Issues of urban renewal: the example of a former industrialized city: Lille in France

Résumé du document

I have chosen Lille, a large city located in the North of France. Lille is a symbol of the industrialization of many European cities in the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed, Lille was an important center of textile manufacturing industry. In the 19th century, Lille was the second largest textile region in the world after Manchester. The industrialization created wealth, but it also had bad consequences for the urban landscape. In the 20th century, the textile industries began to have some difficulties because of recession, which created unemployment among the labour force. The city of Lille began to decline and became less dynamic. However, since the 1990s, local and national actors became aware of the necessity of an urban renewal in Lille and in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Today, Lille metropolis accounts for 1,100,000 inhabitants and is located in the heart of the European economic metropolis. It is a transborder region.

Extraits

[...] Moreover, considerations of sustainable development are very prominent, especially in Lille, because people know the past repercussion of the industrialization on the territory[12]. Bibliography -COUCH Chris, Urban renewal, Theory and practices Macmillan -COUCH Chris, FRASER Charles, PERCY Susan, Urban regeneration in Europe Blackwell (Chapter Lille, from textile giant to tertiary turbine) -DEMOTIE Agnès, Lille métropole, pour un renouvellement urbain durable, Université de Lausanne, Colloque 2006 -GROUX Annette, Lille-métropole Communauté urbaine, Aménagement et renouvellement urbain, Comment concilier reconversion des friches et attractivité urbaine dans une perspective de développement durable Avril 2007 - Commission of the European communities, Urban regeneration and industrial change -Fédération nationale des agences d'urbanisme, Ministère de l'équipement, du transport et des logements, Vive la Ville, les enjeux du renouvellement urbain, Novembre 1999 -Institut d'aménagement et d'urbanisme de la région Ile-de-France, Les enjeux du renouvellement urbain, Février 2004 COUCH Chris, FRASER Charles, PERCY Susan, Urban regeneration in Europe Blackwell, p. [...]

[...] But it lets me also write about what is unseen on this picture, the other part of the urban renewal (in the area called Euralille). My thesis is: Urban renewal in Lille has to be understood in the context of a former industrialized city which aims both to preserve its historical patrimony and to relaunch its economic power. Firstly, I would argue that urban renewal in Lille takes place at a regional scale, as a regional issue. Indeed, there is a repercussion of the industrial past on the actual territory of this region. [...]

[...] Furthermore, the aim of the urban renewal politics in Lille is to enhance the economic power of the city. For instance, in order to restructure the economy after the deindustrialization, some mail order business companies[8] such as La Redoute settled. Moreover, there were recent developments in high tech and tertiary industries. In general, this economic regeneration took place especially in the area called Euralille (between Lille's city-center and the suburbs) and framed the economic management of the urban area. Although not being in the historical city- center, Euralille is right in the city; that is why it is a key area in the economic development of this transborder region. [...]

[...] In my paper, I didn't talk about the French administrative process of city planning, because it is very complex and not necessary to argue my thesis. I just mentioned the role of the French State, the partnerships between cities and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, and also between public and private investments. I would also like to underline that the European aspect of Lille was proved in 2004 when the city was elected as “European city of Culture”, which lets it do some improvements of dynamism (organisation of exhibitions ) and attracted a large public. [...]

[...] Issues of urban renewal: the example of a former industrialized city: Lille in France I have chosen a picture of Lille, a large city located in the North of France. Lille is a symbol of the industrialization of many European cities in the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed, Lille was an important center of textile manufacturing industry. In the 19th century, Lille was the second largest textile region in the world after Manchester[1]. The industrialization created wealth, but it also had bad consequences for the urban landscape. [...]