The Oran Coast : Impacts of Infrastructure Development and Leisure Activities on the Peri-Urban Environment and User Behavior

The Oran coast is a highly attractive area for people, particularly because of its significant potential for leisure activities. The primary objective of this project is to assess the impact of tourism and leisure through the evolution of land use (in the broad sense of the term). The second objective is to understand, through the “lived experience” in leisure spaces, the imagination and perception of the concept of “leisure” and the “leisure space” for individuals increasingly engaged in these activities. The third objective is to evaluate (as a first approximation) the impact of infrastructure and users of leisure zones on the environment.
The methodology is diverse to capture the various aspects of the topic: satellite image processing taken at different dates, field surveys to identify representative natural elements and establish a supervised classification, processing and analysis of the 2008 population census in comparison with previous ones, and finally surveys and interviews with individuals in leisure activities and with certain administrative authorities at both wilaya and municipal levels.
Expected results include shedding light on the state of the environment, often considered “degraded,” on the “tourism-leisure activities” effect promoted by recent planning and economic policies, as well as gaining knowledge about the increasing number of participants in these activities. Overall, the project seeks to establish a link between lived experience and the leisure environment.

Objectives:
Develop an inventory of urban expansion and infrastructure along the Oran coast, complemented by an analysis of population growth. This inventory will allow an assessment of the current state of the natural environment, forming the basis for integrated spatial planning and sustainable development of urban or urbanized coastal areas.
Understand certain societal and socio-economic changes in Oran’s coastal areas, particularly the high mobility of individuals related to these changes. These changes will be analyzed through surveys of leisure participants.

Actions carried out / planned:
- Image processing.
- Field surveys (environment, leisure and tourism infrastructure).
- Field measurements/recordings (environment, leisure and tourism infrastructure).
- Preliminary sociological surveys.
- Sociological surveys – focus groups.
- Administrative surveys.

Perspectives:
Assessment of ongoing projects and planning schemes.
Analysis of changes in Oran’s coastal areas using multi-temporal satellite imagery.
Typology of tourism and leisure spaces within their “natural” environment.
Field studies.