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In the News

In Haiti, a new path to urban renewal

As Port-au-Prince still struggles after the 2010 earthquake, one neighborhood has gone from rubble to renaissance.

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The new homes in Port-au-Prince's Ravine Pintade neighborhood stand out. The “Katye” project has transformed the quake-ravaged area. More than half the community’s 900 families have a new house or had repairs done to the one they were in. Also, the ravine’s slopes have been stabilized with retaining walls and the footpaths are now paved and wider. However, there was only enough money to rebuild one side of the ravine.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

A man sells mirrors in frames he made on a Saturday in Ravine Pintade. No one would call the rebuilt area a model neighborhood. But it is far better than it was. More important, it is a product of Haitian planning and labor — and is what the residents wanted in almost every detail.

A man sells mirrors in frames he made on a Saturday in Ravine Pintade. No one would call the rebuilt area a model neighborhood. But it is far better than it was. More important, it is a product of Haitian planning and labor — and is what the residents wanted in almost every detail.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

New housing in Ravine Pintade. More than 500 families in the heavily quake-damaged Ravine Pintade received new homes or had repairs done to their existing ones. Steel-framed, with wood and composite walls, they are expected to last at least 25 years.

New housing in Ravine Pintade. More than 500 families in the heavily quake-damaged Ravine Pintade received new homes or had repairs done to their existing ones. Steel-framed, with wood and composite walls, they are expected to last at least 25 years.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

Children play in on of the new dwellings. The “Katye” renewal project was paid for with $8.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Silver Spring-based CHF International and San Diego-based PCI were “implementing partners.”

Children play in on of the new dwellings. The “Katye” renewal project was paid for with $8.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Silver Spring-based CHF International and San Diego-based PCI were “implementing partners.”

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

Mars Clifford, 15, stands on his porch, where his family laid faux-marble tile. Participation in the Katye project was voluntary. People were not forced to get new dwellings if their own house was salvageable and they wanted to fix it up. Residents were consulted about design and were expected to find solutions to show-stopping problems. When the project was finished in May, maintenance of common spaces and infrastructure became the residents’ responsibility.

Mars Clifford, 15, stands on his porch, where his family laid faux-marble tile. Participation in the Katye project was voluntary. People were not forced to get new dwellings if their own house was salvageable and they wanted to fix it up. Residents were consulted about design and were expected to find solutions to show-stopping problems. When the project was finished in May, maintenance of common spaces and infrastructure became the residents’ responsibility.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

Mimose Brinyol, 55, sits in the front room of the new home she shares with seven family members in the Ravine Pintade neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

Mimose Brinyol, 55, sits in the front room of the new home she shares with seven family members in the Ravine Pintade neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

A woman and her baby look out the window of their new home.

A woman and her baby look out the window of their new home.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

A rubber shoe is used as a latch for this front gate to someone's home. Ravine Pintade, in the hills above downtown Port-au-Prince, was poor and dangerous before the earthquake and the disaster did not make it more prosperous or safe. Rebuilding the area was a high priority for Haiti’s government because it was heavily damaged and many of the residents were living in a displaced-persons camp in a downtown park.

A rubber shoe is used as a latch for this front gate to someone's home. Ravine Pintade, in the hills above downtown Port-au-Prince, was poor and dangerous before the earthquake and the disaster did not make it more prosperous or safe. Rebuilding the area was a high priority for Haiti’s government because it was heavily damaged and many of the residents were living in a displaced-persons camp in a downtown park.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

One of the 100 new bucket-flush toilets installed as part of the project. Also, most of the new homes have a system for capturing rainwater for washing and bathing.

One of the 100 new bucket-flush toilets installed as part of the project. Also, most of the new homes have a system for capturing rainwater for washing and bathing.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

In Port-au-Prince’s Ravine Pintade neighborhood, a new paved path replaced a rocky and dangerous slope, one of the many improvements to the area as part of the Katye project.

In Port-au-Prince’s Ravine Pintade neighborhood, a new paved path replaced a rocky and dangerous slope, one of the many improvements to the area as part of the Katye project.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

New housing in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood. By now, it seems unlikely that Haiti’s capital will be emerge from the rubble of the 2010 earthquake as a transformed modern city. But Ravine Pintade gives a hint of what is possible on a small scale.

New housing in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood. By now, it seems unlikely that Haiti’s capital will be emerge from the rubble of the 2010 earthquake as a transformed modern city. But Ravine Pintade gives a hint of what is possible on a small scale.

Maggie Steber / For The Washington Post

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