At a time when the precepts and contours of tomorrow's city are taking shape through calls for innovative urban projects such as "Inventons la Métropole du Grand Paris", thanks to XXL programs that are transforming real estate professionals into veritable urban planners, and under the influence of metropolization, elected officials more than ever have a crucial role to play in shaping the city. This is particularly true of those at the helm of France's major conurbations, to whom Études Foncières has given the floor in its latest opus. In this game, the mayor of Nantes comes out on top.
I see the risk of cities becoming standardized," Johanna Rolland told us. On the contrary, I want Nantes to invent new urban landscapes. This vision is reflected in the many projects underway throughout the Loire-Atlantique metropolis. The latest example is the YelloPark project.
Supported by Football Club de Nantes and the Réalités group, the project will see the development of a new 40,000-seat stadium on the La Beaujoire site, as well as a comprehensive real estate program. Initial plans call for the construction of 1,500 to 2,000 housing units, 50,000 m² of office space, a 25,000 m² sports and health complex, a food court, a market hall, a residence for the elderly and a school around an urban park. All of which will contribute to the urban renewal of the north-eastern quarter of the Nantes metropolitan area. And without the local authorities having to spend a penny.
On the contrary, the city will recoup several tens of millions of euros from the sale of the land and the urban development work carried out by the YelloPark company. "In 2017, it's no longer up to the public purse to finance a major stadium project," explained Johanna Rolland when presenting the project. This position is in stark contrast to that of the mayors of other major French cities, such as Alain Juppé in Bordeaux (public-private partnership for the construction and operation of the Matmut Atlantique stadium) or Martine Aubry in Lille (PPP for the Pierre Mauroy stadium).
And that's just the beginning: "What will make the difference between developers and investors tomorrow even more than it does today, what will guide the choices made by the metropolis, is very clear and I've told them so: architectural innovation, the integration of nature and energy transition issues into projects, and innovation in the way buildings are used. These are the criteria on which we'll be choosing tomorrow's projects.
The 38-year-old politician was able to defend this new vision of urban planning as president of Eurocities between 2014 and 2016. She supports it within the France Urbaine association, where she co-chairs the college of metropolises. And she'll be sharing it with the real estate industry as patron of theInstitut Palladio 's 2018 cycle, the theme of which will be... "Living in the city of tomorrow". Living in the city of tomorrow".
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