Launched in July 2011, the Reconstruction and Upgrading Project in Baillergeau (Areba) aims to combine post-earthquake reconstruction actions and actions to improve and upgrade a poor neighbourhood in Port -au-Prince called Baillergeau. Baillergeau has a population of approximately 8,000 people for a surface area of 20 hectares. This long-established poor neighbourhood located at the heart of Port-au-Prince had been badly affected by the earthquake of 12 January 2010.

The project initially provided social support to conduct a Neighbourhood Urban Planning study that was validated by an institutional Steering Committee on 13 March 2012. It continued with the implementation of this urban plan, facilitation of its ownership and respect by residents, and provision of technical and financial support for reconstruction and reinforcement of houses affected by the earthquake of 12 January 2010.

The project has three main objectives that determine the global approach of intervention: i) contribute to approval and respect of the urban plan while facilitating social cohesion in the neighbourhood and economic development; ii) contribute to the reconstruction and upgrading of Baillergeau, via actions to upgrade the neighbourhood that could have been conducted even if the earthquake had not occurred, and reconstruction via activities that were necessary after the demolition engendered by the earthquake; iii) contribute to debate and inform public policies in the areas of reconstruction and upgrading, and ensure proper management of the project.

 The main results achieved or expected are:

• Support for the participative dynamic in drawing up the neighbourhood urban plan (2011-2012);
• Information and communication on the urban plan in the neighbourhood (2012-2014);
• Contribution to economic recovery in the neighbourhood and to restructuring of the building sector via training of 150 professionals and the improvement of their tools (2012-215);
• Support for reconstruction of housing (2012 -2017): reconstruction support centre (CAR) providing technical and financial support for the reconstruction, consolidation or repair of houses;
• Upgrading of pedestrian public spaces in Baillergeau (2014-2017) in order to improve accessibility, safety, visibility and drainage of corridors and stairs;
• Improvement of access to urban services (2016-2017): upgrading/improvement of the public drinking water supply service; strengthening access to domestic sanitation and public connection sanitation; implementation of a waste pre-collection service;
• Urban and water project for a ravine (2016 -2017): conducting upgrading work based on the detailed preliminary design approved by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC) and the Housing and Public Buildings Construction Unit (UCLBP);
• Construction of a pilot re-housing operation (2016-2017) for approximately thirty families affected by the upgrading of the ravine, testing of construction methods that can be reproduced on a larger scale (2016 – 2017);
• Mobilisation of the community and structuring reinforcement of a neighbourhood committee to fulfil its role as interface between the project team and the community (2014-2017);
• Insertion of the project in its institutional environment, contributing to debate and informing public policies (2011-2017)

The project is led under the supervision of a Steering Committee involving the relevant Ministries and entities working in the area of upgrading and reconstruction such as the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC), the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Authorities (MICT), the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (MEF), the Ministry of Planning and external Cooperation (MPCE), the Housing and Public Buildings Construction Unit (UCLBP), the Municipality of Port-au-Prince, and the inter-ministerial  Committee on Territorial Upgrading (CIAT). GRET works as an operator under a contract with UCLPB, which is the owner of the project.

Principle results

• Support for the participatory process as part of the development of the development plan (2011-2012): support for consultants in the neighborhood and their link with residents, CSOs, OCBs and other local actors; information, awareness and training of local leaders to understand and comply with the development plan and convince other residents to comply as well

• Information and communication on the development plan in the district (2012-2014)

• Contribution to the economic revival in the district and to the structuring of the building sector (2012-215): training of 150 professionals (masons, engineers, block builders, blacksmiths) and improvement of their tools

• Support for the diffuse reconstruction of housing (2012 -2017): establishment of a reconstruction support center (CAR) offering financial and technical support for the reconstruction, consolidation or repair of houses. About a hundred houses have already been rebuilt and about a hundred more have yet to be done by the end of the project, a test of consolidation actions around reconstruction / improvement involving 4-5

• Development of public pedestrian spaces in Baillergeau (2014-2017) in order to improve accessibility, safety, legibility and drainage of corridors and staircases: completion of 25 installations (public spaces and corridors, 15 have already been completed and 10 are under design or construction) in line with the layout plan; addressing plan under development;

• Improving access to urban services (2016-2017): technical study (in progress) and rehabilitation / improvement works of the public drinking water supply network; strengthen access to domestic sanitation and public links; establishment of a waste pre-collection service;

• Hydraulic and urban development of a ravine (2016 -2017): carrying out the development works on the basis of the PDA validated by the MTPTC and the UCLBP.

• Carrying out a pilot rehousing operation by testing housing “products” and large-scale reproducible embodiments (2016 – 2017): on a serviced land area acquired by UCLBP, rehousing of around thirty families affected by the development work of a neighborhood gully (the Georges gully) in housing implementing innovative and replicable technical, financial and institutional concepts (evolving housing and group housing).

• Community mobilization and structuring / strengthening of a neighborhood committee (2014-2017) in its role of interface between the project team and the community

• Insertion of the project into its institutional environment, contribution to the debate and to the development of public policies (2011-2017)