Strategic citywide spatial planning: A situational analysis of metropolitan Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Haiti is situated in the Caribbean on the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic to the east. The two countries have formally been separate entities since 1697, when Hispaniola was divided between France and Spain, and have experienced very different developments from that time onwards. For the past 30 years, Haiti has been regarded as the dark side of the island because of its troubled political and economic situation. The country’s nine million inhabitants speak Haitian Creole. French is the official language, but much less used by ordinary people. Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, is situated on the bay of Port-au-Prince in the southern part of the country. Other important cities are Gonaïve, Cap-Haïtien, and Jacmel.