Public tenders for urban agriculture projects "Parisculteurs" - Paris

@https://www.pavillon-arsenal.com/fr/expositions/10515-les-parisculteurs.html

In 2016, the City of Paris, France created the "Parisculteurs" program to facilitate and accelerate urban agriculture projects in the city. The program gives farmers who are willing to set up urban agricultural farming projects access to land and funding through yearly public tenders. The program aims to find sites - rooftops, walls, parking lots, open lots - and to give farmers the opportunity to establish their production in Paris. Since the creation of Parisculteurs, more than 50 projects have been implemented and 50 additional projects are under development. Paris currently has over 30 hectares of agricultural land within city boundaries, one of the leading cities in this field. Parisculteurs followed a collaborative approach based on partnerships to find additional sites across the city, and recently the broader metropolitan area. As of 2022, a total of 82 endorsing partners have committed to urban greening and the development of urban agriculture by signing the "100 hectares" charter. Sites for the Parisculteurs public tenders have in most cases been offered by these partners. Parisculteurs public tenders aim to identify and provide access to sites on land owned by the City of Paris or its partners, and make them available for agricultural projects carried by third-party organizations (non-profits, companies, start-ups, etc.). The public tender cycle for Parisculteurs includes "the search for sites suitable for agricultural projects, site selection, a competitive bidding process to retain an organization capable of carrying out a project that is appropriate, realistic, and adapted to the site, and support in the establishment and management of the project" (Ref.1). This approach allows to implement a large variety of projects in terms of their aims (productive, recreational, participatory) and cultivation methods (greenhouse, open ground, underground, etc.).

Overview

Type of instrument:

Economic and fiscal instruments›Financing mechanisms /market-based instruments (e.g. taxes to generate revenue)

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Social cohesion
Social equity
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

Introducing agricultural projects on roofs, walls, above-ground and underground lots supports the development of a sustainable and resilient urban farming in numerous ways: "shortening food supply chains, strengthening community ties, building awareness around healthy eating, contributing to food security, providing ecological services like storm water management, mitigating heat islands and enhancing energy efficiency in the built environment" (ref. 2). Urban farming also contributes to improving the urban landscape, improving air quality and resident's health as well as supporting biodiversity conservation objectives. Furthermore, rooftops offer an alternative to traditional urban farming plots which are often impacted by soil pollution.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

City of Paris, Depatment for Green Spaces and the Environment (Direction des Espaces Verts et de l'Environnement)

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

In 2013, a study by the Atelier Parisien d'Urbanisme (APUR) found that 80 hectares of rooftops had the ability to host green infrastructure in Paris, including for urban agriculture. Rooftops are urban greening spaces for their size, and because they are not impacted by urban soil pollution. In 2014, urban agriculture projects already represented approximately 11 hectares in Paris, mostly established by the city itself (e.g., educational farms, community gardens). These projects were primarily located in open spaces or lots, whereas agriculture projects on buildings only occupied 0.3 hectares. Parisculteurs leverages a collaborative approach through partnerships, with the aim of finding sites across Paris, and recently the broader metropolitan area. The "100 hectares" charter currently has 82 endorsing partners committed to urban greening and the development of urban agriculture. Many of them have offered sites for the Parisculteurs public tenders.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

Parisculteurs took root with the endorsement of the "100 hectares" charter on January 11th, 2016. The charter brought together 33 companies, public entities, and Parisian property owners committed alongside the City of Paris to greening the built environment and developing urban agriculture. In 2017, 38 new partners joined the City of Paris in signing the "100 hectares" charter. In 2019, additional partners participated in the public tenders for Parisculteurs projects. Partners include public institutions, research and academic institutions, private companies and NGOs.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Co-design of NBS, implemented by government

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Targeted actors:

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

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Corporate investment

Funds provided by non-governmental organization

Private Foundation

Budget:

500 000 € - 1 000 000€

Details about instrument financing:

In 2021, investment subsidies amounting to 707 300€ were allocated to 18 bodies in the agriculture sector out of 27 project submissions.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

Since the creation of Parisculteurs, more than 50 projects have been implemented and 50 additional ones are under development. Paris currently has over 30 hectares of agricultural land within city boundaries, one of the leading cities in this field. A 2013 study by the Atelier Parisien d'Urbanisme found that 80 hectares of rooftops in Paris had the potential to provide green infrastructure in Paris, including for urban farming. By 2014, almost all urban agriculture projects on approximately 11 hectares were established by the City of Paris (e.g. educational farms, community gardens). They were primarily located in open spaces or lots, compared to 0.3 hectares of agriculture projects on buildings. A map of the existing projects can be found at https://www.parisculteurs.paris/en/about/.

Success factors and lessons learned:

Parisculteurs public tenders aim to identify and provide access to sites on land owned by the City of Paris or its partners, and make them available for agricultural projects carried by third-party organizations (non-profits, companies, start-ups, etc.). The public tender cycle for Parisculteurs includes "the search for sites suitable for agricultural projects, site selection, a competitive bidding process to retain an organization capable of carrying out a project that is appropriate, realistic, and adapted to the site, and support in the establishment and management of the project" (Ref.1). This approach allows to implement a large variety of projects in terms of their aims (productive, recreational, participatory) and cultivation methods (greenhouse, open ground, underground, etc.). in addition, the charters that accompanied the program are key for raising public awareness, gaining the buy-in support of various stakeholder groups. They are part of a strategic approach of knowledge-raising campaigns to create large scale awareness and accompany the public tenders.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

1: Ville de Paris. (n.d.) Parisculteurs in a nutshell. Available at: https://www.parisculteurs.paris/en/about/parisculteurs-in-a-nutshell/ 2: Ville de Paris. (n.d.) Urban agriculture in Paris. Available at: https://www.parisculteurs.paris/en/about/urban-agriculture-in-paris/ 3: Ville de Paris. (2021) Projet de délibération: exposé de motif, 2021 DEVE 100. Available at: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjq2vuI9ZH5AhUIRPEDHR9qBTMQFnoECDMQAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fa06.apps.paris.fr%2Fa06%2Fjsp%2Fsite%2Fplugins%2Fodjcp%2FDoDownload.jsp%3Fid_entite%3D55221%26id_type_entite%3D6&usg=AOvVaw2B_34V9Zz0lAXAHaYyHZxZ

Photos

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