Saint-Etienne, France
City population: 373538
Duration: 2015 – 2018
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 190000 m2
Type of area: Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: October 2021

The Montreynaud Park is composed of a great diversity of spaces (dense woodlands, undergrowth, meadow spaces, small group of trees ) and presents a richness of fauna and flora. The challenge of rebuilding this area is to create a real urban park, a green lung that provides the junction between the upper and lower parts of the neighborhood and links it to the rest of the city. The redevelopment of the park must meet the needs of the inhabitants by developing a place of contemplation, pedestrian paths, sports and recreational paths, and in connection with scientific, technical and industrial culture (Ref.1).

People walking on a grassy hill overlooking a city
https://www.saint-etienne.fr/d%C3%A9couvrir-sortir/saint-%C3%A9tienne-ville-nature/parcs-jardins-st%C3%A9phanois/parc-montreynaud/parc-montreyna

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests
  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Community gardens

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Regulation of built environment
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education
  • Social cohesion
  • Social interaction
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
  • Real estate development
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  • Sustainable production

Focus

Maintenance and management of urban nature, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

Project objectives

"Create a real urban park, a green lung that connects the top and bottom of the neighborhood and links it to the rest of the city" (Ref. 1) "The redevelopment of the park must meet the needs of the inhabitants of the neighborhood"(Ref. 1)

Implementation activities

Creation of "place of contemplation, pedestrian paths, sports and recreational paths, new practices in connection with scientific, technical and industrial culture." (Ref. 1) -"Several adjoining plots are reserved for family gardens. This park is currently the subject of a relaxation area open to the city , a plant corridor and a place of educational promotion around sustainable development. The landscaped restoration of these public spaces offers modernized access to PMR standards and furniture for resting. There are playgrounds, an urban weight training area, a shared garden and stabilized areas allowing bowling alleys. The trails of the Parc de Montreynaud are materialized by standardized markings which allow you to locate and follow the loop of the park" (Ref. 9). -"Stretching over more than 25 ha, the Montreynaud park is a constitutive element of the identity of the district, it is made up of a great diversity of spaces (dense afforestation, undergrowth, meadow spaces, copses ...) and presents a great wealth of fauna and flora, to be developed. The challenge of reorganizing this area is to create a real urban park, a green lung ensuring the junction between the top and the bottom of the district and connecting it to the rest of the city. The reorganization of the park must meet the needs of the inhabitants of the district, associated with the definition of the project, while developing new attractive uses for the entire Saint-Etienne population: place of contemplation, pedestrian paths, sports and recreational routes, new practices in connection with scientific, technical and industrial culture" (Ref. 1). -"Almost 20,000 m², out of the 30,000 m² of the perimeter concerned, will become green spaces with: -"residential spaces at the foot of the building, easy pedestrian link accessible to all, improved parking, playgrounds, places of conviviality" (Ref. 5).

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Citizens or community groups

Governance

Management set-up

  • Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The main initiator is the City of Saint Etienne (Ref. 1). The work is realized by the architect agency "In situ" (Ref. 5)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (Nature in The City National Strategy (Ref. 3) Ecological Continuities: Blue and Green Network (Ref. 4))
... a local policy or strategy? Yes ("The Local Urbanism Planning (PLU) sets out the main orientations for development and planning" (Ref. 6))

Financing

Total cost

More than €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget
  • Unknown

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
  • Environmental quality
  • Improved air quality
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased number of species present
  • Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved social cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Improved mental health
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Education
  • Increased support for education and scientific research
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • 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. Saint Etienne (n.d). "Montreynaud, un quartier pour vivre et entreprendre". Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).
2. CapaCités (n.d). "Rénovation de la Dalle du Forum". Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).
3. Nature en Ville (n.d). "Plan nature en ville". Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
4. Ministère de l'Environnement, de l'Energie et de la Mer (n.d). La Trame Verte et Bleue, Un outil pour maintenir la biodiversité dans nos territoires et lutter contre le changement climatique. Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).
5. Saint Etienne (n.d). "Réaménagement du secteur du forum à Montreynaud". Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).
6. Saint Etienne (n.d). "Le Plan Local de l'Urbanisme fixe les grandes orientations de développement et d'aménagement". Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).
7. Saint Etienne (n.d) Nature en Ville Brochure: Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).
8. Saint Etienne (2014). Plan Climat Newsletter. Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
9. Saint Etienne (n.d.). "Parc Montreynaud". Available at: Source link (Accessed: September 16, 2020).