Haitians load blocks for construction onto a truck in Port-au-Prince Feb. 3, 2010. (Eliana Aponte/Reuters)Haitian officials are developing a new urban plan in part to regulate the use of construction materials following the widespread collapse of hundreds of buildings in the recent earthquake.

The plan comes as Haitians are beginning to rebuild after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12 — but in an unregulated, sometimes haphazard way.

"First of all, we need to change our building code," Gregory Mevs, one of Haiti's leading builders, told CBC News. "We don't have one.

"Second thing [we need to learn is] the experience of this shake."

For decades, Haitians used concrete as their primary building material because of its ability to withstand the heavy winds and flying debris of hurricanes.

But concrete does not hold up well in earthquakes, as was proven so fatally last month.

Heavy concrete roofs flattened hundreds of buildings in the capital of the Caribbean country, Port-au-Prince, where the quake was centred, crushing thousands of people to death. Chunks of broken concrete litter the streets of the city, and excavation crews work tirelessly to clear the rubble.

In future, Haiti should build steel frames and wooden buildings, Mevs said, an idea echoed by Patrick Delatour, Haiti's minister in charge of reconstruction.

Such buildings would stand a better chance of surviving future quakes and would likely kill fewer people if they collapsed, said Delatour.

It is important that the government "come up with immediate answers, at least to ... slow down the process of reconstruction," said Delatour.

"[Haitians are] already in the process of cleaning and rebuilding, and they're not waiting for the government to decide," he said.

Haitians streaming back to Port-au-Prince

The question of how reconstruction efforts should be handled has taken on a sense of urgency as hundreds of thousands of Haitians who fled the shattered capital are starting to return. The maze of rubble, refugee camps and food lines they encounter when they get there is complicating ambitious plans to build a better Haiti.

Concrete buildings like this one collapsed layer upon layer in the Jan. 12 earthquake, crushing those trapped inside. (Reuters)An estimated 500,000 people fled to the countryside in the days after the quake, many on buses the government hired to move survivors away from the heart of the destruction. Now, some of those who fled are beginning to return to the capital after encountering the same harsh rural conditions that drove them to Port-au-Prince in the first place.

"I didn't like it there," said Marie Marthe Juste, selling fried dough on the streets near the capital's Pétionville suburb after returning from La Boule, in the mountains about 30 kilometres to the north of the capital.

"My friends help me down here. Up there, I just sat around all day. At least here, I can sell things to make a little money," she said, using crutches to keep weight off the ankle she injured in the quake.

The government is largely powerless to keep people from returning, though Prime Minister Max Bellerive warned this week that Port-au-Prince cannot withstand another influx of people.

"It's impossible for these people to come back before the capital is reconstructed," he said.

Haitian officials recently announced an ambitious plan to clear the rubble, which includes removing people living in unstable buildings by force, according to Aby Brun, an architect and member of the government's reconstruction team.

"We will destroy in an orderly and secure manner," Brun said.

Haiti's government on Friday announced a ban on rebuilding until it completes damage assessments and introduces a new building code to be developed with international partners.

In Port-au-Prince, the UN says there are roughly 500,000 people living in 315 encampments, most without sanitation. Schools are closed — or destroyed. There's enough rubble to fill five football stadiums the size of the Superdome in New Orleans, and more than one million people need to be provided with food and water.

But if the government has a detailed reconstruction plan, it's not ready to reveal it — and no one knows when and to what extent a new capital will arise.

With files from The Associated Press