A European-Scale Project
A project anchored in the 21st century
The primary objectives of the Ile de Nantes project include building a contemporary city on the entire island while respecting the originality of the landscape and its port and industrial heritage; contributing to economic development; creating an alternative to urban sprawl; reconnecting the city with the river; requalifying the public space.
Nantes' redevelopment plan will strengthen the city and enlarge the vital centre. The Loire will become the link between the historic downtown and the Ile de Nantes, and more generally, the symbol of the new momentum driving the Nantes/Saint Nazaire metropolitan area.
The project's ambition is to combine quality of life and business opportunities on a European scale.
In addition to the future European business park to be built on the site of the Tripode, business opportunities in the area will derive from the development of a new knowledge economy organized around several clusters, namely a legal cluster, a media cluster, a health care/ biotech cluster and an arts and culture cluster.
In short, this is a genuine city centre development plan anchored in the 21st century with an outward looking approach, serving both Nantes residents and those from farther afield. Accordingly, the European Union is actively supporting the development project, through ERDF subsidies, as well as three other European programs, REVIT (brownfields), Concerto (energy) and Ecce (culture).
The development work should continue for the next twenty years.
Key figures
- 20 years of urban renewal work
- 550,000 sq. m of housing, including 7500 new housing units for 15,000 new inhabitants
- 300,000 sq. m of commercial and office space for 15,000 new jobs
- 150,000 sq. m of local and community infrastructure
- 160 hectares of public space created or rehabilitated
- 2 new public transportation line running in dedicated lanes
- 12 km of pathways along the Loire
The Ile de Nantes project receives funding from several European initiatives.
REVIT - Brownfield revitalisation
REVIT (Revitalising Industrial Sites) brings together six major cities committed to improving the sustainability and efficiency of brownfield revitalisation policies: Nantes Métropole, Stuttgart (Germany), Tilburg, Hengelo (Netherlands), Medway and Torfaen (United Kingdom). In addition to the themes of local participation and conservation/reuse of heritage sites, emphasis is placed on developing new financing methods and public-private cooperation projects.
CONCERTO - Energy
Concerto is a European Commission initiative launched in 2003 to promote the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy in European communities by supporting innovative energy projects. Member communities include Nantes Métropole, Hanover (Germany), Newcastle (GB), Malmöe (Sweden) and Koszalin (Poland).
www.nantesmetropole.fr/concerto-act2
www.concerto-act2.eu
ECCE - Culture
Since 2006, the European initiative ECCE (Developing Economic Clusters of Cultural Enterprises) has been promoting economic growth and job creation in cultural and creative sectors in Nantes Métropole and the European partner cities of Eindhoven, Utrecht, Aix-la-Chapelle, Angers, Rennes Métropole and Huddersfield.
