Can affordable housing supply exclusively stop urban sprawl?

The rising cost of land for housing construction in Abomey-Calavi has triggered a migration of people from urban areas to peri-urban regions, leading to urban sprawl. Although the government has passed a decree in the assembly to prohibit unsuitable land for population settlement and has initiated affordable housing programs to mitigate urban sprawl, our research suggests that the issue persists, as indicated by our findings from the difference-in-differences (DID) model. Consequently, are there alternative methods to better control urban sprawl? Drawing from the findings on land use restrictions in Guangzhou, we have learned that Abomey-Calavi authorities could reinforce their urban sprawl limitation policies by controlling the supply of housing land. Our conclusion suggests that effective mitigation or cessation of urban sprawl in Abomey-Calavi could be achieved by integrating measures for controlling urban land supply and providing affordable housing. This could be achieved by incorporating land use control into the policy agenda of the authorities.