The reference urban plan is an urban planning tool often used to orient the development of Chadian cities. However, expanding Chadian urban centers, such as Sarh, face challenges in implementing urban planning orientations of their urban plans within the set deadlines. The objective of this study is to identify the factors impeding the effective implementation of the reference urban plan for Sarh town. The methodology employed encompasses a literature review, individual interviews with urban planning experts, geographic information system (GIS) data, household surveys and statistical analysis. The results revealed that less than a quarter (19.72%) of the households surveyed were aware of the reference urban plan. The applied logistic regression model identified age, occupation and level of education as the main factors influencing public participation in the preparation of the reference urban plan. On average, 33.33% of the urban planning guidelines and 21.74% of the projected urban projects were implemented, with a difference of 1631.28 hectares (ha) between the projected plan and the actual plan for the town. Five factors were identified as contributing to the failure to implement the reference urban plan for Sarh town, including low funding, inadequate land management, a lack of political will, weak governance and poor communication. Consequently, participatory and inclusive planning approaches, effective financial mobilisation, strong governance, and the use of modern technologies such as GIS tools are recommended to enhance the implementation of urban planning tools.

Abubakari, M., Ibrahim, A.-S., Dosu, B., Mahama, M. (2023). Sustaining the urban commons in Ghana through decentralized planning. Heliyon, 9(5), e15895.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15895

Admasu, T. G., Jenberu, A. A. (2020). Urban Planning Implementation Challenges in Arba Minch Town, Southern Ethiopia. Urban Forum, 31(4), 549–572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-020-09393-6

Africapolis. (2020). Rapport sur le Tchad. Available online: https://africapolis.org/en/country-report/Chad (accessed on 02 July 2024).

Ahmad, N., Anjum, G. A. (2012). Legal and institutional perplexities hampering the implementation of urban development plans in Pakistan. Cities, 29(4), 271–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2011.07.006

Ahmed, A., Asabere, S. B., Adams, E. A., Abubakari, Z. (2023). Patterns and determinants of multidimensional poverty in secondary cities: Implications for urban sustainability in African cities. Habitat International, 134, 102775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102775

Aldegheishem, A. (2023). Community participation in urban planning process in Saudi Arabia: An empirical assessment. Journal of Urban Management, 12(3), 221–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2023.04.003

Alem, G. (2021). Urban Plans and Conflicting Interests in Sustainable Cross-Boundary Land Governance, the Case of National Urban and Regional Plans in Ethiopia. Sustainability, 13(6), 3081. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063081

Allarané, N., Mahamat Hemchi, H. (2024). Outils d’urbanisme comme instruments de fabrication de la ville de N’Djaména (1990 à 2023). Available online: https://revues.imist.ma/index.php/AMJAU/article/download/48673/26222/140033 (accessed on 04 May 2024).

Allarané, N., Azagoun, V. V. A., Atchadé, A. J., Hetcheli, F., et al. (2023). Urban Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies against Recurrent Climate Risks in Central Africa: Evidence from N’Djaména City (Chad). Urban Science, 7(3), 97. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7030097

Blakime, T.-H., Adjonou, K., Komi, K., et al. (2024). Dynamics of Built-Up Areas and Challenges of Planning and Development of Urban Zone of Greater Lomé in Togo, West Africa. Land, 13(1), 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010084

Bolay, J.-C. (2015). Urban Planning in Africa: Which Alternative for Poor Cities? The Case of Koudougou in Burkina Faso. Current Urban Studies, 03(04), 413–431. https://doi.org/10.4236/cus.2015.34033

Chirisa. I. (2014). Link between time use and spatial plan implementation: What explains dysfunctional urban landscapes in Zimbabwe? 5(1), 49–60.

Cirolia, L. R., Berrisford, S. (2017). ‘Negotiated planning’: Diverse trajectories of implementation in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Harare. Habitat International, 59, 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.11.005

Cobbinah, P. B., Asibey, M. O., Azumah, A. D. (2023). Urban forest and the question of planning-sustainability inadequacy. Cities, 140, 104453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104453

Colenbrander, S., Barau, A. (2019). Planning and financing urban development in the context of the climate crisis. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 11(3), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2019.1673529

Dandonougbo, I., Hetcheli, F. (2016). Problèmes de sous-équipement et stratégies d’assainissement à Notsé (Togo): Acteurs et enjeux de la gestion des services urbains. Cahiers du Centre Béninoise de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CBRST),78–100.

Danvidé, T.B. (2015). Gouvernance des politiques de planification urbaine et gestion des inondations à Cotonou [PhD thesis]. Université de Paris 8.

Das, M., Das, A. (2019). Dynamics of Urbanization and its impact on Urban Ecosystem Services (UESs): A study of a medium size town of West Bengal, Eastern India. Journal of Urban Management, 8(3), 420–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2019.03.002

Dube, E. E. (2013). Urban planning and land management challenges in emerging towns of Ethiopia: The case of Arba Minch. Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering, 340–348. https://doi.org/10.4090/juee.2013.v7n2.340348

Eldesoky, A. H., Abdeldayem, W. S. (2023). Disentangling the Relationship between Urban Form and Urban Resilience: A Systematic Literature Review. Urban Science, 7(3), 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7030093

Enoguanbhor, E. C., Gollnow, F., Walker, B. B., et al. (2021). Key Challenges for Land Use Planning and Its Environmental Assessments in the Abuja City-Region, Nigeria. Land, 10(5), 443. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10050443

Enoguanbhor, E., Gollnow, F., Nielsen, J., et al. (2019). Land Cover Change in the Abuja City-Region, Nigeria: Integrating GIS and Remotely Sensed Data to Support Land Use Planning. Sustainability, 11(5), 1313. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051313

Guo, Z., Hu, Y., Zheng, X. (2020). Evaluating the effectiveness of land use master plans in built-up land management: A case study of the Jinan Municipality, eastern China. Land Use Policy, 91, 104369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104369

Hailu, T., Assefa, E., Zeleke, T. (2023). Land use planning implementation and its effect on the ecosystem in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Environmental Challenges, 13, 100798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2023.100798

Kleemann, J., Inkoom, J. N., Thiel, M., et al. (2017). Peri-urban land use pattern and its relation to land use planning in Ghana, West Africa. Landscape and Urban Planning, 165, 280–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.02.004

Laurian, L., Day, M., Backhurst, M., et al. (2004). What drives plan implementation? Plans, planning agencies and developers. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 47(4), 555–577. https://doi.org/10.1080/0964056042000243230

Mahamat Hemchi, H. (2015). Mobilités urbaines et planification : Le cas de N’Djamèna [PhD thesis]. Université de Bordeaux Montaigne.

Maru, M., Worku, H., Birkmann, J. (2021). Factors affecting the spatial resilience of Ethiopia’s secondary cities to urban uncertainties: A study of household perceptions of Kombolcha city. Heliyon, 7(12), e08472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08472

Mbatbral, N. (2015). Gestion des déchets ménagers et catastrophes environnementales: Cas de la ville de Sarh (Moyen-Chari, Tchad). Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321226422. (accessed on 15 December 2024).

Mohamed, A., Worku, H., Lika, T. (2020). Urban and regional planning approaches for sustainable governance: The case of Addis Ababa and the surrounding area changing landscape. City and Environment Interactions, 8, 100050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cacint.2020.100050

Nallathiga, R. (2016). Assessing the Role of Master Plans in City Development: Reform Measures and Approaches. Nagarlok, XLVIII, 1‑18.

Negeri, M. D., Guta, M. S., Erena, S. H. (2023). Determinant factors hinder urban structure plan implementation: The case of Nekemte Town, Ethiopia. Heliyon, 9(3), e13448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13448

Nor, A. N. M., Corstanje, R., Harris, J. A., Brewer, T. (2017). Impact of rapid urban expansion on green space structure. Ecological Indicators, 81, 274–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.05.031

Nuhu, S. (2019). Peri-Urban Land Governance in Developing Countries: Understanding the Role, Interaction and Power Relation Among Actors in Tanzania. Urban Forum, 30(1), 1‑16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-018-9339-2

Omollo, W. O. (2019). Conformity assessment to development plan implementation as a tool for development control in Kisii Town, Kenya. South African Journal of Geomatics, 7(3), 331. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajg.v7i3.10

Ryan, B. D., Gao, S. (2019). Plan Implementation Challenges in a Shrinking City: A Conformance Evaluation of Youngstown’s (OH) Comprehensive Plan with a Subsequent Zoning Code. Journal of the American Planning Association, 85(4), 424–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2019.1637769

Swapan, M. S. H. (2016). Who participates and who doesn’t? Adapting community participation model for developing countries. Cities, 53, 70–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.01.013

Tchadinfos. (2022). Sarh, la ville historique, est en décadence. Available online: https://tchadinfos.com/sarh-la-ville-historique-est-en-decadence/#google_vignette (accessed on 15 May 2024).

Tob-Ro, N. (2015). Gouvernance urbaine et aménagement au Tchad : Production et attribution des terrains à bâtir à N’Djamèna [PhD thesis]. Université de Ngaoundéré.

UCLGA. (2018). The transition to sustainable cities and territories: The role of African local authorities. Synthesis of sessions and recommendations. Available online: https://www.climate-chance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/af8_synthese_des_sessions_fr_23_11_2018.pdf (accessed on 05 July 2023).

UN-Habitat. (2018). The state of African cities 2018, the geography of African investment. UN-Habitat.

UN-Habitat. (2022). World cities report: Envisioning the future of cities (p. 422). Available online: https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf (accessed on 15 September 2023).

Vanel, A. R., Coffi, A. C. (2024). Public Perception and Resilience to Flooding: An Examination of Vulnerability in Brazzaville, Congo During the 2019 Floods. International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics, 19(1), 211–219. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijdne.190123

Wang, X., Chen, Y., Han, Z., et al. (2021). Evaluation of mobile-based public participation in China’s urban planning: Case study of the PinStreet platform. Cities, 109, 102993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102993

Watson, V. (2016). Locating planning in the New Urban Agenda of the urban sustainable development goal. Planning Theory, 15(4), 435–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095216660786

Weldegebriel, A. T., Tekalign, M., Van Rompaey, A. (2023). Sociospatial analysis of regime shifts in Addis Ababa’s urbanisation. Applied Geography, 154, 102918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.102918

Wilson, A., Tewdwr-Jones, M., Comber, R. (2019). Urban planning, public participation and digital technology: App development as a method of generating citizen involvement in local planning processes. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 46(2), 286–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808317712515

Workineh. N.A. (2021). Rezoning prior urban planning period for urban space development in Injibara Town, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. 109, 105702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105702

Zhu, X., Xu, J. (2023). After the pandemic is before the pandemic: Rethinking urban priorities, assumptions and planning approaches. Heliyon, 9(10), e20763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20763