From Rurality to Urbanity: Issues and Modes of Land Management in Azaguié, Côte d'Ivoire

Communalization, as a process of creating local authorities, is a development tool perceived as such by all developing countries, and more specifically those of sub-Saharan Africa. Communalization in Côte d'Ivoire began at the end of the law of November 18, 1955, with the creation of three full-fledged communes: Abidjan, Bouaké and Grand-Bassam. The objectives assigned to them were, among others, the modernization of the rural landscape, the improvement of the living environment and the management of the land. The year 1980 saw a significant increase in the number of communes to 38 (Adiko A.R., 2003: 11) [1]. Thus, Azaguié, our study area, which became a commune at that time, still has difficulty in presenting a shining urban landscape. In addition, like all the peripheral communes of Abidjan, Azaguié must deal with the problem of land management. This raises the problem of the consequent determination of the stakes and the modes of land management of this town that has become a commune. The objective of this study is to analyze the issues at stake in Azaguié's transition from rural to urban and to reveal the current land management methods. To achieve this, the approach was based on existing documentation and field surveys. Thus, communal authorities and customary chiefs and 110 heads of households were interviewed. The results of our investigations reveal that despite the installation of basic services and the provision of equipment and infrastructure, the modernization of the commune of Azaguié remains weak. In addition, population growth and the proximity of the Abidjan metropolis have given rise to a specificity of land management involving both the public authorities and the village communities.