Sustainable development in urban projects: Certu shares its expertise as France takes the Presidency of the European Union
Jean-François Guet 01-08-2008
In terms of urban development, the aim of the French Presidency of the European Union (FPEU) – which has named the issue of global warming at its key priority – is, on the one hand, to make proposals for the operational implementation of the recommendations of the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities as part of an integrated approach very much concerned with sustainable development, and, on the other hand, to analyse the impact of climate change on urban development. France intends to launch the process of creating a "reference base for sustainable cities". To this end, the DGUHC (Directorate-General for Urban Planning, Housing and Construction) has created a support group open to other administrations and representative institutions concerned, and has named Jean-François Guet (head of Certu’s Urban Development & Housing Department) as its rapporteur. Initially, he will be responsible for preparing the declaration of the ministers in charge of urban development, who will be meeting in Marseille on 25 and 26 November. Preparations for this informal meeting are based on (among other things) the work of the group of directors-general of urban development, which met in Paris on 3 July. During this meeting, Jean-François Guet presented the RST02 grid for taking account of sustainable development in urban projects. The attendees showed great interest in this open, participative and non-standards-based approach, which integrates the different pillars of sustainable development in a carefully balanced way.
The RST02 grid is now available in French from the Certu catalogue and will soon also be available in English.
For more information and contacts concerning this support group, please contact Jean-François Guet..
