the municipality is committed to greening the city
The city of Rouen (Seine-Maritime) lacks nature, parks and gardens. The municipality has therefore launched a vast renaturation plan to encourage plant and animal species to colonize the city.
Rouen residents have 32m2 of greenery per inhabitant. This is three times less than in Marseille, and well below the national average which is 48m2. If we ask the inhabitants the question, the observation is the same. “Rouen is not a green enough city I find. I come from Nantes where there are plenty of parks!” tells us a young woman. “Apart from the Verdrel square near the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and the gardens of the town hall, I do not see much to choose … ah if the quays of the Seine a little “, count a gentleman.
If Rouen has several green lungs, in particular its magnificent Jardin des Plantes – an 8 hectare green space on its south shore – more than half of its territory is urbanized. To deal with it, the municipality has embarked on a renaturation project.
The term renaturation, or renaturalization, expresses the idea of repair. It is for living species, animal or plant, to find their natural environment, disturbed by urbanization, or degraded by human activities. The idea is therefore to encourage flora and fauna to take back their rights by colonizing the city. The municipality has also commissioned an inventory on biodiversity in Rouen, to identify and quantify these species. The city is committed to restoring the good condition of its sites through development operations, space management and user awareness.
The city must be greened, but it must be done in continuity, it is fundamental. We want to create green corridors that will allow species to circulate and brew
Julien Goosens, deputy director of nature in the city and landscape of the city of Rouen
Several actions have been implemented, such as leaving nature free in cemeteries. “Without pesticides, nature comes to the city” can we read on posters, intended for those who might try to pull out all these weeds! Because the point here is to recreate a reservoir of biodiversity.
In a few months, an urban canopy should see the light of day allée Eugène Delacroix, in the extension of the Place du Musée des Beaux-Arts. The city has also identified other sites to host new green projects in the years to come.
On son website, the city recalls that pmore than 6,000 species or varieties of plants can find a place in the heart of an urban environment (source JBF). A protected area 30% of natural spaces can reduce the collapse of species by 50%. Greening the city was a campaign promise from the current mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol. The stated objective is to increase from 17% to 25% of green and natural spaces in the city.