Urban resilience under pressure: Forced displacement, territorial reconfiguration and the challenges of planning, mobility and infrastructure in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

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Résumé

Security crises affecting the Sahel over the past several years have profoundly transformed theurban dynamics of cities hosting displaced populations. In Burkina Faso, the city of Ouahigouya hasbecome one of the principal refuge centres for internally displaced persons (IDPs), resulting in rapidpopulation growth and increasing pressure on urban infrastructure and services. This study analyses theeffects of forced displacement on the city’s urban resilience. It aims to examine the demographic, spatialand infrastructural transformations induced by the massive influx of IDPs, assess the pressures exertedon urban systems, and propose an integrated tool for evaluating urban stress. The methodologicalapproach combines quantitative and qualitative analyses based on documentary data, surveys conductedamong 989 households, stakeholder interviews, and spatial analyses. The data collected were used todevelop an Urban Resilience Stress Index (URSI) designed to measure the overall level of pressureexerted on the urban system. The findings indicate that the number of IDPs in Ouahigouya increasedfrom 21,128 in 2020 to 147,134 in March 2023. This exceptional growth has led to the progressivesaturation of educational, healthcare and housing infrastructure, increased land-use pressures, rapid -expansion of peripheral urban areas, and reduced accessibility to certain essential services. The URSIreached a value of 0.86, indicating a very high level of urban stress. The analysis also highlights thesystemic nature of the vulnerabilities observed, resulting from the interactions between demographicpressures, infrastructural constraints, land-use dynamics and limited institutional capacities. Thisresearch contributes to the growing body of literature on urban resilience in fragile contexts by proposingan analytical framework applicable to secondary cities in the Sahel. It emphasises the need to integrateforced displacement into urban planning policies, strengthen the capacities of local authorities, andpromote resilient and adaptive urban development strategies.

Mots-clés

urban resilience, internally displaced persons (IDPs), crisis-induced urbanization, secondary cities, urban mobility, spatial planning, Urban Resilience Stress Index (URSI), Burkina Faso