A look at French experiments

Urban renewal

Clémence PINEL

Urban Renewal in France

What national guidelines?

On a national level, what guidelines?

Grenelle de

l’Environnement, a Round

Table, 2007.

Objective: key points of

government policy on

ecological and sustainable

development issues.

Method: bring civilians and

public service

representatives together.

Concrete ideas on urbanism

Development of Plan

Ville Durable:

Holistic approach.

Green transportation,

densities, social mix

and mix uses, urban

forms.

“Ecocités”: thinking inside

a city, harmonization of

neighborhoods.

“Ecoquartiers”: in a

neighborhood.

“Nature en ville”: thinking

green spaces in

neighborhoods.

Identification of neighborhoods, ZUS

Since 1996, identifications of neighborhoods considered sensitive.

In 2000, 751 ZUS.

Criteria: unemployment, economic development, access to health system, security, school results…

ONZUS evaluates those neighborhoods.

Statistics

ONZUS

highlights

main

inequalities

between ZUS

and France.

Compared unemployment between ZUS and France

Unemployment

ANRU, the National Agency for Urban

Renewal

Since 2003, in charge of the programs of

urban renovation in ZUS.

530 neighborhoods, 4 millions inhabitants

Objectives:

Develop public buildings,

Improve urban spaces,

Rehabilitate / demolish / reorganize social

housing.

Urban Renewal

Villiers-le-Bel

Les Carreaux

Villiers-le-Bel, Les Carreaux

Les Carreaux

What neighborhood? To what urban

renewal project?

Villiers-le-Bel

Urban population:

•VLB 27411

inhabitants;

•Les Carreaux,

4570 inhabitants

Surface:

•VLB 7300 dunam,

•Les Carreaux 225

dunam

Les Carreaux

Train station

What neighborhood?

Built from 1958 to 1962

1595 housing units,

mainly social housing

What kind of buildings?

• 6 towers of 9 to 11 floors

• 2/3 of buildings are slobs

of 4 floors

Les Carreaux Villiers-le-Bel Paris Region France

Unemployed

(2008) 19.7%

19.2% 6.8% 7.8%

Not graduated

(1999) 31.4% 28.9% 18% Not given

Under 25 Y

(1999) 44% 40.8% 31.3% 31.2%

Foreigners

(1999) 25% 20.8% 15.4% 5.8%

Social housing 97.5% 45% 27.4% Not given

Families not

taxed on the

income (2004)

52.1% 45.4% 35.5% 47.7%

Median Income

per year, Euros 9337 11198 18812 18129

Social security

CMU (2006) 17% 14.4% 6.3% 6.1%

Numbers of high

rank workers per

worker

0.04 0.19 1.24 0.69

Statistics

What current situation ?

Even though disadvantages in the neighborhood:

Housing of small sizes

And their relative obsolescence

Urban issues: no mix uses, homogeneous population

Attractiveness due to several advantages:

Low rents

The proximity to the train station

The urban environment: a dynamic social life

Challenge

Develop the attractiveness

of the neighborhood by :

Connecting it to the rest

of the city

Preventing the

degradation of buildings

Diversifying the housing

offer

Improve mix uses

Reorganize public

spaces

For a more readable public

space

Reorganizing the streets system

A public space more readable

Actual state Projected state

A main structure

New local streets

Pedestrian ways

A new streets system

Challenge:

aerate the space too

dense,

easier movements,

open the neighborhood

to the outside

A main structure

New local streets

Pedestrian ways

Public spaces

Development of

green spaces

Management of an alley

Green space before renovation

Public buildings

Public buildings

Schools

A new medical center

Social center for

integration

Library

Diversified functions

Develop a commercial activity in the neighborhood

For a local economy

The housing

Housing

Demolitions of 401 housing units

Rehousing

110 housing units added

Rehabilitations

Privatization of the space

Housing offer

modified,

demolitions /

reconstructions

Demolitions of buildings

considered obsolete, 393

units

Reconstructions of 510 units

Demolitions

Reconstructions

First constructions of housing

Demolitions

Breaking a building in 2 to draw a street in its middle.

Housing offer

modified,

reconstructions

Reconstructions, for a

diversified housing offer

In the rebuilt housing:

370 correspond to social

housing,

70 obey to free rental

conditions,

70 are accessible to

property

Rehabilitations

Rehabilitations in

the existing housing

1202 units

Housing offer modified, rehabilitations

In accommodations: increase

the level of comfort,

according to norms

In common spaces of

buildings, security modernity

Works on the facades

Objectives:

harmonize ancient

buildings with new ones,

modernizes the image of

the neighborhood

Before and after renovations of the facades

A building’s façade before rehabilitation

Organization of the space: between public

and private

For a clear demarcation

between private and public

spaces

Fences, hurdles

surrounding buildings

Inside private spaces,

instauration of private

parking places, green

spaces, playgrounds

Urban management

A new city from its conception to its

acceptance

Urban management

Instate a proximity.

Insist on Communication

A news paper on urban

renewal

A building dedicated to

communication to

inhabitants

Consultation of the

inhabitants

Who is financing ?

Who is financing?

ANRU, part of the national plan for renovation

OSICA, company for social housing

Département of Val d’Oise

Region of Ile de France

City of Villiers-le-Bel

Trélazé

An urban renewal project in the

neighborhood of Les Plaines

Les Plaines

What neighborhood?

Trélazé

Urban population: •Trélazé, 12206 inhabitants •Les Plaines, 3682 inhabitants, 30%

Surface: •Trélazé, 12200 dunam •Les Plaines 732 dunam, 6%

Match factory

Les Plaines

Shingles factory

What kind of neighborhood?

An industrial city

Built in the 50’s-60’s,

Until 1966, 685 units are built

Mainly high rise housings estates

Composed of social housings at 72%

Les Plaines before urban renewal

What current situation?

This ancient industrial city suffered from the

desegregation of its industry

Strong unemployment

No mix uses and homogeneous population

Vacancy in the housing

No longer attractive, suffering from its bad image

STATISTICS

Les Plaines Trélazé Angers France

Unemployed

(1999)

25.3 % 15.9 % 15.7% 7.8%

Less than 25 Y

(1999)

39.7 % 35.1 % 37.8% 31.2%

Foreigners (1999) 11.0 % 4.9 % 3.2% 5.8%

Social housing

(1999)

72 % 38.8 % 32.3% Not given

Families not

imposed on the

income (1999)

63.1 % 45.6 % 44.6% 47.7%

Not graduates

(1999)

36.3 % 29 % 17.9% Not given

CMU(2006) 17.7 % 9.3 % Not given 6.1%

Median income

in Euros (2004)

10150 14072 15790 18129

Open up the

neighborhood by a

new central way

New public buildings

Work on the

housing: demolitions

– reconstructions -

renovations

Principles of the project

Reorganize public spaces

Public spaces

Instauration of a new

square, in the center

of the neighborhood

A new square

Square Picasso

Public spaces

Public spaces

A North-South axis allowing

a fusion between the

neighborhoods of Trélazé

Green spaces developed

Avenue Mendès France, a new axis

La Coulée Verte, a green line in the neighborhood

Public buildings

New public buildings

A new commercial center

Schools and leisure center

Social center welcoming

foreigners.

New school

The housing

A diversified and modernized offer

Housing

137 housing units

demolished

606 units rehabilitated,

among them, 339 units

transformed to be under

free rental conditions

109 units rebuilt (all

accessible to property)

Housing offer Demolition-reconstruction

process

New types of housing

established

Buildings I and J (6 houses)

Building X (17 units)

Allow a social mix by a

diversified housing offer

Renovated housings

Buildings A and B (20 houses)

Building Y (11 units)