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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2024

Becoming a Post-growth Metropolis

Résumé

Transport infrastructure and policy are central to Greater Paris’ current public and planning debates. Two main factors have contributed to this situation. Firstly, the increasing importance given to environmental sustainability in the past two decades. A period where many valuable reflections on the role and potential of transport planning for reducing emissions happened. Encouraging experimentation with environmental policies connected to mobility practices. Secondly, the conception and beginning of the construction works of the Grand Paris Express. A project that involves a significant extension of the current metro network and the transformation of the neighbourhoods surrounding it (quartiers de gare). However, sustainable development was not always at the core of Greater Paris’ planning schemes. Such an agenda is the culmination of a lasting tradition of planning that underwent numerous changes to respond to regional challenges over the years. This article analyses regional planning discourses and practices in Greater Paris from the 1960s until recent days. It focuses on the interplay between transport infrastructure development and regional urbanisation strategies. Precisely, it traces the evolution of Parisian planning practices and discourses from the conception of the new towns (villes nouvelles) to the zero net artificialization vision. The underlying goal is to demonstrate the historical importance of transport planning and policy for Greater Paris’ socio-spatial configuration. For that, this research conducted a thorough examination of key regional planning documents. Namely, the Plan d'Aménagement et d'Organisation Générale de la Région Parisienne (PADOG; 1960), the Schéma Directeurd'Aménagement et d’Urbanisme de la région de Paris (SDAURP; 1965), the Schéma Directeur d'Aménagement et d’Urbanisme de la Région d’Île-de-France (SDAURIF; 1976), the Schéma Directeur d’Île-de-France (SDRIF; 1994), the Schéma Directeur de la Région Île-de-France (SDRIF; 2019), and other documents drafted to support their formulation and implementation. Through this analysis, this article highlighted the main ideas that have historically informed planning discourses and practices in Greater Paris. It focused on the notions of density and compactness and assessed to what extent the considered planning schemes have (or have not) articulated such ideas to prevent sprawl. The interest of this analysis in these interactions places this article under the frame of suburbanisation and related urban development theories (e.g., sprawl, post-suburbanisation, polycentric city model, peripheralization, and others). Moreover, by juxtaposing transport infrastructure development and urbanisation processes, it also resonates with the discussions on transit-oriented development. The intersection of this body of knowledge and the collected empirical data allows for a reflection on what is an equitable distribution of transportation resources and their socioeconomic benefits. Summarizing, the aforementioned analysis demonstrated that transport infrastructures have had a two-folded role in the socio-spatial configuration of Greater Paris. Between the 1960s and early 1980s, they facilitated the implementation of new towns in relatively faraway locations. That is, they enabled sprawl. It is worth remarking that this process was coherent with the regional policies for the de-densification of central Paris and the State's ambition of creating a polycentric region. Nevertheless, after the 1990s, planning discourses and practices demonstrated a change of paradigm. Regional planning schemes became interested in fostering sustainable land use and development. Starting a post-growth regional planning tradition. Within this framework, density, and compactness are desirable outcomes of urban renewal. Particularly when connected with public transport development. Within current planning practice and discourse, public transport infrastructure is indeed perceived as a key element for fostering a dense and compact (therefore, sustainable) urban future.
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Dates et versions

hal-04484241 , version 1 (29-02-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04484241 , version 1

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Mariana Reis Santos. Becoming a Post-growth Metropolis: A Historical Perspective on Regional Transport Planning and Urbanisation in Greater Paris. 36th AESOP Annual Congress 2024 "Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions", Jul 2024, Paris, France. ⟨hal-04484241⟩
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