The metropolis of Rennes announced Thursday that it had launched a vast study on the possibility of raising buildings with the aim of responding to demographic growth without artificializing the land and avoiding urban sprawl.
We must meet an environmental objective which is to be able to do without urban expansion and construction in agricultural areas, and continue to meet the demand for (housing) needs which is still very strong in the metropolis, Marc declared on Thursday. Herv, metropolitan councilor responsible for urban forms.
When we combine these two dimensions, we realize that elevation is one of the possibilities for continuing to build in our territories, added Mr. Herv, also First Deputy Delegate for Urban Planning for the city of Rennes, during a press conference.
This study, entrusted to a firm, must be submitted in the summer. A public study is then planned for the fall for possible approval of the modification of the local intercommunal urban planning plan (Plui) in spring 2025.
There are already rules which allow elevation, but not in all cases, specified Laurence Besserve, vice-president of Rennes Métropole and delegate for development, noting that modifying the Plui would make it possible to amplify elevation.
Invest in real estate from €1,000. OUR rankings of the best SCPIs
We will instead move towards the use of biosourced materials, wood or straw walls, because they are less heavy per m2, and which can be in perfect harmony with the structure below which can be stone, earth, concrete, etc. ., added Ms. Besserve.
This densification work is not always very popular, acknowledged Mr. Herv, but there is a change of scale directly linked to this new context of zero net artificialization which means that our urban models must be more sober in their development.
The Rennes metropolis, which has 460,000 inhabitants, is expected to reach 535,000 inhabitants in 2035, requiring the creation of 65,000 new housing units, according to the metropolis.