ABSTRACT
Tony Garnier, who set out his utopian vision for Une Cité Industrielle in 1904 with houses designed to maximise sun and wind so that they would be energy self-sufficient. In La Confluence, regulations ensure that even on the shortest day – 21 December – each home will have at least two hours of sunlight. This is part of a wider package of measures that has made the development France’s first World Wildlife Fund Sustainable Neighbourhood and is part of plans to help Lyon peg its CO 2 emissions to the year 2000 levels by 2020. More recently the focus has been to improve connections around Perrache Railway Station. Works have sought to repair the urban fabric by improving pedestrian connections, reducing levels and creating places to stop and linger, including a piazza at the front of the station. The embankments along the Saône, once dominated by major roads, have been developed as a linear park, providing natural habitats as well as footpaths to provide a pleasant link between the northern and southern halves of Lyon’s central peninsula. Lyon’s congestion issues have been tackled through a raft of transport improvements. The city now has a well-integrated, efficient public transport network of trams and trains including a direct high-speed airport link through the ‘RhôneExpress’. It was also the first city in Europe to introduce a public bike hire schemes which is supported by clear, generous cycle routes and good signage. Air pollution and quality of life is also being addressed through a major greening strategy. This includes the enhancement of existing parks and the creation of new parks and green spaces of all shapes and sizes. The latter range from the 80ha Parc de Gerland (complete with its botanical garden) and the reclaimed linear spaces along the city’s two rivers, to smaller ‘infill’ spaces such as the proposed Parc Sergent Blandan and temporary community gardens in more densely-developed areas, which fulfil both a physical and a social function. City-wide policies on building materials and the colours of building facades, together with a lighting strategy, has helped to reinforce a sense of place, enhancing Lyon’s already rich built heritage as well as making for a more pedestrian friendly experience. All of these improvements create a setting for the life of the town. The city promotes an extensive programme of arts events and festivals drawing visitors throughout the year and culminating in the ‘Fête des Lumières’ held every December. This dates back to the Middle Ages but the modern festival uses light shows and lasers rather than candles. It is as good a symbol as any of the way that lyon uses its past to shape a dynamic future for itself.
