Abstract EN:

In spite of the narrowness of the Reunion Island (2510 km²), there are some very remarkable regional disparities. During the colonial period, the Lowlands were differentiated from the Plains and costal slopes which were in turn differentiated from agricultural plantations in the Highlands, and the sparsely populated mountainous interior with an economy of subsistent farming. From 1946, the departmentalisation of the island brought about a huge development of the tertiary sector and a significant increase in population growth resulting in fast and massive urbanisation. The North and North-western parts of the island consisting of saint-Denis, the capital and Le Port represent the dominant "centre", leaving the rest of the island as the outskirts. Their development has overlapped onto the west coast tuning it to into residential and seaside resort. The three southern towns of Saint-Louis, Le Tampon, and Saint-Pierre are trying to build "a second centre" that will spread out over the South. In contrast, the Highlands, "les Hauts" and the Southwest form the rural outskirts/periphery whose development is slow whilst the Eastern plains (Saint-André/Saint-Benoît) or the coastal regions of Petite-Ile/Saint-Joseph are in the intermediate position. In light of these disparities and the important economic and demographic growth, traffic is a big problem and a competition for space - a rare commodity - as well as the environmental impact it has. There disparities are not quite curbed in spite of the existence of a regional development plan of the Highlands. Big projects are reserved for the reinforcement of the Northern and north-western metropolitan regions. An aggressive regional development plan of the territory is inseparable from Reunion Island's new project of durable development. The aim of this project is to bridge the territorial gap, to manage a restrained space in a thrifty manner and to foresee the consequences of global warming.