ABSTRACT
When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti in the late afternoon on January 12, 2010, its rising, fragile democracy was, once again, profoundly reminded of its own weakness. The magnitude 7.0 quake-its epicenter closely adjacent to the capital Port-au-Prince-hit the most densely populated region of the country causing the death of more than 300,000 people, injuring 300,000 more, leaving more than 1.3 million people homeless, and destroying large parts of the country’s habitat and
17.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 323 17.2 General Circumstances ................................................................................. 324
17.2.1 Backgrounds of the Humanitarian Disaster .....................................324 17.2.2 Aftermath of the Quake .................................................................... 325 17.2.3 Rise of a New City ............................................................................ 325 17.2.4 Urban Crisis ...................................................................................... 327
17.3 Background of the Research Project ............................................................ 330 17.4 Site Characteristics of Canaan ...................................................................... 330 17.5 What Should Be Done in Canaan? ............................................................... 333
17.5.1 Development Framework for Canaan ............................................... 333 17.5.2 Toward an Inclusive City .................................................................. 335 17.5.3 Showcases from Haiti ....................................................................... 337
17.6 Residents and Academics ............................................................................. 339 17.7 From Thinking to Acting and Back .............................................................. 339
17.7.1 General Assembly and First Community Workshops in Onaville ...340 17.7.2 Second Round of Community-Based Activity ................................. 345 17.7.3 Outlook of Academic Action ............................................................346
17.8 Preliminary Conclusion ................................................................................ 347 References ..............................................................................................................348
infrastructure. Three days after the catastrophe, Port-au-Prince’s public spaces had been covered with tarps and tents by displaced people fearing further building collapse caused by aftershocks (Farmer 2012; USGS 2013). Relief and reconstruction in the aftermath of the catastrophe revealed many lessons to learn for future postdisaster management in Haiti or around the globe. Many mistakes had been committed by hasty decisions, lack of communication, and collaboration deficits among both international and national actors. One of the most striking was opening a camp to relocate displaced families in the remote outskirts of Port-au-Prince-causing the rise of Canaan, a vast urbanization that was declared the “biggest land grab of Latin-America” (Valencia 2013). A manifestation of institutional weakness, the case of Canaan will show if Haitian and international decision makers (in joint efforts with the Haitian civil society) will take the opportunity to develop livable and resilient neighborhoods or if the country will be stuck proceeding down the path toward further uncontrolled sprawl. This chapter tries, in Sections 17.2 to 17.5, to uncover preconditions, perspectives, and threats to reflect on; in Sections 17.6 and 17.7, academia’s possible role is discussed in the context of community-based development in Onaville, one of the sectors of Canaan. On the basis of exemplary samples, the authors examine how volunteers and students can contribute to an improvement of the neighborhood’s living environment by supporting participatory activity, knowledge-exchange, and self-aid.
