This publication highlights strategies and lessons from UN-Habitat’s Urban Planning and Design Lab to guide practitioners and to clarify the role that urban planning plays in developing holistic post-crisis responses. It outlines the ten strategies and three typologies of support that the Lab has found most useful in post-crisis contexts. The appendices include four detailed case studies in Haiti, Somalia, Kenya, and Bangladesh.

Exploring alternative solutions is a requirement prior to evictions. This publication showcases examples where forced eviction have been avoided in countries such as Brazil, Haiti, Kenya and the Philippines.

The following land use proposals in this section are based on a participatory process within three months’ time-frame. The UN-Habitat team maps the existing situation and the community validates and proposes ideas. The urban Lab rechecks the suggested interventions and modifies if necessary. After that, a neighbourhood assembly is organized to showcase the overall vision and a land use is later developed.

Hautes Sources Puantes lies in the northern part of the central area of Canaan land. The neighbourhood is one of the less dense in the area where just 3,000 people live there. The houses are spread all over Sources Puantes and are interconnected through secondary streets. The open spaces are abandoned and open the possibility for further development in the neighbourhood. UN-Habitat followed the similar participatory approach as for the rest of the neighborhoods.

The document analyse the existing urban structure and proposes a new one that ensure the provision of urban centres, street network and public spaces and eventually would allow residents to access basic services, public facilities, businesses and working areas within walking distance of their homes. The main boulevards and streets are designed in accordance with the existing topography.

Canaan II, located on the west of the central area of Canaan, has a population of 12,100. It is considered a low density neighbourhood with 4.383 inhab. per km2 and therefore its densification is encouraged. A large part of Canaan II borders the National Road 1 to the south but there is almost no access from it to the neighbourhood. The presence of quarries and the complex topography limit the availability of suitable lands.

The following land use proposals in this section are based on a participatory process within three months’ time-frame. The UN-Habitat team maps the existing situation and the community validates and proposes ideas. The urban Lab rechecks the suggested interventions and modifies if necessary. After that, a neighbourhood assembly is organized to showcase the overall vision and a land use is later developed.

The project aims covers different aspects in means to overcome the area’s challenges from connectivity, infrastructure, environmental risks, water management to public space. A provision of a strategic vision and a new urban structure that will enhance sustainable urban development will be delivered.

In the series of charrettes and meetings that have been held in accordance with the Urban Development Initiative (UrDI), the vision for the northern area of Port-au-Prince has been widely debated and discussed. This process has brought together the different future perspectives and aspirations for the area from both decision makers and the affected populations.