hills east and separate
of the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. It was
named after
Alexandre Sabès
Pétion
(1770–1818), the Haitian
general and president later recognized as one of the country's four founding
fathers. The district is primarily a residential and tourist area. Pétion-Ville
is part of the city's metropolitan area, one of the most affluent areas, where
the majority of tourist activity takes place, and one of the wealthiest parts
of the country. Many diplomats, foreign businessmen, and a large number of
wealthy citizens do business and reside in Pétion-Ville.
Despite the distance from the
capital and the general affluence of the district, the lack of administrative
enforcement has led to the formation of shantytowns on the outer edges of the
district, as poor locals migrate upward and have settled there in search of job
opportunities
