as a replacement player when owners wish to pull out of an operation. It would then buy the real estate, with the option of becoming a member of the urban real estate association or of running it temporarily before selling it to another investor. Th is type of intervention is suited to a complex real estate confi guration such as a grid-pattern district.

• In a fi rmer type of intervention, the state can decide to take on the role of real estate regulator: a public operational tool then regroups the entire operation and launches a public development operation. Th e private owners present in the operation can stay and receive planning permission in exchange for the contribution of their plot, or leave the project in return for monetary compensation. Th is mode of intervention is suited for integrated projects or projects on a certain scale involving the long term, such as the reconquest of the coastal strip.

Th e infrastructures

In the light of the construction time involved and because these investments are public, anticipatory action is possible, with simple tools :

- Th e listing of land reserved for public purposes in the urban planning documents- A pre-emptive right to create land reserves- Expropriation for public utility purposes

Th e need for skills to handle land issues

Whether it be for today’s urgent actions, the transitional period in the months and years to come, or for the implementation of infrastructure projects, the state is and will be confronted with land issues.

Hence it needs specifi c skills; the setting up of a public body dedicated to dealing with land and organized with the objective of achieving maximum operational effi ciency and capitalizing on its know-how is an interesting possibility to explore.

Th e implementation of projects also raises the basic principle that the state is able to ensure compliance with transparent land ownership rights, based on the respect for public ownership as well as private ownership, and integrating the prerogatives of the general interest.


BUILT-UP AREAS AND THE ACTIVATING PROJECTS

Th e urgent action required due to the earthquake and according to progressive timeframes must be combined with that of « activating projects » for undertaking identifi ed and controlled actions.

Th ese projects pursue 3 objectives:

• To materialize on the ground the presence of the state and create points of contact with the population

• To provide the population with a minimum of services to prevent giving the impression of a two-speed reconstruction.

• To create pilot or prototype projects, including in their implementation a learning process on construction risks and best practices.

Th ese projects can be on diff erent scales and pursue diff erent objectives. Th ey will be distributed around the country according to a program to be drawn up. Th e prototype projects must be associated with sites aff ected by the earthquake.

For the emergency phase and keeping in touch with the notion of damage which is fundamental to the reconstruction process, the 7 following projects illustrate the idea of these activating projects:

1 - Th e concourses and sociability centers : public services integrated into the informal districts.

2 - Th e transport facilities : structuring of the main markets and intermodal transport hubs in the cities.

3 - Th e development hubs (one example) : the site of the lycée of Léogâne.

4 - Th e integrated projects : the Martissant park sector from the hills to the sea

5 - Urban planning and formal housing : recons-truction of the Port-au-Prince « grid ».

6 - Th e question of the coastal strip : reconstruction of the maritime fringe of Port-au-Prince.

7 - Symbolic architecture : reconstruction of the Champ de Mars.

10


1 - CONCOURSES AND SOCIABILITY

CENTRES

Th e fi rst type of activating project would consist of designing a series of collective micro-amenities on the fringe of disadvantaged districts. Th eir objective is to provide the populations with a minimum of public services, to lay the foundations for « district committee houses » and install the public presence with a view to favoring the transformation of these districts. Numerous examples exist and these will have to be adapted to each situation.

In Morocco, in the subsidized-rent districts, public baking houses and baths (Turkish baths) are the basic amenities of these programs. In Colombia, in Medelin and Bogota, small media libraries are asso-ciated with service premises.

In the Haitian cities, public wash-houses linked by drinking fountains and well-structured street restau-rants would form the necessary amenities. Another possibility is the systematic combination of points of sale for propane and mobile telephone cards. Cooperation with the industrial companies of these essential sectors should be contemplated to set up this combination.

A further possibility is to associate these amenities with a public area (a football pitch) used for sport and festivities, as well as an assembly point in crisis situations. Th e district committee house would then become the HQ during natural crises.

Sites of 8,000 to 10,000 m2 with buildings of several hundred m2 would suffi ce to fi ll this role of reference points for disadvantaged districts containing several thousand inhabitants.

For all these projects, the support of women’s orga-nizations will be sought..

Expressing the state’s presence in the disadvantaged district.

Giving a formal fr amework to relations with the representatives of the inhabitants.

DISTRICT AMENITIES IN MEDELLIN AND BOGOTA IN COLOMBIA

STABILIZED INFORMAL DISTRICT

BIBLIOTECA PARQUE ESPANA_GIAN CARLOS MAZZANTI, MEDELLIN

INTERMODAL PLACE, PUNTO DE ENCUENTRO , LAS AGUAS, BOGOTA

BIBLIOTECA LEON DE GRIEFF, GIAN CARLOS MAZZANTI, MEDELLIN


2 - THE TRANSPORT FACILITIES

« Th e road is the living room of the people ».

It is a physical and cultural reality: the roads are the major public spaces of the country. Numerous and colorful public transport services throng these roads. Th ey are indeed rather ineffi cient but they provide a service adapted to the economic situation. Th ey combine mobility and sociability and an aesthetic approach that creates a culture and a tradition.

Th e advent of the middle class has added another parameter to this situation: the « drive-in » aspect of the road in the urban sectors. Th is commercial link between drivers and traders reaches its paroxysm close to markets, leading to vast traffi c jams.

All these factors rule out any control of travel time, and this will be aggravated by the increase in individual car ownership which creates a physical obstacle to a controlled economic development of the country.

Th e 9 m width of the major inter-urban networks meets the needs of the present situation, especially since alternative routes will be created on the country’s major motorways.

However, to be able to guarantee on the long distances a real speed of 50 to 60 km/h, it will be necessary to implement a systematic policy of ring-roads around the towns.

Th is will form part of an urban planning project based on the movement and the rationalization of markets associated with the creation of bus stations and service hubs. Without changing the « TAP TAP » bus system, this would provide networks of bus transport with set timetables on the main routes created in the framework of the recons-truction.

Constructing new transport facilities around the markets and bus stations.

Associating these projects with the new road networks while protecting the smooth fl ow of traffi c.

PORT-AU-PRINCE MARKET

ROAD NATIONALE 1 CROSSING SAINT MARC

TELEPHONE CARD POINT OF SALE


3 - THE DEVELOPMENT HUBS

Numerous schools were destroyed by the earth-quake. Th ere is an urgent need to reconstruct this education network in Port-au-Prince, of course, but also throughout the country in order to balance the services in the light of the new demographic map of Haiti. Th is is a priority before any regionalization program.

Th e construction of schools is a primary need and this situation can also be used to build a new network of public places serving other functions and becoming the benchmark places of the reconstruction and crisis management plan.Th e reduction of climatic vulnerability will be a long process and the inhabitants must live and rebuild their lives while integrating this risk. Th e develo-pment hubs could be given the additional remit of experimentation and the circulation of knowledge in a form accessible to the population.

Th e site of the lycée of Léogâne built by the architect Mangones and destroyed by the earthquake can be the prototype of such a public amenity to be repro-duced later in the country’s principal urban centers.

Th e site covers 3 hectares, is well located close to the route nationale 1 and still has housing units and a large amphitheater that resisted the earthquake.

It also contains attractive gardens and a football pitch transformed into a refugee camp. Th ese safe structures with modern and reliable telecommuni-cation facilities and built according to safety rules that can be passed on to the population and builders could be showcases for good building practices. Th ey would affi rm in the country its access to the modernity inseparable from such a reconstruction eff ort.

Combining infr astructure and service programs on strategic sites (3 hectares).

Making them symbolic places of the reconstruction process, with a risk management learning process incorporated.

LE SITE DU LYCÉE

LE CENTRE DE LÉOGÂNE

LE LYCÉE DE LÉOGÂNE


4 - THE INTEGRATED PROJECTS

One of the key focuses of the reconstruction process will be to associate environmental, social, cultural and urban issues in the pilot projects. If their scope is well defi ned and controlled, they can serve as methodological and operational laboratories for urban transformation.

Martissant Park to the west of Port-au-Prince would be an ideal site for this family of projects. An expro-priated decree has already been promulgated around the park grouping together the Leclerc, Dunham and Mangones residences.

Th e management of this environmental and cultural project has been entrusted to the NGO FOKAL which is managing the rehousing of the families that occupied the former hotel.

Th e question now is to prolong the scope of the decree to the sea and develop the project along 5 lines:

1. Th e draining and landscaping of the hills overlooking the park.

2. Th e development of this magnifi cent forest area which testifi es to the forgotten luxuriance of the island aft er the systematic destruction of its forest cover.

3. Th e restructuring of the hill and ravine districts surrounding the park.

4. Th e specifi c rebuilding of this sector of the route nationale 2 that can fi t into the general framework of the improvement of the western exit from Port-au-Prince.

5. Th e eradication of the insalubrious habitat on a former dump on the coastal strip and the redeve-lopment of this sector.

One or more operating structures could in a given time (10 years) carry through the transformation of this integrated redevelopment zone.

3

1

2

4

5

FORMER HOTEL OF THE LECLERC RESIDENCE

LE PARC DE L'HABITATION

THE HOUSING SECTORS AROUND THE PARK'S RAVINES

Introducing in identifi ed and controlled sites the notion of coordinated projects.

Associating issues and methodologies adapted to each type of challenge.


5 - THE CITY CENTERS

Th e city center grids are the symbols of the historical structuring of cities. Th e Port-au-Prince grid has become progressively pauperized. Some streets are invaded by corpora-tions, such as the garage owners. It is now a fi eld of ruins where few buildings survived the earthquake.

Controlled urban planning in identifi ed sectors can express in these situations the spirit of urban renewal.

Th is is the opportunity to lay down the rules of a large-scale urban project carried out rapidly, drawn up by a single project manager and associating the owners of land in an appropriate structure while leaving them the choice of selling their land or using it in the framework of a collective project.

Th e regular grid of streets 15 m wide on a north-south and east-west axis should be kept but the public amenities of these streets will vary to meet the needs of pedestrians and traffi c. Th e spirit of this new city will be expressed in the proportion of façades limited probably to 3 stories over a high ground fl oor framed by a continuous arcade. Th is ground fl oor will be divisible into separate stores.

Th e former open spaces built on over the years should be freed up again for gardens and passages on which the buildings could be higher with 5 to 6 levels not impacting on the street façades but providing the city with physical and functional diversity. Some blocks could also be restructured to accommodate according to clear rules and in safe conditions the corporations that have progressively occupied the streets.

Some blocks should be redesigned to provide public squares or amenities. Th e reconstruction of the Port-au-Prince grid would then provide examples for a vast debate on the restoration and upgrading of the centers of a network of historic cities: Les Cayes, Jacmel, Port-au-Prince, Port de Paix, Cap Haitien, etc..

LE DAMIER DE PORT-AU-PRINCE : PRINCIPE DE SATURATION PROGRESSIVE DES COEURS D'ILOTS

LE DAMIER DE JACMEL

LE DAMIER DE JÉRÉMIE

Restoring the city centers.

Using the reconstruction of Port-au-Prince grid as a methodological laboratory.


6 - THE QUESTION OF THE COASTAL

STRIP

Th e question of the sea fronts arises in all the cities. Th e Haitian population has turned its back on the sea and neglected this façade, creating a new environ-mental tragedy. Th e Bicentenary Park built aft er the last war was the last attempt to win back this façade. Th e extension of the Port and the general spread of shantytowns along the coast destroyed these eff orts. Th e country’s relation to the sea will change. Th e Haitian diaspora changes people’s approach by associating the coast with vacationing. Th e younger generation increasingly globalised by virtual means of commu-nication naturally adopt other living standards.

Th e reconstruction of Port-au-Prince and its center cannot be implemented without tackling this question in a radical way. Th e city must once again be opened to on the sea.

Th e rehabilitation of the port’s quays is a necessity, but the relocation of the port to the île à Cabris sector must be studied at the same time as the resto-ration of the quays. Th ese hubs will off er for the future a new develo-pment zone to be undertaken aft er a careful evaluation of the earthquake risks.

Th e relocation or the radical restructuring of the market must be linked to the project to build a seaside promenade worthy of the capital of a state. From the land of the Alliance Française to the south quay of the Port, a development study must be carried out and a plan of action implemented at the same time as the reconstruction of the grid.

Th is work must lead to a general debate on the resto-ration of the coastal façade in all the urban centers to defi nitively eradicate the occupation of these sites by disgraceful shantytowns.

LES CAYES

SAINT MARC

THE COAST OF PORT-AU-PRINCE

THE PARC DU BICENTENAIRE

Restoring physical and ecological links with the sea.

Reconquering the coastal strip by starting symbolically with the capital.


7 - THE SYMBOLIC ARCHITECTURE

Map key :

1.PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

2.PALACE OF THE MINISTRIES

3.LAW COURTS

4.CENTRAL TAX OFFICE

5.GENERAL HOSPITAL

6.SALINES BARRACKS

Th e Champ de Mars is the symbolic center of the state. Th e earthquake’s destruction aff ected all the public buildings, the presidential palace, the minis-tries, the parliament house, the court, the central tax offi ce, the cathedral and many other buildings.

On this scale, a radical revamp is possible by funda-mentally reorganizing the structure of this place.

Th e public areas and a new conception of the road network will be the fi rst acts of this transformation. Th en the monumental architecture will give meaning to the modernization of the state.

Th e debate on the principles for the reconstruction of the presidential palace has been launched. Th e imposing mass of this white monolith forms part of the place, although it has already been rebuilt fi ve times in the course of its history.

Should it be rebuilt to the identical model or be replaced by a completely new building? In any case, this will be the subject of a large-scale international competition and the example that may at this stage throw light on the debate is that of the Reichstag in Berlin where a contemporary dome crowns the restored historic building.

Apart from this symbolic case, the renewal of archi-tectural policy for the capital and the rest of the country will be a key ingredient of the reconstruc-tion.

THE REICHSTAG IN BERLIN, NORMAN FOSTER ARCHITECTE

4

2

1

3

5

6

PRESIDENTIAL PALACE LAW COURTS PALACE OF THE MINISTRIES

Making architectural and technical quality (antiseismic standards) a symbol of the country‘s rebirth.

Using the reconstruction of the Champ de Mars as a showcase of this policy.


11WHAT TOOLS FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION ?

Th e overview proposed in this document combined with the work of the post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) allow us to tackle the future in the knowledge of where we come from and where we want to go. Th e question is how.Th e creation of one or more specifi c entities is evoked and it is true that a context as exceptional as this can justify the setting up of exceptional tool. Th e precise defi nition of such an entity or entities is outside the strict framework of the present document but a certain number of principles and some organizational recommendations can still contribute to laying the foundation of the future organization

Some principles

Th e process of reconstruction must be the occasion for restoring and reinforcing the state. Hence all the national structures involved in the reconstruction must be run by the national authorities.Th is process must also enable the decentralization process to take a signifi cant step forward: so the regional and departmental authorities must necessarily be closely associated.As we have seen, the reconstruction eff ort begins with actions of vital urgency (immediate), involves large-scale project over the short term (two years) and must be prolonged over the medium term (ten years) and even the long term (twenty years). Every structure set up must cover at least the fi rst three timeframes and hence be rapidly eff ective and effi cient but also solid and proactive.Th e reconstruction eff ort requires human and fi nancial resources on a large scale, some of which will be provided by the international community. It is desirable that these can be made available in very effi cient manner: accelerated and harmonized procedures (single fund or single channel). In terms of fi nancial resources, the ambition described in the present document very largely outstrips the funding capacity of international aid. Th is situation and the keen expectations of numerous players on every rung of the social ladder points to the need for

complementary funding in the form of a loan based on mechanisms to be decided in time.To be eff ective, the state must also make a certain number of commitments to the citizens and partners and set up a mechanism that is legible, transparent and eff ective.

Some suggestions

In line with the principles presented above, the Haitian state must provide itself with tools appropriate for the needs of the projects to be carried through.

Town and country planning and regional development :

▪ design and building of major road, port and airport infrastructures, as well as major structuring health and education facilities

▪ design and creation of economic activity zones profi ting from the new development framework and contributing to its reinforcement

▪ building of a part of these infrastructures and amenities in partnership with the national and international private sector

To achieve these objectives, a special regional development fund could be set up. It would direct clearly and voluntarily a percentage of the funds to the province (if possible progressively, with a minimum 50-50 balance between the capital and the rest of the country in three years).

Local development

▪ realization of activating projects at district level (commune) to lead to ordered urban growth, the development of basic services for the population, the improvement of housing, the protection and the harnessing of natural riches and assets

▪ setting up management structures adapted to each of these projects to ensure their durability

To achieve these objectives, a local development fund could be set up.

Land issues

Nothing serious can be achieved before tackling the land issue. Th e absence of a land register is already a handicap for any development policy. Th is must be remedied by rapidly setting up tools which can initially be simplifi ed. Th is work, interministerial by its nature, must be launched rapidly by CIAT.Th e situation created by the earthquake in the Port-au-Prince region and in several large towns also makes it possible for the authorities to acquire land in strategic areas. Th is opportunity should not be missed to settle the scheduling of their improvement and future development.A land agency could be set up in this spirit. Depending on the nature of the projects, it could be funded by the special regional development fund or the local development fund.

Protection of natural areas and reforestation policy

▪ creation of three nature parks and simultaneous setting up of an environmental police force

▪ implementation of a reforestation policyTh is highly strategic policy could be placed directly under the authority of the President of the Republic and be funded by the two funds mentioned above.

Education, training, communication

Th e reconstruction process forms a full-scale laboratory of the reaction of a state to a major natural disaster.

Th e culture of risk management and the reduction of vulnerabilities will serve as benchmarks if the implementation of all the projects and programs is accompanied by an education and training policy as well as by a communication policy.

Th ese recommendations draw the contours of the operational and management bodies to be set up or consolidated. At operational level, in order to implement very rapidly and coherently all the program, a single entity could be set up with the following remits :

▪ ensure the eff ective realization of the national program for town and country planning and regional development either directly or with the backing of the existing execution units (UTE of MEF, UCE of MTPTC notably) through the special regional development fund.

▪ accompany the local development projects through specialized engineering and support for the local human resources by drawing on the local development fund. For these projects, the national entity should be considerably decentralized in its structure and functioning.

▪ contribute to the setting up of a land agency or take on the remits of such an agency.

▪ prepare the technical and juridical conditions for setting up as soon as possible the nature parks and the reforestation policy.

▪ contribute to setting up education, training and communication policies.

An entity of this type would represent the following advantages:- act as a single entry point for all the donors

at operational level to carry through the reconstruction program drawn up by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister in agreement with the donor country;

- development of the institutional tools necessary for setting up this program;

- fl exibility in the implementation of projects;- high-level study and analysis tools shared out;- overseeing of the external technical assistance;- payment for this mission of delegate project

managership;- a more eff ective anti-corruption eff ort through

regular external and internal audits;- recruitment of expatriate Haitians at international

salary levels;- creation of the skills and resources necessary to

reinforce the state;- multidisciplinary approach to projects;- possibility of innovative fi nancial arrangements

(loans, partnership with private sector, etc.);- possibility of undertaking development operations

fi nanced by long-term concessionary loans.

In terms of supervision, the responsibilities must be assumed at the highest level of the state and the government.All the government must then be directly involved in this program of national scope. CIAT (possibly including other players), in compliance with its remit, could play its stimulation and coordination role to the full as well establishing links with the technical and fi nancial partners for the upstream preparation of the strategic decisions to be proposed.


12TABLE OF PROJECTS

Roads

Principal network To be decided

Port-au-Prince – Mirebalais To be decided •

Regional network To be decided

Through Port-au-Prince To be decided •To be decided

Capital region To be decided •Southern region To be decided •Strategic and Urban network To be decided •

Ports

Redevelopment of Port-au-Prince port To be decided •Transfer of Port-au-Prince port To be decided •Redevelopment of Ginaives port To be decided •Redevelopment of Cap Haitien port To be decided •Port de Paix To be decided •Fort Liberté To be decided •Saint Marc To be decided •Miragoanes To be decided •Les Cayes To be decided •Jacmel To be decided •Coastal fishing ports and landing stages To be decided •

Airports

Restructuring of Port-au-Prince airport To be decided •Madras - Cap Haitien To be decided •Les Cayes To be decided •

Structuring

Southern route To be decided

To be decidedArtibonite loop

Northern region

US$ investment

•

Urgency Transition

• •

• •

StructuringUS$ investment Urgency Transition

Environment

Cash for Work for planting in farming areas To be decided •

Treatment of catchment areas under the President or Prime Minister To be decided •

Subsidized domestic cooking appliances To be decided •

Treatment of 4 priority catchment areas To be decided •

Conversion of the craft or industrial installations To be decided •

Reinforcement of public governance system To be decided •

Agriculture: organization and structures To be decided •

Education system revamped To be decided •Reinforcement of protected areas and extensions To be decided •

Treatment of all the catchment areas at risk To be decided •

Creation of three national nature parks To be decided •

Constitutional reform To be decided •

Urban questions and “activating” projects

Reconstruction projects in the CapitalTo be decided •

Acquisition of strategic land To be decided •

Reconstruction of Port-au-Prince center To be decided •

Reconstruction of the sea front To be decided •

Reconstruction of the Champs de Mars To be decided •

Reconstruction of the other districts To be decided •

Structuring projects in the shantytowns To be decided •To be decided

Projects in the regional cities To be decided •

“Activating” projects To be decided •

Acquisition of strategic land To be decided •Structuring of main markets and intermodal transport hubs To be decided •

Structuring projects in the shantytowns To be decided •

la route sud

Regional development

La Chapelle university centre To be decided •

St Michel de l’Atalaye university centre To be decided •

With the support of:

Bernard Reichen

Architect-Urban PlannerReichen & Robert & Partners

SETEC

Engineering consultancy

Alfred Peter

Landscape architect

Report fi nanced by

the World Bank

OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

FOR RECONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY

GOVERNMENT OF HAITI

Report drawn up by :



GOVERNMENT OF HAITI