Developing a sustainable city model for Port Louis – Term Paper

ABSTRACT

Mauritius is one of the fastest growing countries in Africa and rising in popularity with a growing influx of tourists. The economy of the Island nation relies heavily on agriculture, tourism and the service sector with financial services, Information technology, and education emerging as the most crucial sectors.  However, the rapid growth and development that the country is experiencing have not been without challenges. Cities have witnessed a population increase of 330% in the last century alone, and yet the basic infrastructure is not keeping up with that pace. For Mauritius to fully actualize the Sustainable Development Goals, a reliable mechanism for realizing sustainable development in various key aspects of its urban population is required.  This proposal examines the various urban development and regeneration schemes that would create a sustainable model for Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius. The primary focus will be on Water Harvesting and Management, Efficient Waste Management, and Sustainable Energy Usage.

Keywords: Water Harvesting, Waste Management, and Energy Usage.

OBJECTIVES

The project will focus on the approaches that shall be better suited to turn the city of Port Louis into a sustainable urban fabric. To realize this goal, the objectives of the study will be:

 1. To find out where Port Louis stands in relation to other cities on Sustainable Development Goals and urban sustainability.

2. To investigate the practical and proven urban sustainability models that have been applied with favorable results.

3. To determine the sets of regenerative and approaches that would be better suited for creating a sustainable city model for Port Louis.

4. To determine the potential benefits of regenerating the city.

 The study shall place a special emphasis on ‘plug and play’ solutions that are easier for policymakers to adopt.