in Toulouse, the impossible (yet necessary) revegetation of the Place du Capitole
The heat wave will hit Occitanie hard. A period that promises to be difficult, especially in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). Tarred city, they store more heat. Symbol of this situation: the Place du Capitole. To make the metropolis more breathable, its revegetation is only a utopia.
In the same city, the temperature displayed on the thermometer can vary from one paved place to another, greener one. Trees, green walls and cooling islands help to lower the temperature in urban areas. In Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), concrete and pink bricks absorb and reject a lot of heat. Place du Capitole is its symbol. But to vegetate it, many obstacles remain to be overcome.
“Greening cities is a public health issue. Especially since the heat waves will arrive earlier and earlier and more and more frequently“explains Geneviève Bretagne, head of the ecological transition team atToulouse Urban Planning and Development Agency. An issue that was at the heart of the concerns of Toulouse residents last March, during the workshops for ecology where each citizen was able to propose an idea. Place du Capitole was then the subject of a greening proposal.
Selected by the neighborhood offices, this project could be carried out and financed by the town hall, if it wins the vote of the Toulouse in the fall of 2022. “Obviously, it’s something we try to promote, but existing constraints“, explains Isabelle Rockpress officer at the town hall of Toulouse. “He you’re a car park below Place du Capitoleso we have no land. And as it is a historical monument, we must have the approval of the architect of the buildings of France”, she adds. Indeed, any historical monument in France receives a legal status and a label intended to protect it because of its architectural, historical or artistic interest.
Greening the square while preserving heritage is what the restorers of the Capitol want. “We would like there to be more vegetation. Already, it would be prettier and it would bring more freshness. If there was more shade, we would have more customers! Many of them tell us ‘the place is very beautiful, but there are not enough plants“, explains Philippe, waiter at the The Illustrious cafe. “On the square, each restaurateur has greened the terraces. It allows you to have plants in the middle of the pavement. But we can’t put trees either because otherwise it takes away the beauty of the capitol.”, exclaims Marine Gil, Director of Public Relations of the restaurant the Biben.
For Geneviève Bretagne, greening the Place du Capitole would be a good way to lower the temperature during heat waves. “Heat in the city is linked to bitumen, bricks that absorb heat and human activities. With revegetation, the leaves of the trees transpire with water vapor which cools the air.” Currently, there is no project at the Toulouse Urban Planning and Development Agency concerning the greening of the Place du Capitole.
And for good reason, there are many obstacles, as Geneviève Bretagne points out: “It is a large mineral place, because as in other cities, it must be able to accommodate a large number of people without obstacle. And then there is parking below while for planting trees, they have to grow so there has to be more than 20 centimeters of soil. There are important technical considerations.”
Place du Capitole is no exception when it comes to the lack of vegetation. To fight against the phenomenon of heat in the city, the government has just announced a 500 million euro plan to develop cool islands. What to change the mind of the Toulouse municipality?