Structural dysfunction in the living environment of peri-urban areas: the case of Gonzague-Anani in the municipality of Port-Bouët (Ivory Coast)

Abstract

The presence of "customary law" in land management calls into question the State's commitment to land issues, which gives rise to a new dimension of urban action. This new dimension, which leaves land management in the hands of private owners, leads to management problems. These problems, combined with the lack of clarity in Ivorian land policy, lead to the degradation of housing and the living environment of the population in peri-urban areas. The objective of this study is to show the problems that arise from the functioning of the peri-urban Gonzague-Anani, in the municipality of Port-Bouët. To achieve this objective, this study relied on data collection tools, in particular, documentary research coupled with the field survey of customary authorities, municipal authorities and 70 heads of households who made the object of questioning. The results of the study reveal that in the face of urban growth, the space of Gonzague-Anani is being reshaped following private and customary land management. Which gives another sense of the vision of urban sprawl; by the specificity of the architecture of the Gonzague-Anani peri-urban habitat. The consequences of this are urbanization that is out of phase with urban planning standards and the degradation of the landscape of this district.