Outlook on town planning policy

Procedures which are complex and constantly changing, political agendas which vary with the times, difficulties in co-ordinating government departments-these are among the evils shown by the steadily-growing malaise and the accompanying unpleasant images and comments on the housing estates we have rejected.

The right conclusions don't in themselves lead to a good policy however. 

Bringing life to these districts involves making them into real towns. This means encouraging the creation of places and opportunities for people to meet, letting the population intermingle and move, and transforming dormitory towns and ghettos by demolishing tower blocks if necessary. In addition it means taking action on a deeper level, adapting the organisation of public services so that they meet the needs of people better and more efficiently. It means finding new ways to educate and supervise young people. It means working on methods of integrating young people into the job market.

On a regional level and in conjunction with the State, it is to find ways and means to stimulate the actors in the public sphere-on behalf of those at the heart of urban policy and who give it its sense. 

This issue of Les Cahiers gives you an uncompromising analysis of urban policy over more than twenty years, while at the same time opening perspectives on various actions taken in other French and foreign metropolises.