Evolution of the Spatial Distribution of Basic Infrastructures and Services in the Niakhar Area (Fatick), Senegal

Abstract

Basic infrastructures and services present an important socio-economic and territorial equity issue, because the availability of these makes it possible to improve the living conditions of populations, makes territories attractive and stimulates their development. The objective of our study has been achieved, so our results provided information on the rate of propagation of basic infrastructures and services, as well as the evolution of the forms of spatial distribution of the latter. The data used comes from the census and geolocation of basic infrastructures and services in the Niakhar area, carried out by the IRD in 2018. Centrographic measurements were used to describe the overall spatial distribution and the use of chi-square statistics confirmed the existence of a preferential direction of distribution. To verify the existence of a spatial structure of infrastructure and service seeding, the Ripley statistic is used. Our results can be useful for land use planning and spatial resource allocation policies. Indeed, the identification of different types of spatial aggregates and the highlighting of the preferred directions of the distribution of basic infrastructures and services, make it possible to correct disparities in the spatial distribution of basic resources.