After having addressed the question of the self-sufficient city, and before focusing on the democratic city, The Life of Ideas offers, in partnership with Metropoliticsto return to the issues of the equitable city. The questions raised by urban policies, the sharing of added value on the scale of large urban conurbations, equitable access to housing or even territorial inequalities in the face of risks, invite us to reflect on the conditions of an urban development model. fair.
There “ sustainable city » (sustainable city) has established itself today as a dominant paradigm in terms of development and town planning. There is indeed no shortage of signs which testify to a real rise in environmental issues in the making of the contemporary city: from the multiplication of labels and standards in terms of insulation to the imperatives of the fight against urban sprawl, from the revival of urban agriculture to the rise of landscapers in urban planning projects. Summoned to respond to objectives that are both local (urban tightening, strengthening social cohesion, improving the quality of life) and global (the fight against global warming, the reduction of “ ecological footprint », the preservation of biodiversity), the implementation of the “ sustainable city » is now on the public policy agenda.
The expression “ sustainable city » nevertheless remains quite confused and the question of its operationality remains largely open. When some emphasize that the city, through its impact both global and local on the environment, is by nature antithetical to sustainable development, others on the contrary argue that the city, because it is not only predatory but also productive of resources, is the spatial component of sustainable development. The concept of “ sustainable city » in fact poses a whole series of problems both semantic and practical.
Defined as a totally or partially self-sufficient city, that is to say a city capable of satisfying its needs locally without imposing its development costs on other territories, the “ sustainable city » firstly poses the problem of the articulation between the specific logics of its development and global environmental issues. If a city does not wish to have a negative impact on the environment, can it sustainably implement a strategy of change? endogenous “, that is to say, controlling the impact of its extension, favoring the compactness of its development, recycling its flows and balancing its consumption and production ? Generally speaking, how does metabolism » can it contribute to its sustainability ?
Defined as an equitable city, that is to say a city which guarantees its citizens a minimum of fairness in access to housing, public services as well as protection against risks, the “ sustainable city » then poses the problem of the social effectiveness of urban planning procedures. What means does public power have, particularly at the local level, to promote urban equity? ? Do the plurality and superposition of scales of intervention and types of powers (public and private) not constitute an obstacle to the implementation of “ fair city » ? Likewise, the standards, taxes and eco-urban labels which have multiplied over the past ten years, do they not take the risk of serving as showcases or screens captured by a few actors in the city and reserved for a category of population, and thereby reinforce socio-spatial inequalities ?
Defined as a democratic city, that is to say a city which makes democratic consent a necessary condition for its development, the sustainable city finally poses the problem of the adequacy between a global long-term approach of a on the one hand, and the classic rules of institutional functioning and the brevity of electoral cycles on the other hand. The strategies already implemented locally, combining awareness, consultation, negotiation and collective development of scenariosare they operational in the face of the complexity of the problems posed by sustainable urban development? ? If it does not want to be relegated to the rank of democratic alibi, how can public participation curb the processes of privatization of urban space or the growing technocratization of procedures? ?
After having addressed the question of the self-sufficient city, and before focusing on the question of the democratic city, La Vie des Idées proposes, in partnership with Métropolitiques, to return to the issues of the equitable city. Through contributions from economics, geography and the field of public policies, the questions raised by the effectiveness – particularly local – of urban policies, the sharing of added value on the scale of large urban conurbations, equitable access to housing or even territorial inequalities in the face of risks, are all prisms and/or scales through which it is possible to reflect on the conditions of an equitable urban development model.
Summary :
– Saskia Sassen, “ Megaregions and sustainable cities “, The life of ideas.
– “ Urban equity: a political choice », by Claude Dilain, Stéphane Füzesséry & Nathalie Roseau, Metropolitics.
– Vincent Renard, “ The challenges of fair housing. Interview with Vincent Renard », by Nathalie Roseau and Stéphane Füzesséry, The life of ideas.
– “ How to promote territorial equity in the face of risks ? », by Valérie November, Metropolitics.
