Douaisis Agglo (FR)

Urban City Strategy

The State, the Communauté d’Agglomération and the two municipalities agreed on the need for intervention through the NPNRU (New National Urban Renewal Programme). A tool that will allow the consultation of all the partners involved and the concentration of financial means. The NPNRU's ambition is to structure the territory, to requalify public and private housing and to develop functional and social mixes through urban action. At the same time, the Communauté d’Agglomération must question the sustainability of its interventions. This is one of the questions raised by the "Living City" session. Methodological proposals are expected to take into account existing informal uses and make them legitimate. An overall plan linking the various projects underway in the neighborhood may be proposed.
The objective is to recreate a link between the different neighbourhoods and "sub-neighbourhoods" of the city, which are highly fragmented, while at the same time enhancing the local identity and the very strong sense of belonging specific to the neighbourhood.
The living beings living in the neighborhood will be treated with dignity and put at the center of the proposed transformation process.

Site Definition

The Dorignies/Pont-de-la-Deûle site is located in northern France, in the heart of the mining area. The territory developed thanks to the industrial activity of coal mining, which operated for three centuries and had significant impacts on the economy, social context, landscape, ecology and culture.
The neighborhood is made up of fragments of the city and spread over two different municipalities.
The channel, the mining bypass (A21) and the railway are fracture elements that contribute to the patchwork effect that is unique to the neighborhood. These elements of fragmentation can become the support for new uses and the vector of new synergies.

How Must Metabolism and Inclusivity Be Developed and Connected?

The territory's strong social and cultural heritage resulting from its industrial past, as well as the landscape transformed by human activity but hosting great diversity, are sources of inspiration for building the ecosystems of tomorrow.
The candidates are invited to propose projects that include the problems of soil decontamination or dangerous road traffic, but also to question the need to deconstruct or build with proposals ranging from the rehabilitation of old buildings to the improvement of the living environment through innovative housing.
Social problems are very prevalent in certain sectors and the overall precariousness is growing in neighborhoods where the housing stock is not adapted to the needs of the inhabitants. Residents must therefore show resilience and develop ways of adapting to the difficulties and to urban planning that was not designed for their use. An economy and informal practices have emerged from these adaptations.
Non-human milieux are numerous and rich in diversity. Green and blue infrastructures extend over the entire territory and are able to provide many ecosystem services.
Like the rare flowers that grow on land polluted by heavy metals or the slag heaps formed by the accumulation of mine products that today offer views of the territory, synergies between human and natural systems can be created in order to strengthen ecosystems.
The resilience demonstrated by the residents of the Dorignies/Pont-de-la-Deûle neighbourhood and the services provided by natural ecosystems can reinforce each other and enable the sustainable transformation of the neighbourhood.