Launch of a Master's Program in Spatial Planning: The Haitian State Bets on Training its Executives to Structure Urbanization

Launch of a Master's Program in Spatial Planning: The Haitian State Bets on Training its Executives to Structure Urbanization

By Jean Wesley Pierre

The Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE), in partnership with the University of Technology of Haiti (UNITECH), the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT) and the National Federation of Mayors of Haiti (FENAMH), officially launched a Master's program in spatial planning this Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Intended for 32 public service executives, this program aims to be a structuring response to the challenges of disordered urbanization and the inequitable distribution of investments across the national territory. Led by Minister Sandra Paulemon, who sees it as a « strategic act of the State », the initiative benefits from the support of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and brings together several institutional actors, including Minister for Women's Affairs Pedrica Saint-Jean, who advocates for taking into account structural inequalities affecting women. With the joint commitment of Rector Josselin Val, international professor Feirouz Megdiche, Vice-Rector Lubin Santana, and students represented by Jean Gardy Milfort, this program aims to train a new generation of decision-makers capable of sustainably transforming public action in territorial planning.

An Investment in Human Capital to Respond to a National Emergency

The choice of a Master's program in spatial planning is not insignificant. It comes in a context where Haiti has for decades paid the price of anarchic urbanization, excessive centralization of services, and a lack of a coherent vision for land use. By targeting executives already in public administration, the State is betting on training operational actors, immediately capable of influencing public policies.

Minister Sandra Paulemon summarized it clearly:

« No country transforms without investing in its human capital. »

Behind this statement lies an institutional awareness: structural reforms, urban planning, decentralization of services, and territorial balance cannot succeed without professionals with specialized expertise. In this sense, the program is not an isolated action, but a structuring initiative that fills a glaring gap in the offer of specialized higher education in Haiti.

A Sovereign Responsibility and an Issue of Equity

UNITECH Rector, Josselin Val, rightly recalled that spatial planning is a sovereign responsibility of the State. This assertion goes to the heart of a fundamental problem: for years, the absence of coherent planning has weakened the State's sovereignty over its own territory, giving way to informal occupation, vulnerability to natural risks, and glaring disparities between departments.