Abstract
The landscape of the Port-au-Prince agglomeration in the Republic of Haiti has undergone profound changes linked to (peri-)urban expansion supported by rapid demographic growth. We quantify the land cover dynamics along the urban–rural gradient of the Port-au-Prince agglomeration using Landsat images from 1986, 1998, 1999, 2010, and 2021 coupled with geographic information systems and landscape ecology analysis tools. The results show that over 35 years the acreage of the urban zone increased seven-fold while that of the peri-urban area increased five-fold, to the detriment of the rural zone, which was reduced by 14%. The dynamics of the landscape composition along the urban–rural gradient are characterized by a rapid progression of built-up and bare land in urban and peri-urban zones and by fields in the rural zone, in contrast to the more accentuated regression of vegetation in the peri-urban zone. The landscape of the study area has undergone significant changes due to the high demand for housing resulting from rapid population growth, in the context of a lack of territorial development planning by public authorities. This impacts the sustainability of socio-economic and ecological processes in an area where populations are highly dependent on plant resources. Our results underline the necessity to orient territorial development planning in urban, peri-urban and rural zones through an integrated and participatory approach.
Highlights
Classification 1 refers to the segmentation and qualification of the urban–rural gradient zones, and classification 2 to the land cover types classifications within the urban, peri-urban and rural zones
This study sought to highlight the spatial dynamics of land use that prevails along the urban–rural gradient of the Port-au-Prince agglomeration
Our results confirm a change in the spatial pattern along the urban–rural gradient, characterized over 35 years by a rapid progression of built-up and bare soil in urban and peri-urban zones, and of fields in the rural zone
Summary
Human impact on the natural landscape has been increasing since the advent of sedentarization coupled with the emergence of agriculture [1,2]. The creation and extension of cities resulting from rural exodus and natural demographic growth are among the phenomena that have amplified the human impact on natural environments in recent decades [3–6]. The dynamics of peri-urban zones are characterized by spontaneous and/or anarchic urbanization [12], which constitutes a challenge for urban and landscape planners [6,12]. Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have recorded a rapid spatial expansion of urban areas, for example, an urbanization rate of 76.2% in Trinidad has been noted [13]. Mexico City, in Mexico, experienced an annual spatial growth of 0.9% between 2000 and 2010 [14,15]. The Port-au-Prince agglomeration in the Republic of Haiti is no exception to this rule [16]
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