MANIFESTATIONS AND FACTORS OF URBAN SPRAWL IN THE DOUBLET ABOMEY-BOHICON (BENIN)

Urban growth in the Abomey and Bohicon has led to a real metamorphosis of these spaces. This transformation has spawned the urban sprawl whose manifestation and the factors are necessary for the understanding for a sustainable management of these territories. This research contributes to the knowledge of urban sprawl between Abomey and Bohicon territories. The methodology combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A sample of 944 people was constituted in both territories. The collected data are processed from statistical and spatial analysis and the computation of urban sprawl indicators. These various indicators show that the suburbs of Abomey and Bohicon are dynamic between 1992 and 2002 with a regular spread from the center towards the periphery marked by a more or less strong intensity between 2002 and 2013. The settlement of the populations is explained by the geographical position and the crossing of the tracks connecting the hinterland by these territories. The pedology, relief, climate, varied and diversified structuring services, political decisions, land and real estate contribute intensively. The correspondence analysis of factors reveals that the low environmental pollution, the inheritance, the land tenure are the main motivations of installation in the peripheries whereas those of the town centers are the proximity of the service or a market, the subdivision of the middle, the presence of water, electricity and security. This growing facility needs to meet the challenges imposed by this urban sprawl to ensure efficient management of these spaces for future generations.