There are special stakes at play in the urbanisation and re-qualification of the northern districts of South Lille. This land located between two of the city’s active suburbs has been extensively demolished in the past few years. It is now awaiting a quality urbanisation project that needs to give the sector a new face and reactivate the public spaces between the two suburbs thanks to a certain density and a diverse range of atmospheres.
The site’s position on the scale of the urban area of Lille makes it a particularly interesting place to create a veritable green link between the south (Eurasanté) and the city’s green belt. The project capitalises on this opportunity and proposes a green corridor that crosses the site from south to north, providing an “ecological” link between the large natural space (ecosystem) of South Lille towards the city centre. This corridor runs around public buildings and is wide enough to ensure both a green continuity and active distribution of each facility.
The project proposes two east-west roads scaled to the local urban structure that provide vehicles and pedestrians with a clear connection between the two city suburbs. These two roads cross the green corridor and feature a series of four public squares that link existing buildings to these new infrastructures.
The public buildings—schools, social centre, library, gymnasium—are all located close together. The idea is to utilise this characteristic to create a large “citizen” space within the green corridor, made up of a string of prolongations of the public facilities that provide places for meeting and enjoyment.
To ensure there is a wide diversity of housing on offer, the project proposes quality housing “products” (terraced buildings, houses with individual gardens, mixed-use buildings…) that will create a critical mass of housing and breathe new life into the neighbourhood through a melting pot of populations.
The project also plans to install activities and businesses (along Faubourg des Portes and on Place Med) in order to fulfil a maximum number of requests.