EcoQuartier Approach - France

ZAC Rouget de Lisle – labellisé EcoQuartier

The French ÉcoQuartier labeling scheme translates principles into sustainable urban development (SUS), aiming to "provide housing for all in a quality living environment while limiting the ecological footprint". Within its 20 commitments, the label promotes the approach of place-based projects, decarbonizing territories, improving citizens' daily lives, and responding to the environmental climate emergency. Each year, a committee selects relevant projects that are classified according to technical, governance, economic, and "well-being" criteria. Once selected, the ÉcoQuartier label accompanies these projects until to three years after delivery. By 2022, almost 257,371 dwellings were built or renovated in ÉcoQuartiers labeled projects, with 52% composed of social housing development. The concept of the ÉcoQuartier label started in the early 2000s as an outcome of the Grenelle de l'Environnementl' conference (a body that brings French associations, companies, and public bodies together). The outcomes came about as a national recommendation supported by the Ministry of Ecological Transition to develop and build eco-districts in all municipalities with significant housing development programs by 2012. The ÉcoQuartier labeling scheme was comprised, among other approaches, in the National «Sustainable City Plan» from 2008 onwards. The label is updated based on a continuous feedback mechanism and evolves to meet the expectations of communities, promoters of projects, and citizens. This entry explores one implementation of the label in the "Plateau de Haye" (municipal areas of Laxou, Maxéville, and Nancy).

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Urban planning mechanisms

Challenges addressed

Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The labeling scheme supported the goal of mainstreaming nature-based solutions to achieve sustainable urban development by creating multi-functional green and blue spaces. The labeling scheme impacted the "Plateau de Haye" by creating a forest city, community gardens, and a green corridor with a rainwater recovery system. The nature-based solutions in this district project covered: grey infrastructure featuring greens ( alley and street greens), the creation of parks and urban forests (12-hectare park, with a total of 18,500 planted trees), and the creation of linear noise barriers by constructing green corridors (green belts, community gardens, and allotments). Moreover, the labeling scheme maintains natural equilibriums while providing a leveraged living environment to the inhabitants.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

External building greens

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Ministry of Ecological Transition

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The ÉcoQuartier label is one of the pillars of the ÉcoQuartier approach, which the Ministry of Ecological Transition supports. The programming law 2009-967 of August 3, 2009, supports the ÉcoQuartier approach in article 7. The law allows stakeholders and entities to collaborate through established commissions at the regional and national levels. Therefore, the labeling scheme is considered both a "Top-down" and "bottom-up" approach that requires realization and commitment from local and regional authorities to be aligned with the national level scheme. The ÉcoQuartier reference system represents the reference framework and the methodological guide to strengthen the integrated approach of the labeling scheme. The reference design was the subject of a series of collaborative work between the 50+ entities of the labeling scheme. The entities include decentralized services of the State, the central administrative departments of the Ministries of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, the Cohesion of Territories and Relations with local authorities, The Ministry of Culture, institutional partners (e.g., Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB), associations (e.g., World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), France Nature Environnement (FNE), and academia, experts, and planning professionals. The reference system was established in 2012, continuously improved, and was updated in 2020, following the partnership work undertaken in 2019 during a series of collaborative work at the national and regional commissions. The collaborative work is marked under the "ÉcoQuartier Club," which enables the networking of thinkers and actors in national and regional commissions in metropolitan France, overseas, in Europe, and even internationally.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private sector, corporate, business

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Co-planning or co-design of instrument (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Expert task force consultation

Civil society consultation through e.g. workshops, surveys

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The ÉcoQuartier highlights citizen involvement under commitment 4: "Take into account the practices of users and the constraints of all stakeholders in the options of design and conception" and their social diversity under commitment 7: "Implement the conditions of social and intergenerational diversity, living well together and solidarity." There is no figure found on the overall number of citizens involved, but in the case of "Plateau de Haye" where the labeling scheme has been implemented, the participants varied in the spectrum of informed, consulted, and involved public. The practices included disseminating information and education, workshops, and citizen oversight in the project advisory board. The main initiator of "Plateau de Haye" is the local government of Nancy, "Grand Nancy Metropole.". The role of citizen involvement was characterized by an innovative participatory governance approach, combining the inhabitants with the project management in the design and planning phases through elected representatives of the neighborhoods. The representatives were involved in mobilizing procedures, master plans, and solid financial arrangements. The partners of the project are ANRU (National agency for urban renovation), CDC (Public Financial institution), Meurthe-et-Moselle, Région Lorraine, European Union / ERDF, Water Agency Rhin-Meuse, AFL (French local government funding agency), EPFL (Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne).

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen councils or consultation for co-planning (e.g. workshops, surveys)

Citizen science

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Public regional budget

Public local authority’s budget

Budget:

1 000 000€ - 5 000 000€

Details about instrument financing:

The labeling scheme is granted for projects that must be able to find their own financial model, using levers to optimize the financial balance of operations and arbitrating on the choices to be made beforehand, in particular environmental aspects. No information was found on the overall financial figures of the 480+ projects under the labeling scheme. However, the labeling scheme in the "Plateau de Haye" project was considered among France's five most significant urban renewal projects. The total cost of the district development exceeds €4,000,000. The funding sources come directly from national, regional, and local authority budgets.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

The Regional and National commissions validate and monitor the work program of projects established/designed/planned under the labeling scheme (ÉcoQuartier Club). Furthermore, the commissions meet twice annually to identify the synergies between the partners' actions and exchange expertise on maximizing their performances. In the former, the commissions meet in the first semester to share with the partner's priorities of the year, discuss the individual actions, and address the substantive issues relating to the approach and its continuous improvement. As for the latter, at the end of the labeling process in November, which objectively examines the proposals made by the regional commissions based on technical expertise criteria. The National Committee includes: 1) Representatives of the State (Department of Housing, Urban Planning, and Landscapes (DHUP) at the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities. and the Department of Water and Biodiversity (DEB) at the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition. 2) Representatives of elected officials include the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (AFCCRE), and the Association of Regions of France (ARF), Etc. 3) Public Establishments include the Center for studies and expertise on risks, the environment, mobility and planning (CEREMA), the Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB), and National Agency for Urban Renovation (ANRU). Etc. 4) Associations and civil society include the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), France Nature Environnement (FNE), and League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), ect and 5) Federations and professional associations include the National Council of the Order of Architects (CNOA), the Social Union for Housing (USH), and the Federation of Real Estate Developers of France (FPI), Etc.

Did an evaluation take place?:

Yes

The label is updated based on a continuous improvement loop and evolves to meet the expectations of communities, promoters of projects, and citizens. The ÉcoQuartier reference system has continued to evolve to adapt to the challenges of sustainable cities and territories (the last update was in 2020). These continuous upgrades are based on the collaborative contributions of partners, specifically the environment, mobility, and planning (CEREMA) agency in France, and the methodological contributions of the members of the Scientific Committee.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The labeling scheme tackles challenges under Ecological, Socio-cultural, Governance, and Economic aspects. The overarching figures on the open-access platform state that 210 projects are currently holding the stage 2 label, 74 holding the stage 3 label, and 14 holding the stage 4 label. 257,371 dwellings were built or renovated in ÉcoQuartiers under the labeling scheme, 52% of which are composed of social housing development. There is no available information on the overall quantitative impact. However, the labeling scheme project of "Plateau de Haye" resulted in the creation of a 12-hectare forest park on the site of the old quarries and planting 18,500 trees. Environmental Impacts include: reduced emissions, improved air quality, reduced noise exposure, increased protection against flooding, and increased the area of green spaces. Economic Impacts include: increased jobs, stimulation development in deprived areas, and income generation from NBS. Finally, socio-cultural Impacts include: improved livability, improved access to urban green space, increased visibility and opportunity for marginalized groups or indigenous peoples, increased opportunities for social interaction, and improved physical health.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The labeling scheme under ÉcoQuartier aims to translate urban sustainable development principles without standardizing neighborhoods. The design of its flexible approach opens the potential for transferability and promotes a customized approach to thinking of solutions based on the local needs. The inter-municipal support of the projects listed under the labeling scheme such as "Plateau de Haye" guarantees consistency, co-governance with the government, and close collaboration with non-government actors representing inclusivity. The multi-functionality instrument has been used and replicated in more than 480 projects listed and monitored in the labeling scheme open-access platform.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Oliver, A., Gascon, E. and Thomas, I., 2019. Have France’s éco-quartiers (eco-districts) made advances in resilient city-making?. [online] Openscience.fr. Available at: <http://www.openscience.fr/IMG/pdf/iste_uris19v3n1_4.pdf> [Accessed 12 May 2022].

Chastenet, C., Belziti, D., Bessis, B., Faucheux, F., Le Sceller, T., Monaco, F. and Pech, P., 2016. The French eco-neighbourhood evaluation model: Contributions to sustainable city making and to the evolution of urban practices. Journal of Environmental Management, 176, pp.69-78.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.03.036

Further documents

Documents:

Have France’s éco-quartiers (eco-districts) made advances in resilient city-making? A discussion paper.pdf

referentiel-ecoquartier-2020.pdf

Weblinks:

https://una.city/nbs/nancy/eco-district-plateau-de-haye

http://www.ecoquartiers.logement.gouv.fr/le-label/

https://urbact.eu/france-ecoquartier-label-initiative

https://www.solorem.com/applicatif/plateau.html

Photos

@La Compagnie du Paysage