It must be recognised that the case of the Urban Planning Plan (PAU) of Rabat is not simple, given the challenges facing the capital. The latter has, indeed, experienced profound urban and demographic changes which are added to the strong dynamic induced by structuring projects, such as the major project of the development of the Bouregreg valley and the Rabat corniche as well as the tramway project. Being conscious of these challenges, the Urban Agency of Rabat-Salé (AURS) based itself on a participatory approach in the development of its PAU in order to have an overview of the issues and to arrive at a coherent vision of the development of the city. In this sense, the Urban Agency had invited all stakeholders to formulate their proposals and remarks. During the last meeting, which took place recently, the districts, among others, had presented their visions and remarks relating to the PAU project.

In the same vein, the Hassan district had cast a critical look at this project, by advancing that the latter did not foresee any development scenario for the public spaces of the district which, in a general manner, seem to be lacking in the capital. The same goes for car parks. This is a capital question that does not cease to cause ripples, notably at the level of Hassan. The inhabitants of this district are obliged to pay 150 DH per month to be able to park their cars. A decision that was strongly contested by the users. For them, it is an aberration, from the moment that the majority of the buildings located in the district do not have underground garages.

Another remark evoked by the districts: the absence of socio-cultural complexes, the weak link of the capital. The Hassan district called for the conversion of certain spaces into socio-cultural complexes, as is the case of the “Ba-Allal” stadium, an old sports complex. It was also proposed to build a local socio-cultural complex in the space located in the military barracks located in the Al Akkari district. Réda Benkheldoun, president of the Agdal district, had specified that the proposals formulated at their level abounded notably in the direction of the strengthening of basic infrastructure for the benefit of the population of his district. It concerns, notably, car parks. To alleviate the problem of parking at the level of Agdal, it had been proposed to build a new underground car park at the level of Fal Ould Omeir Avenue, just in front of the Badr mosque. To alleviate the pressure on this mosque, the Agdal district sees it as useful to build another mosque in this district, still according to Reda Benkheldoun. The Rabat Development Plan must also meet the great challenge of cemeteries. Today, burial places are almost saturated. According to an elected official of the Hassan district, “Rabat will no longer find where to bury its dead, within a few months”. It is thus that the Agdal district had proposed to install a “concentrated” cemetery at the level of the “Boustane Ryad” district.

The other obstacle that the new Rabat-Salé-Témara Development Plan will have to overcome is that of the derogation system. After the expiration of the old Development Plan, projects were granted in the framework of the derogation system which gave the walis the right to grant authorisations on land reserves, in the absence of any vision. Which causes anarchy at the level of land use planning. Thus, the Development Plan remains essential to abolish this derogation system.

PAU: for a sustainable vision: The Development Plan aims to plan a sustainable city that ensures a rational and diversified design of space, a preservation of natural and landscape spaces through the reorganisation of transport between the different districts of the city, but also between Rabat and the surrounding spaces. The objectives set by the project and their translation into development options will be of great utility for decision-makers, this, to the extent that it will be a tool to aid in decision-making, offering the means to attenuate socio-spatial disparities and to remedy the problems of mobility and transport.