ABSTRACT
New towns have been planned and built in many countries in order to resolve postwar housing shortages or as part of a strategy of regional and resource development. Following publication of the regional plan for Paris in 1965, work on the new towns began the following year when legislation was introduced which made it possible to appoint a directeur responsible for directing a mission d'etudes et d'amenagement. This mission is made up of a team of 30 to 40 specialists who, together, are responsible for establishing a master plan for the new town. There is, however, greater flexibility in the financing of new towns in France than is the case in Britain. The new town being built on the shores of the Etang de Berre, west of Marseille, is intended to complement the port and industrial complex of Fos for whose workers it provides housing and services.
