Haiti’s recovery

Haiti’s tragedy affects us all. But, we who believe that urbanism, as a vocation or criterion,  is the field of human creation par excellence,  know that it grows from the will to coexist in our human habitat, sorrounded by welfare and safety factors.

Natural disasters and those caused by man, have always served in the long run to prevent and mitigate  the hazards of future events, providing  better conditions to improve the quality of life in the urban habitat.

With that brief background, this is a call to all who believe that urban planning can lend its assistance to Haiti’s recovery. This call is not premature and we must  not improvise, for rush actions may inevitably work against comprehensive and harmonious solutions.

We are talking about how different people involved in the creation and development of cities, taking  into account the views, feelings and motivations of the urban dweller, in this case of Haiti, contribute ideas on how and when in different stages and from the outset, it should address the urban problem, especially in Port au Prince.

Although not an exhaustive list, this call intends the assistance of architects, engineers of different disciplines, geologists, climatologists, geographers, environmentalists, social workers, housing experts, urban economists, public health professionals, sociologists, anthropologists and communicators. Thus, to those who read this call we  ask to disseminate it among their coleagues.

May this be a ‘City planners without Frontiers’ experience, open to all with no exclusions or protagonisms. We will see how in the future, and are open to  suggestions, we may orderly convey all received proposals to the Haitian Government.

It might be interesting to create a documentation center, not only to receive contributions, but to gather the necessary information on geography, cartography, climate, land use, demographics, and all other information for  urban planning.

Perhaps, we  can also constitute a group of professional volunteers, Haitians and foreigners, who, right on the site can gather ideas and information for this task. It would be of great help if we can soon start such activities in order to contribute to the Haitian Government and foreign and international cooperation programs under way.

City planners should have a comprehensive view. Even in adversity, we aim to use this sad circumstance to create a better urban habitat for Haitians,  considering factors such as sunlight and wind direction,  orientation, size and functionality of their homes, and road design, to improve living conditions for its its people.

 Two fundamental criteria should be established: one, whether to reconstruct Puerto Principe in the same place; or two, whether to structure a ‘new town’ in a single agglomeration or a set of cities in a relatively dispersed area. To start off with this challenge, geologists, environmentalists, climatologists, transportation experts, urban infrastructure experts, architects andhousing experts, must have their saying.

 …Disseminate and provide ideas.