As in many of the world’s major cities, there are social inequalities and differences in the power of economic appeal between Paris and its surrounding communities.

The issues have been clearly identified: there are particular inconsistencies in urban policy on housing, economic development, urban planning and transport. The territorial divide between the East and West of Paris and between inner-city Paris (105 km²) and the closely outlying area "la petite couronne” or “small crown" is also at the heart of this challenge.

Independently of their political allegiance, all elected representatives have now agreed that they need to tackle the inequalities between Paris and its suburbs on the level of the whole metropolis.

But the current situation is not favourable for implementing such solutions. On the one hand, the Ile-de-France regional outline development plan (Schéma directeur de la Région Ile-de-France: SDRIF) is attempting to establish a balance in the development of this conurbation of 11 million inhabitants. But it is struggling to replace and combine with the urban planning regulations governing the 1,281 areas including Paris. On the other hand, the city of Paris has its own local urban plan, with decision-making capabilities and financial backing that have no equal in the region.

Arguing that Paris is the "only agglomeration in France without an urban community", the French President Nicolas Sarkozy took over the dossier in June 2007.

At the end of 2007, the government launched a competition for architects to draw the metropolis’ outlines "in twenty, thirty or even forty years' time".

Ten multidisciplinary teams headed by some of the world’s most eminent architects/urban planners were asked to think about the future of the Paris agglomeration. On March 12, 2009, they presented their proposals.

New schemes for land transport, high density areas, taking sustainable development issues into consideration... their work in urban planning will be exhibited as of April 29 at the Architecture and Heritage Centre (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine) at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. This is also an opportunity for the government to present its decision on the proposals and to unveil the next steps in the creation of Greater Paris.

The State secretary for development of the Paris region announced several projects to develop business and inner-city transport in the middle of March, including the plan for a circular metro line of 140km located about 10 kilometres outside Paris. It will connect the existing and future major business centres in the region.

Governance challenges as a backdrop

This purely spatial approach was quickly seen as too restrictive compared to the scale and complexity of the challenges: Greater Paris requires custom-built governance, suited to the multiplicity and diversity of all players involved.

In the long term, a new administrative structure will be required, with a clearly defined scope for action and skilled resources. When we consider how the area is currently divided into different administrative bodies (Paris, its 7 bordering "départements" and the Ile-de-France region), the implementation of a new structure will have to meet two key challenges: coordinate the actions of all the different players involved, and replace the existing territorial bodies.

Several hypothesis have already been formulated. Some elected representatives and political decision-makers prefer the idea of a new concertation and decisional body, in order to maintain the current territorial organisation as described above. This solution is retained by the creation of a mixed syndicate of town councils or of an inter-commune body that includes Paris and its surrounding towns. Others recommend starting from scratch, where the different "départements" disappear and merge to create a new entity.

The debate continues for the moment, between supporters of consensual governance and those with a more innovative vision of Greater Paris.

01/01/2007

case

Urban Policy