Rural exodus and land use change in northern Morocco: 2000–2020

The implementation of the Urban Development Master Plan, SDAU (Schema Directeur d’Amenagement Urbain) in the Tangier-Tetouan region has marked a radical change in the territorial organization of these provinces: this process that began in 2004 with the construction of the port of Tanger-Med, and the infrastructures to support the port and related industrial areas. This action has meant the change of administrative boundaries as the project progressed. Although the demographic dynamics throughout the Kingdom of Morocco is a process of rural exodus, this migratory pattern is more intense in northern Morocco. The Andalusian Geographical Studies group of the University of Seville, together with Abdelmalek Essaadi University, has investigated the impact of such planning on spatial planning in a framework of international university cooperation since 2002. This article will update previous research based on remote sensing techniques and demographic statistics that analyze the changes that occurred over the last two decades. These changes consist of more than a massive displacement of the rural population toward the large cities and coastal towns. It also means the construction of large infrastructures, holiday houses, and a new pattern of settlement in rural areas. This article aims to describe these changes, as well as the trends in the immediate future, using statistical analysis and the evolution of land uses with GIS and remote sensing tools.