Le Figaro Nantes
She already spoke about it during her mid-term review.
And made it one of his pillars during his vows in January.
The
“ecological bifurcation”
no longer leaves the mouth of the socialist mayor of Nantes.
Re-elected in 2020 after an alliance with environmentalists, and at the head of a pink-red-green majority, Johanna Rolland seems to be giving more and more assurances to those who make nature an inherent element in all decision-making.
One of his political rivals has been observing this
“social-ecological shift”
since 2019, the year of the European elections preceding the municipal elections.
“Today, it is more ecological than social
,” he complains.
Latest example: the redevelopment of the island of Nantes, which began around twenty years ago.
“This project will be marked by a strong ambition for ecological bifurcation.
This is the guiding principle that is ours
,” declared the PS councilor on Thursday afternoon, during a solemn press conference, accompanied by four elected officials who came to detail the developments to come.
Read alsoThe PS mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland will be a candidate for succession in 2026
Parking lots replaced by gardens
“This idea of bifurcation is already starting to be there, clear, visible, before our eyes, and we are seizing every opportunity we have to make it a reality,”
rejoiced Johanna Rolland, illustrating her remarks with a more concrete example. .
At the time, when the town planner Alexandre Chemetoff was working on the development of the emblematic Chantiers park, the people of Nantes called for
“the installation of benches in the sun”
.
Today,
“they talk about shade, islands of freshness, breathing spaces”
.
In this idea, the island of Nantes, a symbol in the making of the definition of a sustainable city, will become greener in the coming years.
The centerpiece of this roadmap: the creation of a large ten-hectare park facing the Loire.
On the Chantiers park side, a multifunctional space located to the west, an acceleration of
“its renaturation”
is underway.
Nearly 200 trees will be planted by 2025 - some have already been planted this winter.
Rue Anatole de Monzie then, a car park with around a hundred spaces, on which a real estate operation had once been planned, will finally be
“half transformed into a garden.
The 2,500 square meters of parking will be debited and from spring 2025, families will be able to enjoy this green space which will foreshadow the future garden
.
At the very end of the eastern point this time, part of the Beaulieu park parking lot should also disappear:
“Tomorrow, we will gain an additional 3,000 square meters of greenery that we will take from the parking lot
,” specifies Cécile Bir, assistant to the parks and gardens, delighted to see that the rest of the space dedicated to cars will soon become even greener.
In total, by 2030, 21 hectares will be vegetated on the island, 1,300 trees planted and 10.8 hectares cultivated.
The living must become a component of the city
Delphine Bonamy, environmentalist assistant to the mayor of Nantes and delegate for nature in the city
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“Through all the examples given, we see that the living must become a component of the city, an input data in the same way as we plan a certain number of housing units, cycle paths
,” suggests Delphine Bonamy, assistant ecologist and delegate for nature in the city.
“We must also treat what already exists, rebalance what was done before, where there was not necessarily as much vegetation as was planned,”
she continues, recalling the existence of the open-ground plan, which aims to cultivate eight hectares by the end of the mandate in the city of the Dukes, an ambition that is already half tangible.
In this context, the choice of the new urban project management which will be the fourth since the 2000s must be part of a logic
of “reinforced ecological commitment”
, underlines Thomas Quéro, delegate for urban projects and town planning. sustainable.
With in particular the desire for an island limited to two tonnes of CO2 per inhabitant per year by 2040, remaining comfortable, always with the idea of renaturation in order to
“repair a century and a half of industrial housing”
.
While respecting
“the fundamentals of solidarity and inclusion”.
The deputy mayor insists
: “45% of the production of all new housing is social and affordable”,
making this district the city's largest contributor in this area.
Last innovative element: the future team will be selected on
“its intentions in terms of citizen participation”,
giving residents a place of choice
.
The design will begin with a six-month working and co-construction period with them.
The Chantiers park, delivered 15 years ago, will undergo several developments in order to strengthen the presence of nature within it.
LT/Le Figaro