Two European Green Capitals : Nantes & Bristol

TWO EUROPEAN GREEN

CAPITALS: NANTES &

BRISTOL

RONAN PHILIPPOT (ERASMUS)

INTRODUCTION My essay seeks to examine two European Green Capitals; Nantes and Bristol. It’s important to know that the

European Green Capital Award was set up to reward cities achieving high environmental standards and

encourages them to commit to further environmental improvement and sustainable development. The prize

recognises a city's environmental performance across a set of twelve indicators covering everything from

transportation and energy performance to air quality. The winning city has to demonstrate a vision for the

future which inspire others cities to take similar action. And it needs to be a replicable model, promoting best

practice to all other European cities. The benefit for the winning city is manifold. Not only it attracts inward

investment and visitors to the city, but it reinforces its reputation as a leading sustainable city in Europe.

For each European Green Capitals, I will first quickly present the city and its context. Secondly, I will show the

specificities of those cities. And thirdly, I will explain why they are cities in the vanguard of sustainable

development.

NANTES EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL

2013

Source 1: http://archicharrette.tumblr.com/post/84536656755

QUICK PRESENTATION OF THE CITY

Nantes is the France’s sixth largest city with a metropolitan population of some 600 000 inhabitants with a

predicted growth to 700 000 by 2030. It’s also France’s third city for employment. Its urban area is 534.9km²

which includes 24 municipalities. 15% of residents use the transport system daily and Nantes has an ambitious

Climate Action Plan to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% per capita by 2020 in three sectors: residential, transport

and tertiary (baseline 2003).

Nantes was known as the ‘Venice of the West’ until the 1930s, when major works put an end to flooding and

created new transport infrastructures. The city is located on the confluence of the Loire, Erdre and Sèvre rivers,

55km from the Atlantic coast, and forms the core of the urban area of Greater Nantes. The arrival of the fast

‘TGV’ train, putting Nantes just two hours from Paris, helped the city’s renaissance in the 1980s.

SPECIFICITIES OF THE CITY

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Above all, policy-making is based on citizen and stakeholder involvement. At every step of the way, the people

of Nantes are consulted, in order to generate a collective spirit, and to empower them to feel they can make a

difference in improving their urban environment and living standards. This applies equally to public ownership

of the preparations for 2013, with local associations and enterprises taking part through calls for projects and

demonstrations of good practice.

This is ‘le jeu à la Nantaise’ – a term derived from the local football team, but now widely adopted to signify a

collective approach embodying intelligence, simplicity, determination and savoir faire – an approach which

successfully reaches its ‘goals’!

PUBLIC SERVICES

In Nantes, 25% of accommodation is social housing. A high density of public services and utilities, including

good-quality transport, energy and waste management, enables the population to live more sustainably,

whatever their income. Services are designed to encourage social solidarity – with communal family gardens,

collective composting, and community heating systems using renewable energy. Environmental protection,

improving air and water quality and safeguarding green spaces, increases the enjoyment of life for all.

DYNAMIC GROWTH

Nantes is a very dynamic city. The population of the metropolitan area grew by 100 000 over the last 20 years,

ranking Greater Nantes as the sixth biggest French city with 600 000 residents. The same trend is forecast over

the next 20 years, with up to 100 000 more people. The challenge is therefore to guarantee both the quality of

life and sustainable land use. Maintaining balanced development between nature and the city means fighting

urban sprawl. To this end, Greater Nantes has worked on integrated policies, and housing policy is coordinated

with transport policy. An ambitious transport network already allows 15% of commuters to use public transport

daily.

GREENSPACES, BIODIVERSITY AND NATURE

The Loire, France’s longest river, crosses Nantes, and connects the city to the Atlantic port of Saint- Nazaire.

Through the years, it has played a fundamental role in the city’s history and evolution, and in forging its

character. Where once shipyards and docks dominated the waterfront, industrial change means that the

people of Nantes have been able to re-appropriate the river for their own use: building new communities and

protecting and restoring the special ecosystems of the Loire estuary. The estuary is a unique environment,

where citizens can connect directly with their territory and see and ‘feel’ it in a new way. The waterways,

wetlands, parks and agricultural land that make up Greater Nantes put green and blue spaces at the heart of

the urban area.

Nantes is blessed with a variety of natural environments, such as wetlands and forests, which extend into the

city itself. As Nantes transforms itself from an industrial city to an ecometropolis, its policy of uniting the town

with its rivers and countryside – the blue and the green – is centred on preserving this ecological heritage. The

number of green and blue spaces has grown over the last decade. There is 57m² of green space per person and

everyone lives within 300m of a green area in the city. There is also 100 000 trees in the city and 60% of

natural and agricultural areas.

VOYAGE À NANTES

The Voyage à Nantes (Journey to Nantes) is a framework for grouping the metropolis’ tourist attractions and

developing high-quality, environmentally friendly tourism and cultural services. Nantes offers plenty to see and

do: Les Machines de l’île, the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany, the memorial to the abolition of slavery, the Loire

estuary, a selection of restaurants to suit all tastes … The Journey to Nantes grew out of the idea that bringing

these elements together and mapping a coherent 8.5km itinerary would make the city even more attractive,

not only for visitors but also for residents eager to get to know their environment better.

A CITY IN THE VANGUARD OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nantes has established its green credentials over time. As industry declined towards the end of the 20th

century, city decision-makers had the prescience to look towards another kind of urban model. “Because we

anticipated and planned over the last 20 years, Nantes is now the kind of city that attracts people,” says former

Mayor Jean-Marc Ayrault who has been French prime minister between 2012 and 2014.

GREATER NANTES’ CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

Globally, 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from urban areas. Nantes has made reducing its contribution

to climate change a strategic priority. Greater Nantes’ council unanimously adopted the territorial Climate

Action Plan in 2007. The objective is to go beyond the EU’s energy and climate package and the Covenant of

Mayors’ targets, to cut emissions by 30% per capita by 2020 (baseline 2003) for three sectors: residential,

transport and tertiary. It also comprises adaptation measures to limit the threat of damage from climate

change.

TRANSPORT

Transport is playing a vital role in Nantes’ commitments to lowering carbon dioxide emissions and evolving a

better quality of life for its citizens. Nantes was the first French city successfully to reintroduce electric

tramways. Closed in 1958, the Tramway network reopened in 1985 and today covers 42km – making it one of

the longest in France– and facilitates some 65 million passenger journeys a year. However, overall, Nantes’

inhabitants make some 2 million journeys a day – 15% of them by public transport. So to encourage more of its

citizens to leave the car at home, Nantes is progressively introducing new, high-quality public transport

infrastructure.

BETTER BUSES

Launched in 2006, the Busway is one such innovation. The Busway uses dedicated bus lanes and has right of

way over normal traffic at junctions – thus it combines the speed of a dedicated tramline with the lower cost of

a bus system. With 15 stations spread over 7km, the Busway carries over 25 000 passengers a day and

complements the 72 standard bus routes that link the municipalities of Greater Nantes. The latest project is the

Chronobus – a next-generation public transport system which builds on the Busway concept with structural

alterations such as road widening and roundabouts that will guarantee rapid journey times between the city

centre and its surrounding suburbs. With four lines launched in 2012 and a further six planned, the Chronobus

will carry some 100 000 passengers a day and more than double the size of Nantes’ transport network.

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

Nantes’ objectives for a better and cleaner transport network are set out in the Urban Mobility Plan for the

metropolitan region. The 2010-2015 plan, with targets for 2030, aims for a harmonious balance between the

private car and other, greener means of getting around the city and region: on foot, on a bicycle, on a bus. It

also incorporates into the mix solutions such as car-pooling, car-sharing through the ‘marguerite’ service, park

and ride, river transport, self-service cycling and experiments with folding bikes, taking sustainable mobility as

a global objective.

The plan sets out a wide-ranging strategy around four axes: to organise a city of ‘short distances’ by

encouraging better spatial balance between work, home, shops and leisure; to coordinate public transport

modes to link these activities more efficiently; to create high-quality public spaces that favour pedestrians and

cyclists; and to encourage and guide environmentally friendly changes in the way people choose to move

around the city.

AN ISLAND OF VISION FOR THE CITY

Nantes is developing old industrial sites in the city centre using state-of-the-art principles for a sustainable

urban ecology, which combines energy-efficient housing with green spaces and leisure facilities to

accommodate its growing population. The Île de Nantes is an island in the River Loire, at the core of the city.

Originally the western end was home to the port and shipyards, but these activities have moved further

downriver to the mouth of the Loire, leaving behind an industrial brownfield site available for new and

innovative sustainable and environmentally friendly uses.

GREEN PASSPORT

To encourage eco-tourism in particular, Nantes is a partner in the ‘Green Passport’, a tool for promoting hotels,

inns, campsites and restaurants that pursue sustainable practices. The authorities are working with the United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as well as the region/department of Loire-Atlantic and local bodies,

including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders. The partners sign a charter

committing themselves to the principles of sustainable tourism.

BRISTOL EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL

2015

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QUICK PRESENTATION OF THE CITY

Bristol is located in South West England and has a population of 441,300 (2011). It is England’s sixth and the

United Kingdom’s eighth most populous city.

As well as being an efficient city with a growing green economy, Bristol is the UK’s greenest city, easily

accessible with very good air quality. It has doubled the number of cyclists in recent years and is committed to

doubling this number again by 2020. "I've always seen Bristol as the best opportunity this country has to

produce an exemplar medium-sized city," said George Ferguson, the mayor of Bristol.

SPECIFICITIES OF THE CITY

CULTURE AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Bristol is long known as a hub for creative industries, social entrepreneurs and ethical organisations. One of

Ferguson’s first acts as mayor was to create Make Sundays Special, when the city centre is turned into a traffic-

free zone for street performers, comedy shows, puppet shows and circus acts. As 2015 draws closer, residents

can expect Bristol's home grown arts industry to play a role in helping Bristol communicate green issues. One

project will involve Shaun the Sheep, a favourite creation of Bristol based Aardman Animations, the team

behind Wallace and Grommit.

TRANSPORT

On public transport Bristol has some catching up to do but on cycling Bristol is the Bradley Wiggins of UK

municipalities, rapidly catching up with the pioneers of northern Europe on walking and cycling, leading the UK

peloton to a wholesale and dramatic change over the next 10 years. Congestion and journey times are down in

central Bristol but there is yet more to be done to enable the “critical mass” of Bristol people to feel happy and

able to leave the car at home. Already the city has the highest number of cyclists of all England's major cities –

more than Birmingham and Manchester combined. The city doubled the number between 2001 and 2011 to

16,000, and the mayor intends to repeat the trick, doubling it again by 2020.

GREEN URBAN AREAS, NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY

Bristol’s Climate Planning work has been mainstreamed into planning policy. Bristol’s Core Strategy is one of

the greenest in the UK. Policy has and continues to be implemented through Development Management and

the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. Widespread citizen involvement has ranged from Parks Groups to

informing the Local Plan. The city has now a greener urban environment and new developments that provide a

high quality of life. However the pressure of meeting people’s housing needs will be challenging particularly as

the cost of developing brownfield land increases.

Bristol’s green infrastructure network has embedded wildlife corridors right at the heart of planning, policy and

local decision making. Despite a rise in Bristol’s population by 10% in the last 10 years the city has maintained

the amount and proportion of protected wildlife space and achieved a small increase. The Bristol Natural

History Consortium’s partnership work has created an explosion of events and communications about wildlife

that have made Bristol the leading UK city to replicate with its “Bioblitz” model of events now in 37 other local

authority areas. Furthermore, Bristol plans to invest over £40m in public green space improvements by 2028

and to plant 10,000 trees across the city by 2015.

Source 3: http://bristolgreencapital.org/wp-content/themes/bgcthemeV2/report-cards/green-urban-areas.pdf

Source 4: http://bristolgreencapital.org/wp-content/themes/bgcthemeV2/report-cards/nature-biodiversity.pdf

A CITY IN THE VANGUARD OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

TRANSPORT PLAN

The European Green Capital Award comes with no cash payout, and yet there is a commitment to invest

£420m for transport schemes by 2015 includes targets to increase cycling by 76% by 2016, bus use by 11% by

2016 and rail use by 41% by 2019. The city plans to continue investment in Public transport, Greater Bristol

Metro Rail Project, Rapid Transit Major schemes and completing the Greater Bristol Bus Network and to

integrated a smartcard ticketing.

ECO-INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT

The technical judges praised our partnership working with universities, businesses and communities and

singled out the city council’s Sustainable Procurement Strategy - a green procurement role model for other

councils seeking to integrate EU legislation into their activities to save costs and carbon. The Local Enterprise

Partnership (LEP), which is the overall economic development body for the area, has established a strategic

framework of job creation and inward investment that focuses on the low carbon economy and sustainable

growth, including a 80ha Local Enterprise Zone in the heart of Bristol that is being designed as a carbon neutral

business district. In turn, it is hoped that 17,000 new jobs will be generated in the new Bristol Quarter

Enterprise Zone across low carbon, creative and digital industries by 2030.

ENERGY PERFORMANCE

In the last 10 years Bristol City’s population has grown by 10%, the value of its economy has grown by 40%.

However a twin track approach on energy use by Bristol City Council and grassroots and community action has

led to CO2 emissions cut 28% in Municipal Buildings; Citizens’ homes becoming over 25% more efficient and a

15-fold increase in local renewable generation. Bristol was also the one of the first in the UK to make a major

investment in wind power – two turbines in the Avonmouth Port area will from next month start generating

electricity – enough, eventually, to power about 2,500 households. Some projects are planned to achieve more

change. BCC is creating a municipal energy services company to deliver an investment programme of energy

efficiency and renewable energy by 2020. With £2.2m assistance from the European Investment Bank’s

European Local Energy Assistance programme, funded via DG Energy this will develop, secure investment and

procure an initial £140 programme by 2015, extending to £300m by 2020. There is also a £50 million

investment in municipal buildings and operations including £14m of biomass, wind and solar; £10m energy

efficiency in public buildings; and five small district networks using council buildings as anchors. Moreover,

Bristol will invest £400m for transport schemes by 2015 and up to £200M by 2020 for domestic energy use and

integrated renewables including advice, £52m of external wall insulation to 46 apartment blocksa and up to

£10m for new boiler systems and solar thermal for council housing, and a smart metering pilot projects in

municipal housing.

THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT FORUM

To cap off its year as European Green Capital, the George Ferguson wants Bristol to play host to the first ever

World Environment Forum, cast in a similar mold to the economic summit in Davos, but with the health of the

planet on the agenda of visiting mayors, political leaders and businesses. "It is really, really important that what

we do is transferable, and that we harness this opportunity to create an on-going step change for the city" he

continues. "Am I looking to inspire other cities? The whole point is to inspire other cities. I want people to be

looking at Bristol to see how we grew into a city that is worthy of the title, and to share the benefits."

CONCLUSION To conclude, Nantes gained its highest mark for its local contribution to combating climate change. The city

also secured good scores on the nature and biodiversity, air quality, noise pollution and waste production and

management criteria. The European Green Capital Award judges praised its “pioneering transport

achievements” over the last 10 years, including the new tram system, quality bus schemes, bike rental and

carsharing facilities. In 2009, Nantes beat 57 other cities to secure the Civitas ‘City of the Year’ award in

recognition of its transport policies.

For its part, Bristol impressed the Jury with its investment plans for transport and energy. The city has

committed a budget of €500m for transport improvements by 2015 and up to €300m for energy efficiency and

renewable energy by 2020 (this includes a confirmed €100m ELENA investment in renewable energy). Carbon

emissions have consistently reduced in Bristol since 2005, despite a growing economy. Bristol has the ambition

of becoming a European hub for low-carbon industry with a target of 17,000 new jobs in creative, digital and

low carbon sectors by 2030. Bristol demonstrated 4.7% growth in the green economy in 2012. Bristol was also

chosen partly because of its injection of a "sense of fun" into environmental causes, as well as its record as a

green economy innovator.

REFERENCES Nantes Métropole (2013). Nantes, Capital Verte in Le Journal de la Communauté Urbaine de Nantes n°43.

Nantes Métropole (2013). Nantes, Capital Verte de l’Europe 2013. www.nantesgreencapital.fr.

Nantes Métropole (2012). Nantes European Green Capital 2013. Publications Office of the European Union.

Report Cards on Bristolgreencapital.org

Will Henley (2013). Bristol revels in role as a green European capital. The Guardian.