Habemus okay! No white smoke this Friday morning in the office of the environmental group in Paris, but happy faces. After weeks of intense negotiations, full of frustrations but also of hopes, the partners of the Parisian executive have finally agreed on the outlines of the next local urban plan (PLU), which will draw the face of the capital of tomorrow. This agreement is presented as a “rupture PLU” by environmentalists, who are pleased to have been involved in the text. “Our state of mind, given the social and climatic emergency, was not to make lukewarm water”, commented Emile Meunier, the group’s co-president.
Ecologists who were so involved that they did not hesitate to announce the outlines even before the executive, thus grilling him the priority. “It’s a historic moment in the majority, we reversed the balance of power, before we tried to amend the PLU, today the amendments come from the PS”, released David Belliard, deputy mayor of Paris in in charge of the transformation of public space and head of the list in Paris for EELV. For his part, Emmanuel Grégoire was probably not of the same opinion, since the first deputy welcomed “a great collective victory. » 20 minutes gives you the important points of this PLU, which will have to be ratified in June at the Council of Paris, before the launch of the public inquiry in September.
Social housing boosted, Airbnb curbed
While the cost of housing in Paris is particularly high, leading to the exodus of part of the working classes to the inner suburbs or even the outer suburbs, one of the major challenges of this new PLU lies in the ability to produce affordable housing. , without “concreting” the city, in a context of climate change. The new PLU therefore requires that any housing construction of more than 500 square meters of surface area includes 30 to 50% social housing where the proportion of social housing is insufficient (30% in neighborhoods with a deficit, 50% in neighborhoods with a high deficit, according to environmentalists). In addition, any major rehabilitation of an office building in the east or in the center of Paris will have to transform at least 10% of the surface into housing. “It’s a bit of a wow measure”, comments Emile Meunier, who specifies that the new PLU prohibits the creation of new offices in the West and in the center.
The city should put a massive brake on short-term accommodation platforms, such as Airbnb, which are accused of driving up prices. New professional tourist accommodation will be strictly prohibited in apartment buildings and in the tourist sector, announce the elected environmentalists. Accommodation rented all year round on platforms like Airbnb will be “examined on a case-by-case basis” by the town hall, which will be in a “position to prohibit” in areas already provided, nuance for his part Emmanuel Grégoire.
Large towers stopped, elevations conditioned
One of the most significant announcements of this agreement concerns the height of the buildings. No tower will be able to exceed 37 meters, states the text, ending years of debate on the subject, around the Triangle Tower in particular, described as “project of the last century” by environmentalists. The objective of environmentalists is to fight against overdensification, while Paris will undoubtedly have to face temperatures of 50 degrees in summer in the years to come, and that the towers create heat island effects.
Farewell therefore probably and unless the situation reverses to the 50-meter towers of the Bercy-Charenton project and that of the Bruneseau district. “We will no longer be able to densify in the sky”, summarizes Emile Meunier. The height rules will also decrease for streets less than 12 meters wide, but on the other hand buildings can be raised in streets over 15 meters wide, with the idea of building green roofs and housing there. social.
Open ground encouraged, construction slowed down
Along with what is presented as an effort to limit the densification of Paris, the majority agreement promises to accelerate the creation of green spaces and open ground. Each plot larger than 150 square meters must include at least 30% of open ground on the ground, depending on the size, without derogation, against 10 to 20% currently. To stick to the objective of the World Health Organization (WHO) of 10 square meters of green spaces open to the public per inhabitant by 2040, an additional 300 hectares of green spaces should be created, in particular via ten parks in the ongoing development operations. A large nine-hectare park was notably created at Porte de la Villette.
Construction will be drastically slowed down in Paris if we are to believe the ecologists, who have simulated the “remainder to be built” according to the PLU in force and the new one on two maps, where red represents the impossibility of building:
As for the buildings that are built despite everything, they will have to respect more ecological standards, since the new PLU prohibits concrete constructions. “These new town planning rules will respond to the urgent need to adapt the city to be able to live there despite the changes in temperature and to be able to find accommodation at affordable prices”, comments the first deputy, Emmanuel Grégoire, who specifies that the application from 2025 of the 2028 RE (environmental regulations) to more restrictive carbon thresholds, will lead promoters “to use materials other than concrete, or to demonstrate that there is no alternative “.
Status quo for the small belt
While ecologists and communists fought over the fate of the small belt, it was a kind of semi-advanced that was obtained, which will above all allow nothing to move. Some wanted to classify the small belt as a green urban zone, while the Communists wanted to keep “a possibility of reversibility”, and leave free rein to the SNCF. The agreement obtained classifies the area as a “plant reinforcement sector” which requires the SNCF, according to ecologists, to have to declare any tree cutting and above all, to replant twice as many trees as it has. cut. “It’s a work of compromise where the objectives are safe for everyone”, comments Emile Meunier.
The Porte de Montreuil suspended
There remains an unknown on a major project, which has divided and will continue to divide the majority: the Porte de Montreuil, whose fate remains uncertain at this time. According to environmentalists, the agreement that emerges leaves the question open, with only the impossibility of creating new bridge buildings. But will the ecologists accept the project simply amputated from its building-bridge?
“We are ready to propose the removal of the Porte de Montreuil building-bridge provided that the implementation of the overall project is not jeopardized. It is necessary to be able to launch the transformation of public spaces as soon as possible in order to improve the daily lives of the inhabitants who now live in this district”, warns Emmanuel Grégoire, who plans to file “as is” the building permit. to develop, likely to be subsequently amended. “We were ready to concede the fact of no longer making a bridge building and creating a green space on the roundabout, but on condition that we develop this mandate”, also warns Nicolas Bonnet-Ouladj, leader of the communist group in Paris.