The renaissance of tramways and urban redevelopment in France

Yves Boquet (1)

1 ThéMA - Théoriser et modéliser pour aménager (UMR 6049)

Tramways have made a remarkable comeback in France since the 1980s. An organization of public transport based on the decentralized administration system set up in the early 1980s has allowed local urban authorities to make their own choices to develop public transport networks in the context of automobile domination. As in many other countries, worries about fossil fuel dependency and demands concerning sustainable urban development appear as strong elements in favour of urban light rail. However, in France, tramways are not just technical solutions for traffic congestion, they have also become a symbol of a cultural mutation in urban development planning. Coupled with a national political push for a more inclusive city in social terms, tramways are the backbone of contemporary urban policies, in a French version of transit-oriented development (TOD), especially for mid-size cities.

Mots clés: City planning; tramway; Sustanaibility; Green transportation; TOD; France

Domaines: Géographie

Yves Boquet. The renaissance of tramways and urban redevelopment in France. Miscellanea Geographica, 2017, 21 (1), pp.5-18. ⟨10.1515/mgrsd-2017-0005⟩. ⟨hal-01957503⟩