Strengthening the fundamentals for industry
Practical notebook no.16: (Re)developing productive activities in metropolitan regions
Thierry Petit, November 2024
To anchor productive activities in the urban areas of metropolitan regions, it is necessary to guarantee the conditions for their activity, particularly in three key areas: accessibility to the site, the urban environment and the service base that can be offered to them. Local authorities therefore need to consider appropriate and coherent location plans that take into account the fluidity of goods flows and the integration of personal mobility plans.
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Accessibility to goods is essential, so it is vital that urban planning and development policies take better account of goods flows, particularly the management of HGV traffic and parking facilities. Some developments can lead to bizarre situations because, for example, they do not take sufficient account of HGV turning restrictions. This means maintaining a compatible road gauge and roundabouts, as well as creating new junctions to improve living conditions for local residents, without affecting access to business sites, as at the port of Bonneuil. HGV parking in and around these areas is a problem that also needs to be addressed. Accessibility also concerns employees, including by public transport and active modes. While the densification of ZAEs and dialogue with employers are making it possible to improve the range of services offered to employees, accessibility by soft modes (cycling, scootering, walking) often remains difficult. Yet a growing number of young working people do not want to take the car and prefer active mobility. Some cities, such as Brest and Grenoble, have succeeded in connecting their city centres and some of their business parks to the cycle network.
Business parks were initially conceived as objects disconnected from the urban environment and focused on their economic function. Little or no consideration was given to the issue of integration. As urbanisation intensifies, and in the age of ZAN and the need to preserve these spaces, it is becoming necessary to reconsider their place in the urban system. All too often, the desire for mixed use has proved to be a source of tension for residents exposed to productive activities that are deemed to be harmful.
So how can we improve their integration into the urban fabric and encourage coexistence with neighbouring areas?
Similarly, within business parks themselves, the desire of employees to have access to more services requires a change in the way they operate. Densification and the development of shared services are therefore becoming key factors in the attractiveness of both business parks and the companies located there. Finally, to maintain and redevelop the industrial fabric, business support services need to be strengthened. This means providing a local supply of land and premises, to enable companies to move from one location to another, which needs to be put in place. It also means drawing on major national programmes (e.g. Territoires d’industrie) and guiding industrial players towards the facilities available to them, both from the State via the Banque des territoires and locally (Region and EPCIs). The role of the region is therefore to offer integrated services at different levels (State, Region, local authorities).