Innovative Methodology and Practical Evaluation Tools for Urban Sustainability – IMPETUS

One of the challenges of the urban development context is a more efficient management of the tension existing between urban reconstruction and urban extension, in particular by providing new alternatives to diffuse peri-urban development, in the shape of projects which link urban development processes more closely to travel conditions and mobility. Sustainable urban development projects, while envisaged from a dual point of view – that of development of buildings and mobility must be able to play a part in the development of the city. The contribution of these development projects to the emergence of sustainable cities will only be possible under certain conditions, which this research project wants to identify and operationalise.
These urban development projects constitute the stage for experimenting new operational urban development practices and know-how which attempt to reconcile environmental, social, economic and urban objectives. The issue with which these urban projects are concerned is to distribute, within the chain of players involved in operational urban development (municipal authorities, developers, promoters...) action reference systems, design tools, assessment methods and decision-making aids which take into account the place and impact of the project in the dynamic process of transformation of the city. How can we objectivise dialogue between urban authorities and urbanist/engineer to design, programme and implement urban projects which take due account of the expectations of the citizen versus affordable residential premises, access to mobility, services and local stores, with a quality environment adjacent to the urban centres? How can we design these projects taking account of their impact on the rest of the city, and their contribution to a sustainable urban development path?
On a development project scale, how can alternatives be offered in terms of density, social intermingling and urban mobility, and accessibility functions which can respond to the sustainable development strategies of municipal authorities? What design and simulation tools will make it possible to assess gains anticipated by development proposals linking the availability of housing and mobility, and serve as a decision-making aid in the choice of options to be adopted? What are the obstacles to be overcome in terms of land acquisition, funding and legal framework, to undertake the choice of such development options?
The proposed project aims at responding to these questions by means of a pragmatic and systemic approach taking due account of interlocking territorial and decision-making scales.
The task is to construct methods of assessment and project management, as also decision-making aid tools in particular, for the purpose of:
?integrating the development project in its territorial context, and establishing a link between the project and the sustainable development strategy for the city, as set out in the political and planning documents for the city: Territorial Coherence Scheme (SCOT), Local Urban Development Plan (PLU), Urban Transport Master Plan (PDU) and Local Habitat Programme (PLH);
?designing and assessing proposed actions on a dynamic basis, including at the scale of buildings with their adaptation flexibility with time;
?objectising dialogue between urban authorities and urbanist/engineer, establishing rules enabling the parties to perceive the global impact of the choices they may make as much in terms of urban development as the organisation of travel and transport;
?making decisions based on simulations and comparisons, ensuring that more coherent urban strategies are implemented.
Tests will be conducted on urban development projects at various levels of maturity. A recommendation book will be developed for operational actors of the whole chain.
The consortium itself assembles actors of this whole chain: city authorities, urbanist/engineers, developer-promoter-operator, research and teaching organisations.