The development of the future Doulon-Gohards district in the heart of nature continues

After having appointed a new project manager in spring 2024, Nantes Métropole and Nantes Métropole Aménagement are continuing work to shape this new living area by strengthening its ecological dimension, while maintaining the housing construction objectives.

For Johanna Rolland, Mayor of Nantes and President of Nantes Métropole: "In Doulon-Gohards, we are creating a new living area. Tomorrow, living there will mean living in quality housing, accessible to all, in the heart of 100 hectares of listed natural spaces and a stone's throw from urban farms, which allow you to reconnect with the market gardening past of the place. It will also mean enjoying a lively neighborhood life, in continuity with the identity of Vieux-Doulon, thanks to public facilities (school, nature nursery), artistic facilities (nomadic arts center) and numerous shops. Our ambition for Doulon-Gohards is to allow people to live in a sustainable and environmentally friendly city, a social and accessible city, where everyone can find their place. Our choice of new project management is in line with the roadmap of the Great Debate Fabrique de nos villes that we have just adopted. Doulon-Gohards was already a very ambitious project from an environmental perspective, and with the choice of this new project management, we are strengthening its ecological dimension while supporting the objective of building housing."

For Thomas Quéro, deputy in charge of urban planning at the City of Nantes, metropolitan councilor: "The second phase that is opening for the Doulon-Gohards project is that of the creation of new housing sectors in the district. It is a project truly in favor of housing for all, within the City of Nantes and at the heart of the Metropolis, making it possible to respond to the need to guarantee a roof for everyone and to preserve the social vocation of this working-class district. It is also a project that is part of a land sobriety approach: by building here, in an urban environment connected to public transport, we avoid urban sprawl and support sustainable mobility. The Doulon-Gohards project is also an improvement in the quality of life for the residents of the entire district. The developments of public spaces already carried out during the first phase are a good example of this, and the public facilities that will arrive soon will also benefit everyone."

For Simon Citeau, deputy in charge of the Doulon-Bottière district: "We are at an important stage: the new project management is a key player in pushing the boundaries, integrating new practices into the city's fabric, and the conclusions of the Great Debate. We will be attentive to the dialogue with all the people of Nantes. Our approach is above all patient and precise, to properly support the transformation of this district. The gradual development of the developments thus focuses on taking into account the balances of this territory: the need for quality housing and public spaces, the protection but also the reconquest of biodiversity disturbed by several decades of neglect, the proposal of a neighborhood life allowing the quality of links between people and reconnecting with market gardening production..."

Doulon-Gohards, from a district with a railway and market gardening history to a new district that prefigures the city of tomorrow

Memory of a railway worker, market gardener, resident... Doulon-Gohards has a rich history, which extends over as many experiences as its territory is vast. These memories are the anchor point of the project, the essence from which to write the future of the district. This rural territory, fragmented since the Middle Ages, was dedicated to subsistence agriculture, with hamlets close to the fields. In the 19th century, industrialization changed this economy: market gardening developed around Toutes-Aides, supported by the arrival of the railway, doubling the population. After stabilization in the 20th century, the construction of the Blottereau depot and an SNCF city transformed the agricultural land, marking the cohabitation of railway workers and market gardeners. The adoption of the local urban plan in 1985 accelerated urbanization, with the creation of housing developments on the former market gardening land.

2.700 new homes to meet the housing needs of the metropolis

After the projects of La Halvêque, Champ-de-Manoeuvre, Erdre-Porterie and Bottière-Chénaie, Nantes continues to develop in the east. From 2026, the Doulon-Gohards urban project, entrusted to Nantes Métropole Aménagement, will welcome 150 to 200 new housing units per year for a total of 2.700 in the long term, including 25% social housing, 30% affordable housing and 45% free housing. A major cycle path and pedestrian paths to access the Loire and connect this new district to the city centre of Nantes and Sainte-Luce sur Loire will also be created to facilitate low-carbon mobility.

This project meets the new housing needs of the Metropolis, while preserving agricultural land from urban sprawl. It thus allows new residents to find accommodation within the ring road and to have access to an efficient public transport network. This project also provides for the provision of temporary settlement land for nomadic people and adapted housing operations for settled travellers.

The main figures of the project

• 2.700 housing units in the long term (including 25% social housing, 30% affordable housing and 45% vacant housing)
• 150 to 200 new homes per year
• 100 hectares of protected natural spaces
• 5 hectares of parks and family gardens
• Ultimately, 5 urban farms on 15 hectares

A new project management to open a new page in the urban project

In spring 2024, the teams of landscapers and urban planners from Atelier Georges and the architects and urban planners from the Laq agency were appointed as the project managers for the second phase of the project until 2029. They will be supported by several experts and design offices: Zefco (low-carbon strategy), Tugec (VRD design office), Confluences (environment / hydraulics / renaturation) and Arbres&territoires (ecology / arboricultural expertise). The Georges and Laq agencies will thus continue the work initiated by the In Situ and Bruel Delmar teams between 2012 and 2024, and will implement a new phase of the project to develop and restore a site with high ecological potential.

Following the Great Debate Fabrique de nos villes, the new project management is asked to take a new look at the urban project and the ecological issues of natural spaces, while continuing the construction of housing in the housing sectors of Louëtrie, Moissons Nouvelles, Saint-Médard and Noe Garreau. It will also have to take into account the urban renewal of Vieux-Doulon and the requalification of public spaces. This second phase of the project will also continue the development of pedestrian and cycle paths.

After the delivery of the Claire Bretécher school in 2023, the new project management team will have to support the construction of the Crèche Nature and the Port des Arts Nomades, two structuring municipal facilities which will be installed by 2029. Consultation with residents will continue throughout this new phase of the project.

A neighborhood surrounded by nature, connected to the living world

With 100 hectares of protected natural spaces, 5 hectares of parks and family gardens and the return to production of historic farms, the project gives the fertile city its full dimension. The development of this district is also based on an avoidance approach in order to preserve quality natural spaces and restore a degraded site with strong ecological potential. Ultimately, this territory will be part of the Nantes green star branch and will host shared parks and gardens, wet meadows and woodlands that current and future residents can appropriate.

The cradle of market gardening in Nantes, but whose land has been abandoned for forty years, Doulon-Gohards is also reconnecting with its agricultural vocation. The rehabilitation work on the farm buildings that began in 2020 allowed the installation of the first farms in 2021 with open-ground and organic crops, allowing production distributed via short circuits. This agricultural project is now supported by four farms, spread across the three farms (the Saint-Médard farm, the Bois-des-Anses farm, L'alouette Rit and Micropousses), over an area of ​​6,3 hectares. Eventually, Doulon-Gohards will host five urban farms on 15 hectares.

New soft mobility routes for local residents

Having everything you need within 15 minutes of your home, by only traveling on foot or by bike, is the principle of the "XNUMX-minute city" that guides the development of the neighborhood and responds to an aspiration clearly expressed by citizens during the Great Debate on the Making of Our Cities. The goal is to offer alternatives to using cars, while improving the local quality of life and tranquility in public spaces. In addition to the new path along Rue de la Papotière, two footbridges to cut across the Gohards stream and a new path for pedestrians and cyclists have been built in the valley. These developments allow residents of the neighborhood to reach the Claire Bretécher school more quickly and to favor gentler modes of travel, such as walking or cycling. Whether with the various bus and tram services nearby, the neighborhood is also connected to the entire city and metropolis by the public transport network.