Nouakchott City: Urban Dynamics and the Challenges of Management and planning

Abstract

    Nouakchott city was built in a coastal desert environment, and in the search for easy solutions to construct the city’s buildings, the available natural resources were exploited in ways that harmed an already fragile environment – especially the coastal sand belt.

   The city’s urban area soon became congested, and the urban crisis deepened as the population grew rapidly. Each time Nouakchott attempted to implement a master plan to guide urban growth and define patterns of expansion, it failed to adhere to these plans, allowing the city’s sprawl to develop chaotically. The expansion thus took the form of linear strips extending along the main roads.

   This situation now requires the intervention of various stakeholders to establish a comprehensive and coherent development strategy capable of overcoming past constraints and shortcomings.