Launched in 2023 and concluded in June 2024, Milestone 1 of the JDID project focused on the undeveloped land of El Agba 2, providing recommendations on water management to mitigate flood risks and help cool the neighbourhood.

El Agba 2 covers 53 hectares. Highly uneven, the land is riddled with ravines: holes measuring around 3 by 6 metres in depth and width. It is crossed by a wadi which, while usually dry, can experience spectacular flooding. El Agba 2 has already been affected by several floods, sometimes overflowing into adjacent districts.

Students and supervisors from the University of Carthage (ENAU: Saloua FERJANI; ISTEUB: Olfa BEN MEDIEM, Wissem BEN AKHAL, Yacine TURKI) and from Université Gustave Eiffel (Urban Engineering Department; EIVP: Gilles HUBERT and Christian PIEL; M2 DUD – Sustainable Urban Development: Flavie FERCHAUD and Margot PELLEGRINO) explored this issue.

The work was carried out both during the 2023–2024 academic year and in 2 intensive workshops. The first addressed ‘Adapting the Subdivision to Climate Change’ (November 2023), and the second, ‘Water as a Resource for Sustainable Urban Design and Planning’ (June 2024).

They produced several deliverables, including a preliminary land-use plan for El Agba 2 presented to the SNIT in November 2023. It proposed nature-based, integrated water management solutions as tools for urban regulation, such as:

• Retention basins;
• Infiltration in public and private spaces;
• Reuse of greywater;
• Reprofiling the wadi to serve as the backbone of the neighbourhood;

These proposals form part of a long-term vision for progressive urbanisation extending to 2045. The feasibility of these solutions will be further explored in Milestone 3. One objective: avoiding pipes.”

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