Saint-Louis

Saint-Louis is built across a fragile delta landscape of mainland neighbourhoods, N’Dar Island and the narrow Langue de Barbarie. This geography gives the historic city a distinctive form but also exposes it to flooding, coastal erosion, storm surges and saltwater intrusion, risks intensified by climate change and continued urban growth.

Resilience programmes now combine protection of existing communities with relocation from the most exposed areas. New housing at Diougop includes roads, water, sanitation, education and health infrastructure, while wider planning addresses coastal defence and flood risk across the agglomeration. The city’s future therefore depends on managing heritage, settlement and environmental risk together. Saint-Louis cannot expand safely through conventional land development alone; its spatial strategy must account for the dynamics of the river, coast and delta.