Résumé:
Since independence, the Algerian urban area has experienced rapid growth in terms of time and space, which has created an unbalanced urban structure. In an attempt to reduce and restore spatial balance, urban policies have focused on smaller, less densely populated centers, which are considered a type of solution to mitigate the urban sprawl that is evident in the large coastal cities at the top of the hierarchy. One of the coastal cities that has been affected by this change is Skikda, which was the wilaya (province) of our study. We focused on centers with populations of 10,000 to 20,000,
represented by 11 micro-settlements scattered across the wilaya with different characteristics. They are located within the coastal plains, most of which have high agricultural yields. However, the phenomenon of urbanization has affected the agricultural functional performance, with a shift towards service functions in the first place and the search
for livelihoods that provide, to a quasi-sufficient extent, social services for their inhabitants and the inhabitants of the neighboring rural areas. They rely on the small towns of Azzaba, Elharrouch, Colo and Tamalous to meet their needs, which has created a kind of dynamism and organization of the space. The phenomenon of micro-urbanisation has become widespread in our coastal plains and has thus occupied the base of the hierarchy that relieves the pressure at its top.
