Revegetation, parks and gardens. Basics for city centres and urban environments.

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Edmund Osborne
5 years ago
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For several years now, public authorities have

Elected representatives, the general public as well as

want to transform today s towns into green, ecological

Parks and gardens have become must living spaces much

greening projects covering many aspects of urban

Zoom on rapidly changing urban landscapes.

Nantes Projects aiming to create or rehabilitate urban

because of population growth and strong demand from

A survey by «L Observatoire des villes vertes 71»,

in partnership with Hortis reveals that France s

854 acres of parks and gardens and invest an annual 5

1 Revegetation, parks and gardens. Basics for city centres and urban environments. For several years now, public authorities have realised the importance of urban parks and gardens. Elected representatives, the general public as well as property developers and landscaping entrepreneurs all want to transform today s towns into green, ecological cities. This aim and challenge permeates Paysalia 7! Parks and gardens have become must living spaces much valued by residents seeking to commune with nature and greener surroundings. To meet this need, communities have adopted city greening projects covering many aspects of urban problems and designed to federate locals. Zoom on rapidly changing urban landscapes. New urban green space development projects City of Nantes Projects aiming to create or rehabilitate urban parks and gardens are a major concern for communities because of population growth and strong demand from inhabitants. A survey by «L Observatoire des villes vertes 71», (The Observatory of Green Cities 7) set up by the Unep in partnership with Hortis reveals that France s biggest 50 cities have, on average, acres of parks and gardens and invest an annual 5 million euros in the creation of new spaces on average. Nantes has 100 gardens and over acres of parks and gardens and many natural zones. With an annual Gourmet place - Nantes City 1

budget of 17 million euros, the city has focused its urban development on several green projects like the island of Nantes (85,2ac) and the Green Star project to connect all parks and gardens

2 budget of 17 million euros, the city has focused its urban development on several green projects like the island of Nantes (85,2ac) and the Green Star project to connect all parks and gardens together so that every inhabitant can find a green space within 300m from home. Nantes Parks, Gardens and Environmental Director Jacques Soignon testifies to the municipality s commitment to developing projects with locals: We try out new concepts all the time. For example, the My Street is a Garden project invites inhabitants and associations to adopt spaces around their homes - pavements, frontages and unused plots - and to take part in hundreds of projects like shared gardens, allotments and family gardens. Another example is the city of Montpellier which manages nearly acres of parks and gardens. Rapidly expanding, Montpellier s urban development plan reduces concrete in favour of revegetation. City of Nantes To meet strong demand for parks and gardens, the city adapted to urban constraints. Montpellier s Landscaping and Biodiversity Deputy Director Laurent Guillaume confirms: Montpellier is committed to planting a maximum number of trees on each project to make the city green. The Mayor decided that whenever a tree is cut down two other trees must be planted. The city also developed urban projects for micro flower gardens ( MIF ) on restricted zones like pavements or below frontage walls. This creates small areas which are cared for by the inhabitants who contribute to beautifying their district. Locals are increasingly involved in participative actions. The inhabitants, shopkeepers and members of associations have become players in the construction of the green and ecologically friendly environment in which they want to live. Exemplary operations are organised to animate local life by creating social links and giving a new approach to urban spaces. For example, shopkeeper associations in Montpellier regularly plant out the streets and ensure plant maintenance and watering. This truly civic gesture gradually builds respect of public space. In Angers, shopkeepers and volunteers have prepared green circuits, sometimes laid out as games. Deputy Mayor Isabelle Lemaniau, in charge of Parks, Gardens, the Environment and Cemeteries, reveals part of this ambitious programme, which includes the creation of shared gardens and planting fruit trees on public land which anyone can pick. We set up public squares featuring multisport grounds for children, petanque courts for seniors and small vegetable gardens. We also imagine a toads bridge in a street where toads were regularly squashed when they tried to cross it to find water. Volunteers collect the toads every morning and ensure their safe passage to their destination, she explains. Soft path - Nantes City Developing inhabitants participation in their city s greening Cities also mobilise youngsters in a teaching programme to make them aware of the benefits of plants. Big cities organize workshops and prepare teaching guides for schools. Hundreds of pupils are accompanied in their parks and gardens projects in a close partnership with teachers and urban environment instructors. Several years ago, Angers set up an organic vegetable garden with a municipal gardener who gives talks, takes people to visit the garden and explains various gardening techniques. He also tries to find solutions for the many problems encountered. The gardener s talks explain how the system applies in each district. This works well because inhabitants get real help, in particular on how to avoid using plant care chemicals, underlines Isabelle Lemaniau.

3 7 France s top 3 Green Cities The 7 prize list awarded by «L Observatoire des Villes Vertes 7» (The Observatory of green cities 7) set up by the Unep in partnership with Hortis. 1/ Angers - Today, 14% of the city area consist of parks and gardens! If there is one initiative that deserves to be highlighted, it is certainly the city s revegetation budget - 67 per inhabitant a year 3.5% of the total municipal budget! With this spend, the city wants to fight the disappearance of local fauna and flora. 300 mini-gardens and 50 GreenPods - connected flower gardens - were created. 2/ Nantes - Nantes is the champion of French green cities, spending 69 per inhabitant a year on revegetating the city. The city assisted with the creation of 100 gardens and 110 new community projects. Nantes has a city in a garden project. The idea is to connect its 100 parks together in a network to give all inhabitants a garden within 300m of where they live. The inhabitants themselves took part in this project - called Green Star - and decided to create 110 revegetation projects! 3/ Strasbourg - Strasbourg has understood that parks and gardens create social bonds. The city aims to connect biodiversity and solidarity, plants and citizenship. Everyone backs the plan to improve the quality of life in Strasbourg even businesses! Local companies were invited to sign the All together for biodiversity charter agreeing to manage their parks and gardens in a more responsible way. In Strasbourg, Parks and Garden management has already been environmentally friendly for 9 years! Management methods designed to promote biodiversity The prohibition of plant care products in January 7 gave a new impetus to the debate on safeguarding biodiversity in several big French cities. The new challenges consist in the protection of existing plant and animal species and the creation of new species adapted to each city s climate and environment. Killing off weed and shaving lawns are no longer current procedures. Now, communities have adopted management practices more environmentally and ecologically friendly using alternative techniques such as manual weeding and eco-pastoralism. 2 out of 3 cities have decided to use maintenance methods that respect plant diversity in public parks and gardens. To maintain this biodiversity, some Mediterranean cities have to face up to global warming and particularly to natural phenomena like rains and floods. For example, Montpellier has decided to plant as many trees as possible and to use parks and gardens to retain water in the event of floods. Two projects - the Montcalm EAI and the Rene Dugrand parks - will become realities in 8-9. For Laurent Guillaume: Into each new project, Montpellier introduces new essences and diversifies plants to understand which species best resist local climatic and urban conditions. The city has also developed an eco-pastoralism system using school campuses for operations such as sheep shearing which has involved over 600 pupils. Changing uses of parks and gardens Much appreciated by local inhabitants, parks and gardens have an important place in urban environments as sources of wellbeing and health. In recent years, their use has increased significantly. According to «Green cities, breathing cities» study, 8 out of 10 french people choose a dwelling near a green space and go there regularly (30% once a week and 20% at least once a month). The Observatory confirms that gardens are important aspects of homes today, second only to living rooms. For homes without gardens, nearby green spaces are considered as ideal places to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Parks and gardens are used for many purposes, alone or in a group. The French consider that parks and gardens are great places in which to relax, meet up, share and for sporting and creative activities. However, the use of parks and gardens has changed over time and varies with age. Under 25s are interested in picnics and meetings with friends. 35 to 50 year olds

7 go there as a family for walks and games with children. Green spaces are used for work, sport, relaxation, reading, strolls with children, outdoor activities and not just for Sunday walks.

4 7 go there as a family for walks and games with children. Green spaces are used for work, sport, relaxation, reading, strolls with children, outdoor activities and not just for Sunday walks. Parks and gardens are also used for festivities and cultural activities. Montpellier uses its parks for cultural events and to forge social bonds as Laurent Guillaume explains: We try to meet all requests so as to diversify activities in our parks. These include parties and last June we got two requests to use them for events. Parks make it possible to host people in friendly, cooler, surroundings. Green Cities for tomorrow s world The study, «Green cities, breathing cities», notes that 50% people in France want ecologically friendly and vegetated towns in tomorrow s world. Moreover, nearly 10,000 of them signed the gardens for the climate petition when the COP21 was held because they believe that the two concepts are indissociable: ecologically friendly to reduce the carbon impact on cities, recycle wastes and limit energy consumption, vegetated to promote parks and gardens and the expansion of flora with, for example, the creation of terraces and green roofs and walls with blue-green infrastructures. Elisabeth Rull tomorrow will be built in concertation with the people who live there A city in which people cultivate their pavements and assume responsibility for their living places by growing plants. Plants also play a significant role in the reduction of the effects of global warming. Parks, gardens and woodlands are genuine natural urban airconditioners, absorbing heat during heat waves, cooling the air as much as 2 C. Green roofs reinforce the thermal insulation of multi-storey buildings, guaranteeing a reduction in energy consumption. And we should also remember that the ecological benefits of parks and gardens include the limitation of flooding risks, the filtration of pollutants and the storage of carbon. They become harbours for urban biodiversity. Laurent Guillaume confirms: We are beginning to realise that revegetation curbs the effects of high temperatures. More and more we create green belt flood prevention zones more permeable soil in our metropolitan area by planting trees to prevent massive water influxes from the North of the city. A charter to ensure public authorities in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region of France prefer local sourcing On February 15th the Prefecture, all the horticultural and landscape sector players and the public authorities in the Auvergne-Rhone- Alps region signed a local sourcing charter called the Horticulturists, landscape designers and communities undertaking. Its objective is to support good quality, environmentally friendly local sourcing for the implementation of landscaping by Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region public authorities. Paysalia 5 Isabelle Lemaniau s vision of the town of tomorrow is a greener city where even the pavements will be green: I think that minerals will be increasingly less predominant. For more than 15 years, we have built with minerals and are now coming to realise that people have a need for nature. The green cities of You can read this charter on the Auvergne-Rhone- Alps DRAAF web site: fr/achat-public-local-pour-les

The vision of landscape designers Paysalia is focused on green cities Thematic conferences, exhibitors, dedicated days the Green City is a concept mirrored in the discussions and events at Paysalia 7.

Thursday, December 7: Landscaping specialists. Build the future of your profession. Friday, December 8 - extension: Lyon s parks, gardens and Festival of Lights.

5 The vision of landscape designers Paysalia is focused on green cities Thematic conferences, exhibitors, dedicated days the Green City is a concept mirrored in the discussions and events at Paysalia 7. Zoom on the Green City days organized during Paysalia: Wednesday, December 6: working in parks and gardens: understanding the risks so as to prevent them. Thursday, December 7: Landscaping specialists. Build the future of your profession. Friday, December 8 - extension: Lyon s parks, gardens and Festival of Lights. Saturday, December 9 - extension: Lyon, UNESCO world heritage city. Get detailed programme and information on programme/green-city-days-by-paysalia Elisabeth Rull Architects, town planners and landscape designers are all interested in plants. Landscape designers in particular believe it is vital to include it in all public space and building projects. Their approach is initially characterized as a public health issue as nature contributes to agreeable surroundings and wellbeing and encourages people to live in towns. They also contribute to urban density and extension policies. Their major challenges are to cope with urban extensions that include parks and gardens, explains with the Rhone Architecture, Town Planning and Environment Council landscape designer Samuel Auray,: This is not just about greening cities with green walls and roofs, but creating good quality and user-friendly areas where people can relax, rest and meet. He is convinced that tomorrow s green city should not only include artificial greenery, but be a place with natural nature and biodiversity. Elements which will not only form ecological but also vegetable continuities. The City of Lyon fully understood this concept with the Rhone and Saone river bank developments where the ecologicallyfriendly revegetation and the leisure space for the inhabitants are inter-connected. Paysalia 5 PRESS CONTACT Agence Bonne Réponse / +33(0) Nataly Joubert / +33 (0) n.joubert@bonne-reponse.fr Paysalia 7 December 5, 6 and 7, 7 I Eurexpo, Lyon, France Marie Tissier / +33 (0) m.tissier@bonne-reponse.fr

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