Les offres de sols urbains dans la plaine de Léogâne en périphérie de Port-au-Prince

This article discusses the urbanization of Léogâne plain through the mechanisms of urban soils’ productions. Located in the district bearing the same name and 32 km distant from Port-au-Prince, this plain was well known for its sugarcane yields. The decline of this economic activity and the nearness...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bezunesh Tamru, Néhémie Valmond-Étienne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université des Antilles 2025-07-01
Series:Études Caribéennes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/35648
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Summary:This article discusses the urbanization of Léogâne plain through the mechanisms of urban soils’ productions. Located in the district bearing the same name and 32 km distant from Port-au-Prince, this plain was well known for its sugarcane yields. The decline of this economic activity and the nearness of the Haitian capital have led its agricultural fields to turn into urban buildings. Local development initiatives are attempting to contain this decay by encouraging handicrafts’ diversification and tourism. But the earthquake of 2010 has increased the downturn of agriculture, which is no more cost-effective, and the raise of land sale to urban buyers. A land market, mostly informal, is thus expanding and complicating the already numerous and interwoven land tenure systems. The perennialization of earthquake victims’ shelters areas and the improvement of the plain’s road connectivity play pull effects for the capital’s residential mobility. Land transactions are asymmetrical relations between sellers - farmers selling their property for financial reasons - and buyers, often brokers speculating on prices’ raise. Social and gender inequalities are also increasing, weakening the most vulnerable groups of rural society, particularly women. Global insecurity is at its peak in the area, with gangs’ land grabbing of certain families. Policies to secure land tenure are therefore essential if we are to envisage inclusive and sustainable peri-urban development in the Léogâne plain.
ISSN:1779-0980
1961-859X