Population density patterns in Port-au-Prince, Haiti: A model of Latin American city?

This paper examines the population density patterns in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, by both the monocentric and polycentric models, based on the 2003 census data at the SDE (Section d’énumération) and district levels. The regression results show a poor fitting power of monocentric functions, and improved but less than satisfactory R2 by the polycentric functions. Port-au-Prince bears some resemblance to the Griffin–Ford (1980) model for Latin American cities with its own identity. The city has five zones: (1) a commercial quarter around the city center, (2) a transitional zone with mixed land uses, (3) a high-income residential zone with the best amenities in the southeastern area, (4) a disamenity (squatters) zone with the highest population density in the north area, and (5) another disamenity (squatters) zone with the second highest population density in the south and southwest areas. A regression model validates the five-zone model for Port-au-Prince. This structure is mainly shaped by the absence or lack of institutional enforcement of land use regulations and urban planning.