Analyse des dynamiques d’urbanisation et des recompositions agricoles : Cas d’Antananarivo, Madagascar

Abstract

In many cities in the South, urban sprawl continues to the detriment of agricultural land. However, few studies qualify and quantify the landscape recompositions caused by urban growth in built areas and agricultural areas. The agglomeration of Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, is still heavily agricultural but is experiencing increasing urbanization. In this context, this article aims to qualify, quantify and spatialize the dynamics of urbanization and agricultural recompositions at the scale of this agglomeration. It pays particular attention to the ongoing dynamics within agricultural plains, a space for the progression of urbanization and a key space in flood management. Based on a mixed method, combining quantitative and qualitative data, the article confirms the acceleration of urbanization to the detriment of cultivated land, particularly in the plains. It also highlights the diversity of transitions in land use, and the agricultural recompositions associated with urban growth. It then analyzes, at the scale of the plains, the factors which influence urbanization or the plasticity of agricultural activity. It highlights that the key to influencing the effective regulation of urbanization dynamics – beyond the development of rules and urban plans – is to play on hydro-agricultural infrastructures, agricultural production conditions, the location of access roads and control of backfills. These different results help fuel public debates on land use planning and the place that agriculture can play in the resilience of the city.

Keywords

• land use transitions
• urbanization
• agricultural land
• flooding
• Antananarivo