Whilst the observation of the ZUS highlights a clear tendency towards the accumulation of difficulties in the same territory, this must not be allowed to mask their great heterogeneity. They differ substantially in not only their size and their importance within agglomerations but also the gravity of the difficulties encountered. Some ZUS appear as real areas of concentration of problems on the scale of an urban unit whereas others only seem to amplify more diffuse difficulties on this scale.

Created by the planning and programming law for cities and urban renovation of 1st August 2003, the National Observatory of critical urban areas has the task of measuring the trend in social inequalities and development discrepancies in ZUS. Every year, a report is to be drawn up which will be the subject of a national debate on urban policy, its trends, its priorities and the means used. This document therefore constitutes the first annual report by the observatory.

The observation of ZUS highlights an accumulation of the social and urban problems faced by these territories. In terms of employment, economic development, housing, academic success or insecurity, the differences remain considerable between the ZUS as a whole and the rest of the national territory and between the ZUS and their agglomeration. This confirms the justification for a territorial approach to social and urban problems.

Délégation interministérielle à la ville (DIV) / Observatoire National des Zones Urbaines Sensibles
Philippe Choffel, tel. +33 1 49 17 45 85

01/11/2004

National Observatory of Critical Urban Areas

research

Urban Policy

Social inclusion & integration, Urban environment