Last updated: October 2021
The city of Rouen has been redeveloping the docks of the Seine River over a number of years. The Prairie Saint Sever (park) is one part of this redevelopment planning. Completed in 2017, this park "allows its inhabitants to reclaim their river and offer new spaces of use" (Ref. 5) with "generous alleys lined with six hundred trees, cycle paths, original children's games, metal slides grafted to the stairs of the Jeanne-d'Arc bridge, picnic benches and tables, wooden deckchairs encouraging reading or idleness, sports apparatus and rollerblading equipment ... today, Rouen residents can enjoy a walking park of twenty-three hectares and more than three kilometers long, between the Corneille bridge and the Rollet peninsula" (Ref. 6). It is a prairie in the heart of the city offering a large river walk on more than 3km (Ref. 2).
https://rouen.fr/prairie-st-sever
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Blue infrastructure
- Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Conversion of former industrial areas
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social cohesion
- Social interaction
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas
Project objectives
-"The Prairie Saint-Sever allows walkers to enter a panel of atmospheres dedicated to relaxation." (Ref. 2)
-The residents of Rouen could re-discover their city with a new face, and enjoy the river banks which have been derelict for a long time (Ref. 5).
-A place to contemplate the Cathedral of Rouen (Ref. 3).
-Open to everyone, this area is a place of life, for leisure or festive meetings, but also this public space is a place of conviviality and urban hospitality (Ref. 3, page 2)
Implementation activities
-"The inhabitants can thrive on the banks of the Seine, more trees are fully dedicated to relaxation thanks to its green spaces, well-being with balance courses, climbing structures and leisure activities especially for children with many slides and swings." (Ref. 2)
-About 20 meridians installed to invite to rest
-Markings for riders and cyclists (Ref. 3, page 4)
-"This landscaped part, which covers 1.5 hectares, is divided into several categories. The first with the Claquedent gardens, extends between the Boieldieu and Jeanne-d'Arc bridges. This space is declined in the form of a landscaped assembly where children find various and varied arrangements" (Ref. 2).
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Regional government
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Unknown
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The prime contractor is "In Situ" (Architect agency), the project is co-financed by the Region Haute Normandie, the Department Seine-Maritime, the City of Rouen, the Metropole Rouen Normandie and the Eureopean Funds (FEDER).
-"Over the years, the ambitions set by the City of Rouen and the Rouen Normandy Metropolis alongside the other communities have allowed the emergence of many projects." (Ref. 4, page 4)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
("Since 1997, the city has returned to its river environment. The "Axe Seine project" is part of a process of reconquest of the banks of the Seine. Over the years, the ambitions set by the City of Rouen and the Rouen Normandy Metropolis alongside the other communities have allowed the emergence of many projects." (Ref. 4, page 4))
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- EU funds
- Public regional budget
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Other
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Ville de Rouen (2015). " Agenda 21 Local de la ville de Rouen". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
2. Ville de Rouen (n.d). "Prairie Saint-Sever (Quais bas rive gauche)". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
3. Ville de Rouen (2014). Dossier de Presse: "Rouen: les berges de Seine métamorphosées". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
4. Ville de Rouen (2015). Dossier de Presse: "Quais bas Rive Gauche". Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
5. Archi Rouen (n.d.). "Quais Bas Rive Gauche". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
6. Buffet, Patricia (2017). "À Rouen, les quais bas rive gauche réhabilités". Paris Normandie. Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
2. Ville de Rouen (n.d). "Prairie Saint-Sever (Quais bas rive gauche)". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
3. Ville de Rouen (2014). Dossier de Presse: "Rouen: les berges de Seine métamorphosées". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
4. Ville de Rouen (2015). Dossier de Presse: "Quais bas Rive Gauche". Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
5. Archi Rouen (n.d.). "Quais Bas Rive Gauche". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
6. Buffet, Patricia (2017). "À Rouen, les quais bas rive gauche réhabilités". Paris Normandie. Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 24, 2020).
https://archi-rouen.fr/realisations/quais-bas-rive-gauche