URBAN RENEWAL :

HOW TO MAKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT APPROACHS

case studies : France, Italy and Spain

COST C21

Dr. Chantal BERDIER Assistant professor

INSA de Lyon UMR - CNRS 5600

GCU - EDU Belfast, May 2006

THE FRENCH APPROACH

• In France, urban renewal policy usually applies to high-rise flats.

• This is not the case in other European countries.

URBAN RENEWAL IN FRANCE

• Hypothesis : good living conditions can be created only after demolition.

• Overcrowded regions must be dispersed to create good living conditions.

• Rarely, are historical centers affected.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FRENCH HIGH-RISE flats:

- Theory: functionalism

- Form : high-rise flats, buildings without roads

- Isolation, breaking the social fabric

- Functional requirements dictate habitat

- Construction period  : from 1950 to 1970

- Role of the state

- Public spaces neglected

- Industrial techniques of building

FRENCH URBAN RENEWAL / THE HIGH - RISE flats QUESTION

« Difficult » neighbourhood in every city

Segregation, trapped populations

Social pathologies, violences, crime…

Economic disaster

Disfunction of public facilities

4 million social housing units in high-rise

flatss

5000 housing units destroy per year

New professional practices

ACTUAL SITUATION

From 1955 to 1972

Crisis of housing, need to build new housing urgently

A strong state, centralized,Willing to fund

functionalist theory

Flourishing economy hope of modernizingIncreasing growth to achieve a rational

society

Achieve economies of scale in thebuilding industry

High-rise flats

building

From 1980 to 1990

need to equip high-rise estate

Decentralisation

Absence of urbanistic theory

Low economicgrowth

social sponsors hope for a unified and happyover stretched society

HIGH - RISE flats

REHABILITATION

1990’s : - The functionalism doesn’t function- The rehabilitation hasn’t rehabilitated- Segregation persists

District centre

second

crown

Since 1990

Need of urbanity

DecentralisationRecentralisation

Urban plantheory

Lower growtheconomy

State financing Hope for a sustainable society

Demolition

Reconstruction

URBAN RENEWAL

ITALIAN AND SPANISH APPROACHES

URBAN RENAWAL OR THE HISTORICAL CENTERS QUESTION

• Usually the historical centers are appropriated by poor people.

• During a long time nobody made investment in this part of this town.

• The result : a lot of historical center are poor

• Urban renewal policy could be a response

WHAT ABOUT URBAN ONTOLOGY

• Towntology tool could permite to translate these different situations.

Towntology

HIGH-RISE ESTATE

HISTORICALAPPROACH

ACTUALSITUATION

*******DEFINITION

Usualdefinition

Specializeddefinition

From 1955to 1970

From 1970to 1980

From 1980to 1990

From 1990to 2006

Socialsegregation

Economicdeseaster

HISTORICAL APPROACHFROM 1955 TO 1970

HIGH-RISEESTATE

CONSTRUCTIONFUNCTIONALISM

CRISIS

TOWNTOLOGY : UR

URBAN RENEWALPOLICY

FRENCHAPPROACH

ITALIANAPPROACH

SPANISHAPPROACH

HIGH –RISEESTATE

HISTORICALCENTRE

OTHERPART OF

TOWN

FRENCH HIGH RISE FLATS TOOLS

HIGH-RISEFLATS

POLITICTOOLS

FINANCIALTOOLS

JURIDICALTOOLS

DEMOLITIONRECONSTRUCTION

TOOLS

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