OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

FOR RECONSTRUCTING
THE COUNTRY

GOVERNMENT OF HAITI
Inter-Ministerial Committee For Territorial Development
CIAT
MARCH 2010
 OBJECTIVES AND
STRATEGIES
FOR
RECONSTRUCTING
THE COUNTRY
GOVERNMENT OF HAITI
CONTENTS

p. 5 1. Transforming the disaster into an opportunity

p. 11 2. The new forms of regional solidarity
- The Northern region
- The Capital region
- The Southern region

p. 14 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

p. 18 4. The ports and airports

- The strategic infrastructures of a national development plan
- Maritime transport
- The airports

p. 23 5. The spiral of vulnerability

- An alarming permanent feature

p. 29 6. The integrated management of catchment areas

- A global project
- A virtuous chain linked to the reconstruction strategies

p. 35 7. Networking the towns

p. 39 8. The regional economies

p. 47 9. The urban question

p. 51 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
"the present of past, it is memory - Symbolic architecture

the present of present, it is action p. 66 11. What tools for the reconstruction ?
the present of future, it is expectation" p. 68 12. Table of projects
Paul Ricoeur

2 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 3

 1TRANSFORMING THE
DISASTER INTO AN
OPPORTUNITY
A major earthquake that shatters the centre of a
country is a rare event in history. This 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 effects of an earth-
quake.
This 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 confidence
of the population.
Reawakening the taste for collective action and the
common good is one of the keys to reconstruction.
This is no longer the subject of a debate waged in
vain for far too many years; it has now become a
vital necessity. The 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.
This 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.
This connecting thread will take the form of three
central objectives:
4 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN
-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 after the
earthquake and Port-au-Prince has lost 800,000
inhabitants altogether.
This dramatic situation is also an opportunity for
the future provided that the planning takes different
timeframes into account. Four timeframes may be
considered:
- The time for vital urgent action
- The “transitional” time
- The time for structuring projects
- The 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.
The 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.
The time for structuring projects, starting with the
main infrastructures, may be considered to last 10
years. This goal also coincides with the perspective
of the Hope II law and the objectives of the
international community.
5
 The « transitional » time is the most difficult
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.
The movement of the population is on a large scale.
It is now essential to be able to offer a choice to these
populations to imagine another life plan involving
participating in the national reconstruction process
in the regions.
Offering them housing and a job is the first priority.
This will specifically 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
TURGEAU DISTRICT
victims, the destruction of thousands of schools in the
region of Port-au-Prince is surely the most appalling
and unjust fact. The 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. The creation of such a structure, decentralized
and no longer concentrated in the capital, would be
the symbol of the country’s rebirth. The Haitian
CARTE OCHA 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.
The structuring of the actions of reconstruction ,
answering to very differents timeframes, concern
all the decisions taken for regional and urban
development. These sciences, applicable over the
long term and in a formal world, must here be
adapted to a situation dominated by urgency and
informality.
This implies adopting a series of simple and
operational decisions that lay the foundations for
a set of «virtuous chains» that the population can
understand.
6 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN
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 effects 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.
These 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.
The 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
confidence of the population in public action.
By relying on local liaisons, the state will be able to
multiply its means of action.
The task will be complex and the actors numerous.
Public action will have to be precise to generate
projects that are simple, quantifiable and manageable
over time.
These projects must also become the levers of
economic and social transformation through the
appropriate link-up between the different objectives
pursued. The 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.
7
8 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 9
 The Capital region

NORTHERN REGION
2
THE NEW FORMS
This region forms the center of the Ouest department.
It is the region most affected 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 influx; in the past
20 years the population of Port-au-Prince has
OF REGIONAL doubled, rising from 1.5 to 2.8 million inhabitants.
This situation, directly linked to the deterioration
SOLIDARITY of living conditions in the rest of the country and
to an abnormal concentration of business activities
CAPITAL REGION and basic services in the capital, in turn led to the
deterioration of conditions in the capital itself, a
SOUTHERN REGION situation now revealed by the scale of the damage
The option of a decentralization of the Haitian state, and the number of victims of the earthquake.
backed up by a fairer share-out of investments around
the country, is now recognized as a necessity. The Capital region contains 29% of the national
REGIONS
population. Its reconstruction must follow
With this objective in mind, if one overlays the a « qualitative » plan based on controlling
map of the population movements on that of the the seismic and environmental risks while not
limits imposed by the geography, three main regions contributing to a renewed increase in its population.
logically stand out. This 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.
The Northern region

The group of 5 departments, Nord Ouest, Nord, The Southern region

Nord Est, Artibonite and Centre, clustered around
the Artibonite agricultural plain, is now the most The four departments in the south, Nippes, Sud,
heavily populated region in Haiti. Grande Anse and Sud Est, make up 24% of the
Taking into account the population movements population. The area is vulnerable to cyclones,
after the earthquake, it now has 4,766,000 inhabi- floods and earthquakes; it could also become an area
tants, making up 47% of the population. with a high tourist, agricultural and environmental
potential open to the South of the Caribbean and
This region is less vulnerable to cyclones and earth- Latin America.
quake risks than the south of the country. Howe-
ver, it requires an immense management program of
METROPOLITAN NETWORK
flood risks in the catchment areas, with one particu- Over the next decade, these three territorial alliances
larly vulnerable point: the city of Gonaïves. are likely to become the setting for renewed efforts
This city of 300,000 inhabitants is the symbol of the in environmental protection, designed to reduce
country’s independence, a strategic location impor- the vulnerability of populations and property.
RÉGIONS Population before Population movements Current population tant for the future and a place requiring an exceptio- They should be the theatre of the implementation
the earthquake (displaced persons and victims) nal policy of environmental protection. of a coordinated policy for the creation of new
The policy of investments in the infrastructures, infrastructures favoring balanced economic
associated with the protection of the latter, consti- development.
NORTHERN 4 424 482 +342 000 4 766 000 47% tutes the key priority project that will enable the
CAPITAL 3 867 000 - 854 000 3 013 000 29% economic redevelopment of the country to take off. It is the structural link-up between these different
stakes that we seek to spell out in the framework
SOUTHERN 2 164 000 +262 000 2 426 000 24% On this condition, the Artibonite plain, the region of a development strategy for the country. In the
of Hinche and the northern coastal strip around emergency created by these exceptional conditions,
TOTAL 10 455 539 10 206 000 Port de Paix, Cap Haitien and Fort Liberté could the framing of reconstruction actions will necessarily
in the future become the major economic drivers of derive from a political project capable of creating the
DEMOGRAPHY AND REGIONS Haiti. More to the south, Saint Marc and Mirebalais conditions for a governance guaranteeing these new
are the key links with the Capital region and with territorial balances. The political agenda must form
the Dominican Republic. part of the general agenda of the reconstruction.

10 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 11

 PORT DE PAIX OCEAN ATLANTIQUE

CAP HAÏTIEN
MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

FORT LIBERTE
GROS MORNE

OUANAMINTHE
GONAÏVES ST MICHEL
DE L’ATALAYE
MARCHAND
DESSALINES
MER DES CARAÏBES
REGION NORD

HINCHE
SAINT MARC
PETITE RIVIERE

REPUBLIQUE
DOMINICAINE
MIREBALAIS

BELLADERE

JEREMIE

LEOGANE PORT AU PRINCE

MIRAGOÂNE PETIT GRAND

GOÂVE GOÂVE

REGION CAPITALE
REGION SUD

JACMEL
LES CAYES
MER DES CARAÏBES
REGIONAL SOLIDARITY
12 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 13
 3
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. The template adopted for the
road projects structuring all the main roads is a 2-way
1-lane road 9 meters wide. The Saint Marc road
that has just been completed is the most common
example quoted. This type of road functions
correctly in a situation of constant use and moderate
THE ROAD NETWORK speed, and is adapted to the local reality: the road
is a public space of social interaction. These roads
A STRATEGIC TOOL 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
Designing the road network the question of economic development and its effect
as the structuring element on the circulation of people and goods. For the
major routes, the eventual widening of roads and, in
and the catalyst of urban the short term, the creation of ring-roads around the
developments. cities must be planned to cope with the inevitable
increase of car ownership, especially if there is no
alternative to road travel.
The principal difficulty 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 difficult and
time-wasting for transit traffic. 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. This 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
The creation of a reliable, continuous and protected
primary network is the primary need of the
reconstruction process. This network will ensure
the transport continuity of Haiti’s territory. By
following rigorously the routes of the projects
14
currently under way and by sticking in the first phase
to the model of a 2-way 1-lane road, a priority route
of 825 km can be identified.
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).
The Southern road
The 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.
The 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.
Then it follows the route nationale 3 to Hinche and
Mirebalais.
In this way, the coastal road 1 is protected from
truck traffic and three distinct routes link Port-au-
Prince to Cap-Haitien, thus evening out the traffic
across the agricultural plain. The mountain route
from Gonaïves to Cap-Haitien will of course have
to be recalibrated to permit truck traffic.
A role of distributor to a secondary network
This 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
The 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.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 15
 PORT DE PAIX
ATLANTIC OCEAN

72 km
LOOP MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS CAP HAÏTIEN

88
km
FORT
GROS MORNE LIBERTE

STRATEGIC CONNECTION RN1 RN6

RN5 72 km

km
RN6

3
10
RN3

NET WORKING TERTIARY OUANAMINTHE

RN1
St RAPHAEL
St MICHEL
NUMBERING OF

87
RN5 GONAÏVES DE L’ATALAYE

km
ROADS
RN1
MARCHAND PIGNON
72 km OUTSTRIP IN DESDUNES
KILOMETERS DESSALINES
RN3
REGION
PONT SONDE
CARIBBEAN SEA NORD HINCHE

SAINT MARC PETITE RIVIERE

128 km
13
7
REPUBLIQUE

km
17 DOMINICAINE
1k
m
LA CHAPELLE
MIREBALAIS 55 km
RN1 BELLADERE

RN3

JEREMIE

65 km
LEOGÂNE RN8
RN2 PORT AU
MIRAGOÂNE PETIT GRAND PRINCE
GOÂVE GOÂVE
RN2 96 km
REGION
97

REGION

118 km
CAPITALE
km

SUD
km RN4
RN7 104
RN2
JACMEL

LES CAYES

CARIBBEAN SEA
THE ROAD NETWORK
16 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 17

INSHORE FISHING NEAR JÉRÉMIE
CINA QUAY
SAINT MARC PORT
PORT-AU-PRINCE PORT
4
THE PORTS AND
AIRPORTS
THE STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURES
OF A NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PLAN
Reconstructing the relation with
the sea in the framework 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. This 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
The 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. This 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. This configuration must be
taken advantage of to favor maritime activities, with
transport as the priority. The closeness of the ports
of the north and south coasts to the neighboring
countries also gives them a clear tourist vocation.
In terms of maritime freight, Haiti must provide
itself with several ports capable of receiving container
ships. The principal ports will be located in Port-au-
Prince, Cap Haitien and Gonaïves.
The partial destruction of the present port of Port-
au-Prince, which accounts for 80% of the country’s
maritime traffic, 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.
The almost permanent traffic 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 efficiency of the port activity. Shifting
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.
The hypothesis of a transfer would open up the
possibility of creating a new and efficient economic
hub to the north-west of the capital. The 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.
The two other main ports of the country offer
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
significant contribution to regional development.
The population of Gonaïves, a large city, rose
from 200,000 to 300 000 inhabitants after 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. The existence
of a port of national importance would help to create
jobs, an essential condition for retaining the present
population.
Furthermore, relay ports for the regional Caribbean
traffic, not affecting 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. These
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 .
The airports
Based on the same objectives of regional balance and
openness to the outside world, the international air
traffic 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 sufficient, even should there
be large growth in traffic. The capacity of these
airports can in fact rise to 9 million passengers/year,
on condition that there are sufficient 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 traffic 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).
The vulnerability of the present airport of Cap
Haitien, located in a flood zone, points to the
need for a new site in Madras, 20 km east of Cap
Haitien. This new location would favor the tourist
development of the north-eastern coast of Haiti
around Fort Liberté and in all the Dauphin sector.

18 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 19

 ATLANTIC OCEAN
PORT DE PAIX

CAP HAÏTIEN

MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

GROS MORNE FORT

LIBERTE

FACTORIES

FISHING
OUANAMINTHE
INSHORE FISHING
St RAPHAEL
St MICHEL
INTERNATIONAL PORT
DE L’ATALAYE
GONAÏVES
SECONDARY PORT PIGNON
MARCHAND
DESDUNES
DESSALINES
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

LOCAL AIRPORT
PONT SONDE HINCHE

TOURISM CARIBBEAN SEA

SAINT MARC PETITE RIVIERE

REPUBLIQUE
DOMINICAINE

LA CHAPELLE
MIREBALAIS
BELLADERE

JEREMIE

LEOGÂNE
PETIT PORT AU
MIRAGOÂNE GRAND
GOÂVE PRINCE
GOÂVE

JACMEL

LES CAYES

CARIBBEAN SEA
THE PORTS AND AIRPORTS
20 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 21
 5
THE SPIRAL OF
VULNERABILITY
An alarming permanent feature
The earthquake of January 12th 2010 revealed in
an extremely brutal manner the very serious fragility
of the country in terms of natural disasters. The
spectacular images linked to the earthquake may
temporarily eclipse but not erase those of other
recurring and equally devastating calamities. The
flooding of the agricultural plains and coastal towns,
the landslides and the obstruction of natural runoff
channels are all due to the increasing rainproofing 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
classified 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.
The 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
The first projects for the development of catchment
areas, reforestation and soil conservation appeared
in the years 1940 to 1980 and often 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
22
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.
The shock of the earthquake ought to mobilize the
government, the parliament and the aid donors to
eliminate the numerous «obstacles» blocking the
efforts 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
effectively
Deforestation, emblem of a catastrophic
situation
The 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.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 23
 CATCHMENT AREA SUBJCT TO FLOODING OCEAN ATLANTIQUE

AREAS LIABLE TO FLOODING

HURRICANE PATHS CAP HAÏTIEN

SEISMIC FAULTS

EPICENTRE OF EARTHQUAKE OF JAN 12 2010

AREAS AT RISK GONAÏVES

CARIBBEAN SEA

PORT-AU-PRINCE

LES CAYES

CARIBBEAN SEA

THE GEOGRAPHY OF RISKS

24 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 25
THE CASE OF GONAÏVES

This city, the symbol of Haiti’s independence, has

become over the years the victim of the ecological
deterioration of catchment areas. 300,000 people GONAÏVES
live in this outlet for that immense collector of wa-
ter, the Artibonite valley.

The photos of the floods of 2008 show the extent of

a disaster that will happen again. The current images
also show a city unable to get rid of the mud that
poured into it.

The saving of this metropolis, which took in most

refugees after the earthquake, is a national cause.
But it must fit into a wider project: the treatment of
the catchment areas and a new development of the
farming plains.
ARTIBONITE CATCHMENT AREAS

26 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 27

 6
THE INTEGRATED
MANAGEMENT OF
CATCHMENT AREAS
A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The 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. The
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 firewood, 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. The 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 coffee and cocoa, and the
planting of fruit trees to create new wealth. These
projects must imperatively be backed up by a
28
management plan run by local structures (catchment
area authorities). This 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
modified.
This program should be completed by the end of the
period of « transitional urgency » and benefit from
credits linked to the reconstruction of the country.
No reforestation policy is sustainable without an
ambitious energy policy.
Three 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 amplified to make
an impression on public opinion by setting up three
large national parks on the model of the Dominican
Republic.
These parks will include the finest 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.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 29
 A VIRTUOUS CHAIN LINKED
TO THE RECONSTRUCTION
STRATEGIES
SUBSIDY FOR DOMESTIC COOKING EQUIPMENT USING
PROPANE GAS
NATIONAL
PROGRAM FOR
INCREASE THE AREAS OF DRY FORESTS THE FOREST OF GRANDE-ANSE
REPLACING WOOD (JATROPHAS, ETC.)
AND CHARCOAL

DEVELOPMENT OF WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY

DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURING OF FARMING

SECTORS RESTORING THE POROSITY OF SOILS
(COCOA, VETIVER, FRUIT TREES, ETC.)
FLOODS
NATIONAL
DEFORESTATION REFORESTATION
CREATION OF UNASSAILABLE LAND PROPERTY RIGHTS
PROGRAM
LANDSLIDES REDUCTION OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC PRESSURE
THE CENTRAL PLAIN

ON LAND

NEW POLICY FOR THE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF

RISKS
CAMPAIGN TO RAISE
AWARENESS OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF MAJOR EDUCATION POLICY
TREATING NATURE
WITH RESPECT
CREATION OF THREE NATIONAL PARKS COVERING THE
PROTECTED AREAS
THE ARTIBONITE DELTA

VITAL URGENCY TRANSITIONAL
URGENCY
The major policy Institution of unassailable land
announcements on the ownership rights
environment
Setting up of the national
Importation of coal and program for the substitution of
construction timber charcoal
Substitution of cooking Reinforcement of the public
equipment in damaged structures managing agriculture
houses and the environment
Use of part of Cash for Treatment of priority catchment
Work for environmental areas
projects
Campaign to raise awareness of
Sanctuarization of the the importance of reforestation.
protected areas by setting
up an environmental police Launch of the education system
force. 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.
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.
IN ONE TIME Associating this daily use with the mobile telephone is an interesting evolution towards the
GENERATION principle of controlled modernity.
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.

30 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 31

 LOCATION OF THE 3 NATIONAL PARKS ATLANTIC OCEAN

PARC DE LA CITADELLE CAP HAÏTIEN

PARC DE LA HOTTE
PARC DE LA SELLE GONAÏVES

AGRICULTURAL PLAIN – PROJECTED STATE

AGRICULTURAL PLAIN – CURRENT STATE

AREA TO BE REFORESTED
CARIBBEAN SEA
COCOA & COFFEE CROPS

NATIONAL PARK BOUNDARIES

PORT-AU-PRINCE

LES CAYES

CARIBBEAN SEA

THE FOREST AND AGRICULTURAL PROJECT

32 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 33

Constructing networks of towns
to share the use of infrastructures
and services and end the creation
of mega urban concentrations.
SAINT MARC
loop of the Centre and Artibonite : 2.6 million of inhabitants
Nederland Randstat : 7 million of habitants
34
7
Associating agriculture and
the processing industries in the
same economic project and over
the same area.
NETWORKING THE
TOWNS
The development of the road network will
progressively reduce travel time and make travel more
dependable. This 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. This 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.
The development of mobility associated with the rapid
development of virtual means of communication
will change the behaviors of the inhabitants. The
networking of towns is an interesting contemporary
model when the territories permit it.
The «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, benefiting from a network of infrastructures
and services that are prioritized and shared out in the
different urban sectors.
The 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 five conurbations developed at a distance
of around 30 km from each other (all the services
would be at least a half-hour from the residential
areas). These areas will be designed on the model of
the existing towns:
Les Gonaïves, on the way to Marchand Dessalines,
would be the first urban area. Its construction would
inject dynamism into Gonaïves and tackle the question
of the city’s vulnerability from a different 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. This 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.
The loop, connected by two main roads to Cap
Haïtien, will give the capital of the north a truly
Caribbean dimension.
The 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.
The 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 benefit of the
towns. Everywhere in the world, the goal is to mix
the industrial and urban economies in order to offer
their populations a pleasant living environment and
the same level of infrastructures.
This is the challenge to be taken up in Haiti to
develop the processing industries and modernize
and redynamize the agriculture sector while offering
another choice of life to the populations that are
concentrated in the towns, leading to the creation of
large poor districts.
After the earthquake, the Artibonite and Centre
departments held a population of 2.6 million
inhabitants. This 300 km loop (passing through
Saint Michel de l’Attalaye) offers a wide margin for
development while being close to nature and avoiding
the large urban concentrations.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 35
 ATLANTIC OCEAN

CAP HAITIEN
MA
TER SSIF
RE D
NE E
UV
E GROS MORNE MADRAS
LIMBÉ

FORT LIBERTE

OUANAMINTHE
MA
SSI
DU F
NO
RD

"KOMBIT SANT LATIBONIT" MASS

DU NO
IF
RD
St RAPHAEL

GONAIVES

St MICHEL
DE L’ATTALAYE
MARCHAND PIGNON
URBAN CENTRES
DESDUNES DESSALINES CO
FARMING AREAS R
CE DILLE
NT
DAMS RA RE
LE
UNIVERSITY - CLUSTER

FACTORIES PONT
SONDE PETITE HINCHE
FISHING RIVIERE
INSHORE FISHING SAINT MARC
C
M
ON
IINTERNATIONAL PORT TA
GN
SECONDARY PORT ES
NO
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IR
ES
LOCAL AIRPORT

LA CHAPELLE

CH
AI
NE
CANAL DE ST MARC DE
SM MIREBALAIS
BELLADERE
AT
HE MONTAGNES
UX
DE TROU D’E
AU

36 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 37


8
THE REGIONAL
ECONOMIES
L'ÎLE À VACHE The 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.
This objective for the future is based on the new map
of population distribution as it appears one and a half
months after the earthquake:
47% for the Northern region
29% for the Capital region
24% for the Southern region
These relative weights of the population already point
LE BARRAGE DE PELIGRE to a possible allocation of the future efforts in regional
development.
The reconstruction phase will have a leverage effect 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.
The Northern region
It is reasonable to regard the Northern region, and
particularly the Centre and Artibonite departments,
as offering 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,
LA CITADELLE
breeding and processing industries can be imagined
based on the structuring of a network of medium-
sized towns.
The 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
JACMEL
38
- 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.
These zones would be the natural prolongation of
the tourist facilities of the northern coast of the
Dominican Republic (Monte Christi and Puerto
Plata).
The tip of the Mole Saint Nicolas is very well placed
for the construction of an international maritime hub
for container traffic, but is also has real potential as a
tourist resort.
The Capital region
It will naturally profit from its reconstruction and
modernization. Its weight, even though reduced to
the benefit 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. The reconstruction of the
centre is the first need, combined with the relocation
of the affected populations (around 450,000) in new
fragmented districts. The 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.
The Arcadins coast, once rid of its truck traffic, will
also recover its tourist vocation linked directly to the
capital.
The Southern region
On the northern coast of the peninsula, Miragoâne
will fit into the network of towns located in the
zone of influence of Port-au-Prince: Leogâne, Grand
Goâve and Petit Goâve.
The 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. The creation of two
national parks in the only forested massifs still existing
is a prior necessity. The recomposition of the landscape
and the training of an environment police force will
be undertaken in parallel in this framework.
This southern coast turned towards Jamaica, the
southern Caribbean and Latin America, can thus
recover its place in the world supply of « nature
tourism ».
There 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 fishing activities.
These should be developed along rational lines along
the entire coast by adopting fishing methods going
beyond the rim of the continental plateau.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 39
 ILE DE LA TORTUE

PORT DE PAIX ATLANTIC OCEAN

MÔLE SAINT NICOLAS

CAP HAITIEN MADRAS

MA
TER SSIF FORT LIBERTE
RE D
NE E GROS MORNE
UV
E

OUANAMINTHE
MAS
DU SIF
NOR
D
MASS
IF
DU NO
RD
St RAPHAEL

GULF OF GONAVE
GONAÏVES
St MICHEL
DE L’ATTALAYE PIGNON
DESDUNES MARCHAND
DESSALINES CO
RD
CEN ILLER
TOURISM TRA E
MO LE
PONT NTA
COCOA & COFFEE CROPS SONDE GN HINCHE
ES
NO
AGRICULTURAL PLAINS PETITE IR
PROJECTED STATE RIVIERE ES
SAINT MARC
WINDMILL

DAMS

UNIVERSITY - CLUSTER CANAL DE St MARC CH

AI
NE LA CHAPELLE
FACTORIES DE
SM
FISHING AT
HEU
X MIREBALAIS
INSHORE FISHING BELLADERE
ILE DE LA GONAVE
INTERNATIONAL PORT

SECONDARY PORT
MONTAGNES
DE TROU D’E
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AU

LOCAL AIRPORT
PORT-AU-PRINCE BAY
THE NORTHERN REGION
40 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 41
 GONAIVES

St MICHEL
MARCHAND DE L’ATTALAYE PIGNON
DESDUNES DESSALINES

PONT SONDE HINCHE

PETITE
RIVIERE
SAINT MARC

CANAL DE St MARC

LA CHAPELLE

MIREBALAIS
BELLADERE
ILE DE LA GONAVE

BAIE DE
CANAL DE LA GONAVE PORT-AU-PRINCE
TOURISM

PORT-AU-PRINCE
COCOA & COFFEE CROPS

LÉOGÂNE
AGRICULTURAL PLAINS
PROJECTED STATE
PETIT GRAND
MIRAGOÄNE
WINDMILL GOÂVE GOÂVE

DAMS
CHAINE DE LA SELLE
UNIVERSITY - CLUSTER

FACTORIES

FISHING

INSHORE FISHING

INTERNATIONAL PORT JACMEL

SECONDARY PORT

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CARIBBEAN SEA
LOCAL AIRPORT
THE CAPITAL REGION
42 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 43
 COCOA & COFFEE CROPS

AGRICULTURAL PLAINS WINDMILL TOURISM FACTORIES

PROJECTED STATE

FISHING DAMS INTERNATIONAL PORT

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

INSHORE FISHING UNIVERSITY – CLUSTER LOCAL AIRPORT SECONDARY PORT

SAINT MARC

CAN
AL
St M
ARC
LA CHAPELLE
MIREBALAIS
BELLADERE
ILE DE LA GONAVE

DETROIT DE JAMAIQUE
CAN
AL D
E LA
JEREMIE GON BAIE DE PORT
AVE
AU PRINCE

LÉOGÂNE
PORT-AU-PRINCE
PETIT
MIRAGOÂNE GOÂVE GRAND
GOÂVE
MASSIF DE LA HOTTE CHAINE DE LA SELLE

JACMEL

LES CAYES

CARIBBEAN SEA

THE SOUTHERN REGION

44 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 45
 9 Each type of organization of housing, from the
THE URBAN QUESTION
Adapting the urban approaches
to the realities of the country to
progressively regain control of the
cities.
The 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.
The flow of population to the urban centers then
had the effect of creating shantytowns in all of them.
The nation as well as the cities are in a process of
disintegration and in a state of great vulnerability.
The absence of regulation and control explains the
scope of the present drama. The earthquake did not
fit into the picture as Haitians saw it. It now acts as
A principle of best practices adapted to the habitat of the disadvantaged a revelation of the general situation.
CITY OF GUJARAT IN INDIA « Never again » is the slogan most often heard at
BEFORE AFTER
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.
The question will be more complicated for all the
“informal” districts that resisted the earthquake but
which feature the same deficiencies 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.
46
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. There 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 offers an opportunity for all to
adopt a different approach to modernity.
The 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. The district associations structuring social
life are the interlocutors who can give a different
meaning to « urban action » in a context where the
scarcity of human and financial resources hinders
the implementation of a genuine urban development
policy. The reactions of the inhabitants, who
organized themselves during the crisis into often
spontaneously formed emergency committees, are
the beginnings of this organization that must be
reinforced and given a legal framework.
.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 47
 LAND
A recurring question that has
become an obstacle to action the
development of cities.
In the different 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.
This first priority immediately raises the issue of land.
If a site is declared unfit 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 effective.
Land actions in the informal sector
The 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 field.
A significant share of the existing urban pattern in
Haiti is created by the informal occupation of land.
The inhabitants move onto land without acquiring
any rights to it and build their own dwelling on it.
The 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.
48
The result is a complex situation with contradictory
interests overlapping: on one side are the official
owners with rights and on the other are the
inhabitants aspiring to be regularized and become
owners after 20 years of de facto occupation. This
situation involves a fragile balance, with latent social
tension. A break with the status in favor of the
official 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 often anarchic
occupation of public areas by commercial activities
and to restore to the roads a minimum of effectiveness
in their transport function. These projects require
access to sufficiently large plots of land in the cities
to create markets and bus stations. It will probably
be difficult 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.
The 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. This 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.
The 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.
This type of intervention is suited to a complex real
estate configuration such as a grid-pattern district.
• In a firmer 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. The
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. This 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.
The infrastructures
In the light of the construction time involved and
because these investments are public, anticipatory
action is possible, with simple tools :
- The 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
The 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 specific skills; the setting up of a
public body dedicated to dealing with land and
organized with the objective of achieving maximum
operational efficiency and capitalizing on its
know-how is an interesting possibility to explore.
The 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.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 49
 10
BUILT-UP AREAS AND THE
ACTIVATING PROJECTS
The urgent action required due to the earthquake
and according to progressive timeframes must be
combined with that of « activating projects » for
undertaking identified and controlled actions.
These 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.
These projects can be on different scales and pursue
different objectives. They will be distributed around
the country according to a program to be drawn up.
The prototype projects must be associated with sites
affected 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 - The concourses and sociability centers : public
services integrated into the informal districts.
2 - The transport facilities : structuring of the main
markets and intermodal transport hubs in the
cities.
3 - The development hubs (one example) : the site of
the lycée of Léogâne.
4 - The 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 - The question of the coastal strip : reconstruction
of the maritime fringe of Port-au-Prince.
7 - Symbolic architecture : reconstruction of the
Champ de Mars.

50 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 51

 DISTRICT AMENITIES IN MEDELLIN AND BOGOTA IN COLOMBIA
INTERMODAL PLACE, PUNTO DE ENCUENTRO ,
LAS AGUAS, BOGOTA
BIBLIOTECA PARQUE ESPANA_GIAN CARLOS MAZZANTI, MEDELLIN
BIBLIOTECA LEON DE GRIEFF, GIAN CARLOS MAZZANTI, MEDELLIN
52
STABILIZED INFORMAL DISTRICT
1 - CONCOURSES AND SOCIABILITY
CENTRES
Expressing the state’s presence in
the disadvantaged district.
Giving a formal framework to
relations with the representatives
of the inhabitants.
The first type of activating project would consist of
designing a series of collective micro-amenities on
the fringe of disadvantaged districts. Their 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.
The 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 suffice to fill 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.
.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 53

ROAD NATIONALE 1 CROSSING SAINT MARC
PORT-AU-PRINCE MARKET
54
2 - THE TRANSPORT FACILITIES
Constructing new transport
facilities around the markets and
bus stations.
Associating these projects with
the new road networks while
protecting the smooth flow of
traffic.
« The 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.
They are indeed rather inefficient but they provide
a service adapted to the economic situation. They
combine mobility and sociability and an aesthetic
approach that creates a culture and a tradition.
The advent of the middle class has added another
parameter to this situation: the « drive-in » aspect
of the road in the urban sectors. This commercial
link between drivers and traders reaches its paroxysm
close to markets, leading to vast traffic 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.
TELEPHONE CARD POINT OF SALE
The 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.
This 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.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 55
 3 - THE DEVELOPMENT HUBS

Combining infrastructure and

service programs on strategic sites
(3 hectares).

Making them symbolic places of

the reconstruction process, with a
LE LYCÉE DE LÉOGÂNE
risk management learning process
incorporated.

Numerous schools were destroyed by the earth-

quake. There 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. This is a priority before any regionalization
program.

The construction of schools is a primary need and this

LE SITE DU LYCÉE situation can also be used to build a new network of
public places serving other functions and becoming
LE CENTRE DE LÉOGÂNE
the benchmark places of the reconstruction and
crisis management plan.
The reduction of climatic vulnerability will be a long
process and the inhabitants must live and rebuild
their lives while integrating this risk. The develo-
pment hubs could be given the additional remit of
experimentation and the circulation of knowledge
in a form accessible to the population.

The 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.

The 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. These 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.
They would affirm in the country its access to the
modernity inseparable from such a reconstruction
effort.

56 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 57

 4 - THE INTEGRATED PROJECTS

Introducing in identified and

controlled sites the notion of
1 coordinated projects.

Associating issues and

methodologies adapted to each
FORMER HOTEL OF THE LECLERC RESIDENCE
type of challenge.

3 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 defined and controlled, they can serve as
methodological and operational laboratories for
urban transformation.

2 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
LE PARC DE L'HABITATION and Mangones residences.

The 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.

The question now is to prolong the scope of the

decree to the sea and develop the project along 5
lines:

1. The draining and landscaping of the hills

overlooking the park.
2. The development of this magnificent forest area
4 THE HOUSING SECTORS AROUND THE PARK'S RAVINES
which testifies to the forgotten luxuriance of the
island after the systematic destruction of its forest
cover.
3. The restructuring of the hill and ravine districts
surrounding the park.
4. The specific rebuilding of this sector of the route
nationale 2 that can fit into the general framework
of the improvement of the western exit from Port-
5 au-Prince.
5. The 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.
58 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 59
LE DAMIER DE PORT-AU-PRINCE : PRINCIPE DE SATURATION PROGRESSIVE DES COEURS D'ILOTS
5 - THE CITY CENTERS

Restoring the city centers.

Using the reconstruction of

Port-au-Prince grid as a
methodological laboratory.

The city center grids are the symbols of the historical

structuring of cities.
The Port-au-Prince grid has become progressively
pauperized. Some streets are invaded by corpora-
tions, such as the garage owners. It is now a field of
ruins where few buildings survived the earthquake.

Controlled urban planning in identified sectors

can express in these situations the spirit of urban
renewal.
LE DAMIER DE JACMEL This 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.

The 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 traffic. The spirit of
this new city will be expressed in the proportion
of façades limited probably to 3 stories over a high
ground floor framed by a continuous arcade. This
ground floor will be divisible into separate stores.

LE DAMIER DE JÉRÉMIE
The 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. The 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.
.
60 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 61
 6 - THE QUESTION OF THE COASTAL
STRIP

Restoring physical and ecological

links with the sea.

Reconquering the coastal strip

by starting symbolically with the
THE COAST OF PORT-AU-PRINCE
capital.

The question of the sea fronts arises in all the cities.

THE PARC DU BICENTENAIRE
The Haitian population has turned its back on the
sea and neglected this façade, creating a new environ-
mental tragedy.
The Bicentenary Park built after the last war was the
last attempt to win back this façade. The extension
of the Port and the general spread of shantytowns
along the coast destroyed these efforts. The country’s
relation to the sea will change. The Haitian diaspora
changes people’s approach by associating the
coast with vacationing. The younger generation
increasingly globalised by virtual means of commu-
nication naturally adopt other living standards.

The reconstruction of Port-au-Prince and its center

cannot be implemented without tackling this
question in a radical way. The city must once again
be opened to on the sea.

The 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.
These hubs will offer for the future a new develo-
pment zone to be undertaken after a careful
evaluation of the earthquake risks.
LES CAYES
The 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.

This work must lead to a general debate on the resto-

ration of the coastal façade in all the urban centers to
definitively eradicate the occupation of these sites by
disgraceful shantytowns
.
SAINT MARC
62 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 63
 7 - THE SYMBOLIC ARCHITECTURE

Making architectural and technical

quality (antiseismic standards) a
symbol of the country‘s rebirth.
4
Using the reconstruction of the
Champ de Mars as a showcase of
2 this policy.

1 The Champ de Mars is the symbolic center of the

state. The earthquake’s destruction affected all the
public buildings, the presidential palace, the minis-
tries, the parliament house, the court, the central tax
THE REICHSTAG IN BERLIN, NORMAN FOSTER ARCHITECTE
office, the cathedral and many other buildings.

On this scale, a radical revamp is possible by funda-

6 mentally reorganizing the structure of this place.
3 The public areas and a new conception of the road
network will be the first acts of this transformation.
Then the monumental architecture will give meaning
to the modernization of the state.

The debate on the principles for the reconstruction

5 6.SALINES BARRACKS
PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
of the presidential palace has been launched. The
Map key : imposing mass of this white monolith forms part of
1.PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
the place, although it has already been rebuilt five
times in the course of its history.
2.PALACE OF THE MINISTRIES
3.LAW COURTS Should it be rebuilt to the identical model or be
4.CENTRAL TAX OFFICE replaced by a completely new building? In any case,
5.GENERAL HOSPITAL 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
LAW COURTS PALACE OF THE MINISTRIES
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.

64 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 65

11
WHAT TOOLS FOR THE
RECONSTRUCTION ?
The 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. The question is how.
The creation of one or more specific entities is evoked
and it is true that a context as exceptional as this can
justify the setting up of exceptional tool. The precise
definition 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
The 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.
This process must also enable the decentralization
process to take a significant step forward: so
the regional and departmental authorities must
necessarily be closely associated.
As we have seen, the reconstruction effort 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 first
three timeframes and hence be rapidly effective and
efficient but also solid and proactive.
The reconstruction effort requires human and
financial 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 efficient manner: accelerated and harmonized
procedures (single fund or single channel). In terms
of financial resources, the ambition described in
the present document very largely outstrips the
funding capacity of international aid. This situation
and the keen expectations of numerous players on
every rung of the social ladder points to the need for
66
complementary funding in the form of a loan based
on mechanisms to be decided in time.
To be effective, 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 effective.
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
profiting 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. The absence of a land register is already
a handicap for any development policy. This must
be remedied by rapidly setting up tools which can
initially be simplified. This work, interministerial by
its nature, must be launched rapidly by CIAT.
The 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. This 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 policy
This 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
The reconstruction process forms a full-scale
laboratory of the reaction of a state to a major natural
disaster.
The 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.
These 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 effective 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;
- flexibility 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 effective anti-corruption effort 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 financial arrangements
(loans, partnership with private sector, etc.);
- possibility of undertaking development operations
financed 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 financial partners for the upstream preparation
of the strategic decisions to be proposed.
CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 67
12 Environment
US$ investment Urgency Transition Structuring

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

TABLE OF PROJECTS
Treatment of catchment areas under the
US$ investment Urgency Transition Structuring President or Prime Minister
To be decided •

Roads Subsidized domestic cooking appliances To be decided •

Principal network To be decided
Treatment of 4 priority catchment areas To be decided •
Southern route
la route sud To be decided • •
Conversion of the craft or industrial installations To be decided •
Port-au-Prince – Mirebalais To be decided •
Artibonite loop To be decided • •
Reinforcement of public governance system To be decided •
Regional network To be decided Agriculture: organization and structures To be decided •
Through Port-au-Prince To be decided • Education system revamped To be decided •
Northern region To be decided • Reinforcement of protected areas and
extensions
To be decided •
Capital region To be decided •
Southern region To be decided • Treatment of all the catchment areas at risk To be decided •
Strategic and Urban network To be decided • Creation of three national nature parks To be decided •
Ports
Constitutional reform To be decided •
Redevelopment of Port-au-Prince port To be decided •
Transfer of Port-au-Prince port To be decided •
Urban questions and “activating” projects
Redevelopment of Ginaives port To be decided •
Redevelopment of Cap Haitien port To be decided • Reconstruction projects in the Capital
To be decided •
Port de Paix To be decided • Acquisition of strategic land
Fort Liberté To be decided • To be decided •
Saint Marc To be decided • Reconstruction of Port-au-Prince center To be decided •
Miragoanes To be decided •
Les Cayes To be decided • Reconstruction of the sea front To be decided •
Jacmel To be decided • Reconstruction of the Champs de Mars To be decided •
Coastal fishing ports and landing stages To be decided • Reconstruction of the other districts To be decided •
Airports Structuring projects in the shantytowns To be decided •
Restructuring of Port-au-Prince airport To be decided • To be decided

Madras - Cap Haitien To be decided • Projects in the regional cities To be decided •

Les Cayes To be decided • “Activating” projects To be decided •
Regional development Acquisition of strategic land To be decided •
Structuring of main markets and intermodal
La Chapelle university centre To be decided • transport hubs
To be decided •
St Michel de l’Atalaye university centre To be decided • Structuring projects in the shantytowns To be decided •
68 CIAT - HAÏTI DEMAIN 69
 OBJECTIVES AND
STRATEGIES
FOR RECONSTRUCTING
THE COUNTRY
GOVERNMENT OF HAITI

Report drawn up by :

Inter-Ministerial Committee
For Territorial Development

With the support of:

Bernard Reichen
Architect-Urban Planner
Reichen & Robert & Partners

SETEC
Engineering consultancy

Alfred Peter
Landscape architect

Report financed by
the World Bank
 GOVERNMENT OF HAITI

Inter-Ministerial Committee
For Territorial Development