Touba-Mbacké, un "îlot vert urbain" dans le Sahel sénégalais ? Mode d'insertion et usages de la végétation dans la deuxième agglomération sénégalaise

Abstract

The article examines the growth of woody vegetation in the agglomeration of Touba-Mbacké, which is marked by a very strong demographic and economic dynamism. It is studied by remote sensing between 1973 (period of rainfall deficit) and 2024. The results show a strong spatial spread of the urban core built ex nihilo after the inauguration of the Great Mosque of Touba (1963) to the city of Mbacké. The less-expected result is that vegetation has increased in size within the agglomeration, thus forming a "green island" in this Sahelian part of Senegal. Indeed, the contrast is clear between the progression of woody vegetation scattered in the recent urban fabric and the decline of plant cover in the nearby rural area. At a finer scale, urban vegetation is the result of individual initiative (trees for yards and front-line buildings) rather than public action (plantings for alignment and public gardens). Finally, the article looks at the many services that woody vegetation provides to populations.

Keywords

• remote sensing
• Senegal
• environmental planning
• socio-environmental changes
• uses
• urban vegetation