Launch of an international architectural consultation to transform 10 priority neighborhoods in France

Applications for the Quartiers de demain consultation will be open to designers from November 8. The aim is to mobilize architectural, urban and landscape excellence for the realization of projects that demonstrate the ecological and solidarity transition; thus giving birth to the future working-class neighborhoods of the 2030st century. Led by the Public Interest Group (GIP) Europe of architectural and urban projects, this project is part of the Quartiers 30 plan. Through a national competitive dialogue, conducted simultaneously in the selected territories, 3 international teams (2025 per site) will be selected in January XNUMX to work on the future of urban policy.

An unprecedented mobilization in favor of the transformation and rehabilitation of priority neighborhoods

France has 1.362 so-called priority neighborhoods that are home to more than 5,3 million inhabitants and whose urban forms are varied. At the initiative of the President of the Republic, this laboratory for foresight and experimentation aims to transform the living environment to meet the challenges of ecological, social and cultural transitions while respecting the environments and histories of each territory. This consultation also aims to propose exemplary projects that can be replicated throughout the territory in the coming years. Quartiers de demain involves an unprecedented mobilization of the professional worlds of architecture, urban planning and landscaping for the transformation and rehabilitation of priority neighborhoods of the city policy.

This international consultation pursues three main objectives:

1. The completion of 10 projects demonstrating the socio-ecological transition: the projects carried out should make it possible to sustainably improve the quality of the living environment and daily life while bringing out innovative responses in terms of carbon neutrality, adaptation to climate change, preservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of resources.
2. Renewing ways of doing things through experimentation and citizen participation: Quartiers de demain intends to place the participation of residents at the heart of projects in order to enable them to become major players in change. It is also about ensuring that these achievements perfectly meet their needs, the specificities of the territories and that they have a positive impact on employment and local skills.
3. Promoting the legacy of priority urban policy districts: the consultation encourages the emergence of demonstrator projects aimed at rehabilitating and upgrading existing assets in a circular economy and resource preservation approach.

Ten sites representing a diversity of territorial situations

The locations of the projects located in QPV were proposed by the regional prefects and local authorities according to specifications submitted to the national plan. Chosen for their diversity of contexts and forms, this selection brings together both suburbs of metropolises and districts in the heart of medium-sized cities or small towns. The richness of the consultation is also due to the diversity of projects which range from the construction or rehabilitation of housing, facilities or public spaces.

Focus on the procedure and progress of the international consultation

The Quartiers de demain program is aimed at multidisciplinary teams who are invited to apply on one of the ten sites. They will be composed of designers (architects, urban planners, landscapers, etc.) and will integrate the expertise and specialized engineering necessary to carry out the project.

Through a national competitive dialogue, the international consultation will take place in two phases:

1. A first phase will allow 3 teams to be selected to compete on each of the sites (November 2024 - January 2025);
2. A second phase will open the design work carried out on the ground, in consultation with residents (February - October 2025). This phase will also be that of the selection of a winning team per site which will be entrusted with a project management contract.

Through this consultation and the mobilization of teams of international and multidisciplinary designers, Quartiers de demain wishes to create a scene for debate and reflection around priority neighborhoods while aiming for the concrete realization of architectural, urban planning and landscaping projects.

And tomorrow?

In parallel with the consultation, a "national district factory" is being set up, enabling a national debate to take place between professionals and the general public on the sustainable transformation of QPVs. Beyond the rehabilitation of the 10 sites, this consultation will aim to facilitate the replicability of initiatives throughout France. Throughout the project and thereafter, local and national discussion times will be organized in order to build new principles in the development of districts and to identify the levers and obstacles to their deployment. Quartiers de demain will thus constitute a place for reflection, experimentation and dissemination of projects in the priority districts of the city.