Housing Inequality and Justice in the French Caribbean City of Pointe à Pitre

This paper will focus on the construction of territory in Guadeloupe, a French marginal territory, and more specifically in the city of Pointe à Pitre. This territory, located over 6400 km from Paris, is marked by various forms of social and spatial fragmentation. A former colony built on slave trade and slavery, Guadeloupe's population is now predominantly urban, concentrated around the city of Pointe à Pitre.

This urban concentration is reflected in the development of dynamic zones, areas that attract populations where rents are high. These include housing estates in neighboring communes, close to shopping and service areas.

On the other hand, in the center of Pointe à Pitre, there are areas that have been left behind, marked by great poverty and a concentration of violence. In neighborhoods such as Mortenol and Bergevin, housing is particularly insalubrious, youth unemployment is over 50% and homicide rates far exceed national averages.

However, there are also initiatives on a national scale, as well as at finer levels such as the city or street level, which are attempting to rehabilitate neighborhoods through building renovation, economic or cultural development.

The aim will be to show the dynamics at work in the making of the territory. These relationships will enable us to explore the links of rupture and continuity with mainland France. But we'll also be able to reflect on what is specific to the region in terms of the production of inequalities in housing.