REGIONAL ASSESSMENT Val-de-Marne Tourism Board Authors : Camille CHOWAH Déborah BARTHELET 1 Table of contents INTRODUCTION : REGIONAL CONTEXT Page 3 Study area History of the river and relationship to water Geo-institutional and socio-economic context River landscapes TERRITORIAL ANALYSIS Page 13 1.Governance and strategies 2. Mobility and transports 3. Accommodations 4. Cultural sites and heritage 5. Green spaces and natural heritage 6. Sports and leisure activities 7. Events and animations 8. Port installations and river navigation CONCLUSION Page 57 Partners’ and stakeholders’ learning needs through STAR Cities 2 INTRODUCTION REGIONAL CONTEXT 3 Study area In the framework of this regional assessment, the study area is 50 kilometers long, following the Marne river. This territory is composed of 30 towns within 3 « departments » (Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marne). This study area is relevant regarding: - History : this part of Marne riversides was very popular for Parisians between the end of 19th century and the middle of the 20th century. - Landscapes : the territory is characterized by its « peri-urban » landscape, mixed of natural and urban landscapes - Tourism : corresponds to « one-day » cruise from Paris center 4 History of the river and relationship to water Rivers have played an essential role in the development of leisure recreational activities like listening to music, dancing and having in Europe since the 19th century. Near Paris, London or Hamburg, fun have spread all along the river. It was a place where people areas designed for relaxation and celebration have become leisure from different age groups and backgrounds came together. With destinations for city dwellers in search of nature. more and more spare time, these areas were visited a lot on Sundays and during the summer. Marne river was one of these places and its current identity is still related to this history. From the 16th century, the aristocracy had The situation changes after the Second World War : built castles and mansions. During the 19th century, Marne - Because of the development of private cars, Parisians used to riversides became a vacation spot for the Paris middle-class. Paris go farther for their weekend and summer holidays bourgeoisie built secondary residences to enjoy nature and fresh - From 1970 swimming in Marne river had been forbidden air. This is link to their support for the social hygiene movement, - Rivers were canalized through locks and riverbanks concreting their interest for Romanticism, their renewed relation with nature and the new trend for travel and sports. Also, the economic activity, which has always been very strong, becomes the priority and prevents recreational activities. When working classes also got more spare time and thanks to the development of transport facilities (railways), they began to The situation evolved again at the beginning of the 21st Century frequent the banks of the rivers too. Between the end of the 19th when town planning policies were applied to banks of rivers. century and middle of the 20th century, the Marne river became a Restructuring and revitalisation projects were set up to recapture very popular place for the Capital urban poor. A new form of leisure riverbanks and turned them again into leisure spaces. was thus born. People used to come to swim in the river, enjoy cultural activities, play sports, or just to have some fun in the so called guinguettes. Situated near the river, the guinguettes are at the same time dancing and concert halls, restaurants, pubs and boat rental places. This relaxed atmosphere gave inspiration to some great filmmakers (Renoir, Carné…) and photographers (Doisneau, Ronis…). This image of « the Sunday El Dorado » is still linked to the banks of the Marne. Marne river has played a crucial role in several social activities, sports and cultural but also working class leisure activities. These activities such as swimming, canoeing, fishing and more 5 Socio-economic context : land-use Legend : Individual housing Collective housing Activities Forests Open spaces, artificialised Natural environments Water Agricultural zones Transports Source : Cartoviz, l’occupation du sol • The occupancy of the territory is essentially residential. Individual housing considerably marks the landscape of the banks of the Marne. The urbanization of this area began in the 19th century with the construction of holiday houses. The building also consists of collective housing. • Natural areas are quite present with the Bois de Vincennes, and the green spaces of Neuilly-sur-Marne, Champs-sur-Marne, Noisiel, Torcy and Vaires-sur-Marne. • Activity zones along the river are infrequent and are mainly located in the municipalities of Bonneuil-sur-Marne, Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes and Lagny-sur-Marne. 6 Socio-economic context : population The thirty municipalities of the studied area belong to the urban unit Paris metropolis. The population density of the studied area is one of the highest in France, with 5,263 inhabitants/km². The average density in metropolitan France is 120 persons/km² and 990 persons/km² in Ile-de-France. The city of Créteil is the most populated municipality with 90,052 inhabitants. Chalifert, on the other hand, is the least populated with 1,278 inhabitants. Due to the proximity of Paris, the western cities are more densely populated. 7 Socio-economic context: activity/employment areas Cité Descartes Disneyland Paris Val-de-Fontenay Bercy Noisy Monts d’Est Charenton Alfortville Marne la Vallée Val d’Europe Ivry Pariest Bonneuil industrial port Carte des bassins d’emploi Source : IAU - Cartoviz Different areas of activity and employment are situated in the study area but they are not really close to the river. Their situation is rather linked to the A4 highway. Except Bonneuil industrial port, the other areas are mainly commercial or business areas. 8 Environmental context : flood risk areas As the main natural risk in Ile-de-France due to human concentration and socio-economic activities, the flood risk for the study area is very high. Urbanization and artificialization of the riverbanks have increased the vulnerability of the territory to floading. In 2016 and 2018, the Seine basin flood caused considerable damages in several places. Public authorities at regional and local levels have been mobilised for years to fight against this risk and prevent from new rising floods. 9 River landscapes The landscape of plateaus, hills and valleys of the Marne territory has been shaped by the river and its tributaries, now masked by urbanisation. The Marne valley forms a narrow plain, where several reliefs meet. These reliefs are not very visible when travelling through the territory, except for the hills that emerge in the visual perspectives and generate points of view. The most spectacular and also characteristic reliefs are the slopes of the Marne, sometimes wooded, more or less readable according to urbanization. River landscapes are a mix of urban and nature. The river is a green corridor through a very urbanized area. The Marne valley was preserved from industrialization and has remained a residential area. The architecture is a mix of small and picturesque houses situated directly on the riverbank and apartment buildings near city centers. Despite the river canalisation at the end of the 19th century, several islands have been preserved, in particular in the river loop. Some of them are uninhabited and sometimes only accessible by boat. They are all natural spots in the middle of the city, like several green parks situated in the eastern part of the study area. Near Paris, the landscape is characterized by the presence of major motorway infrastructures along and across the river. The study area included also 2 industrial ports, 1 power plant and 1 water plant, 10 River landscapes – Nature & Architecture Channel of Chelles Haute Île green parc Saint-Maurice lock Lagny city center Legend Le Perreux architecture Architecture Green area Island 11 Créteil islands Chennevières hillside River landscapes – Industry & Infrastructures Nogent bridge and highway Highway in Charenton Vaires power plant Legend Major road Industrial area Bonneuil industrial port 12 TERRITORIAL ANALYSIS 13 1. GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGIES 14 Governance – Territorial organisation The study area includes 4 different levels of public administration : • Region (Ile-de-France) • 3 Departments • 5 urban communities • 30 municipalities France is a unitary State organised on a decentralised basis. There are three sub- levels of governance in France: the Regions (Régions), the Departments (Départements), the Municipalities (Communes) and intermunicipalities (urban or rural communities). They have not legislative powers. They exercise their functions by means of regulations for some fields and through the execution of their budget. Local, intermediate and regional authorities have general competence for the exercise of their functions and there is no hierarchy between regional, intermediate and local government. Besides, the division of competences changed in 2015 and shared competences will become the exception (sport, culture, tourism). Most of STAR Cities topics are addressed by all the different levels of governance, in a complementary way : tourism, culture, sport, environment, economic development, urban planning and transport. → More about France division of power. 15 Tourism, cultural and leisure strategies As explained above, tourism is a “shared competence” and several public authorities