Zero net artificialization: what are the realities between the European, English, Swiss and Japanese models?

It is because each of these territories presents particular constraints that La Fabrique de la Cité has chosen to focus on the way in which they approach the subject of land sobriety: a global trend which, as the study reveals, however, assumes a territorial approach.

Produced by Raphaël Languillon-Aussel, researcher at the French Institute for Research on Japan in Tokyo and at the University of Geneva, and Maxence Naudin, design engineer at the University of Perpignan and member of the Transition Institute Land, this study focuses on the historical, geographical, political, sociological, demographic and economic particularities of each territory to better understand their model of development and land sobriety.

This research work makes it possible to put into perspective the policies carried out by the European Union, Switzerland, England and Japan, to verify or refute certain ready-made ideas and to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of each legislation to analyze its advantages and disadvantages.

For Raphaël Languillon-Aussel: “This comparative study note aims to contextualize the issues of land sobriety in a broader perspective and to provide a necessary perspective on the subject while the implementation of sobriety policies land is currently generating debates, particularly in France where the translation of decrees implementing the ZAN law by the regions and intermunicipalities is creating friction. »

This note is part of a broader cycle of studies on the subject started by La Fabrique de la Cité in 2021:

• “The objective of zero net artificialization of land”, by Vincent Le Rouzic (03.03.2022)
• “The policy of zero net land artificialization in the service of the National Low-Carbon Strategy”, by Vincent Le Rouzic (07.04.2022)
• “Artificialization of land, what future for individual houses?”, by Vincent Le Rouzic (26.01.2023)
• “Land sobriety and access to housing, a new equation to invent”, summary of the seminar “The art of governing transitions” by David Djaïz (26.04.2023)

The study note “Land sobriety, developments and comparative perspectives: France, Switzerland, England and Japan” is available here.

Summary of study note

“Land sobriety, developments and comparative perspectives: France, Switzerland, England and Japan”

European Union

Through several series of initiatives and measures put in place from 1972 to limit land consumption ("The European Soil Charter", launched by the EEC in 1972), Europe has established itself over the years. years as a major player in the promotion of land sobriety.

However, although the European Union does have competence in environmental matters, public land use planning policies are still today sovereign prerogatives, which complicates the emergence of a common and ambitious framework.

England

England is at the origin of the first models of land sobriety with strict control of land sprawl, notably enshrined in the Green Belts Acts of 1938 which prohibited any urban extension which was not adjacent to an existing urban area.

It was also the Garden Cities theorized by the town planner Ebenezer Howard at the end of the XNUMXth century which inspired the concept of "garden suburbs", the suburb or even the residential development.

However, England faces major acceptability issues today. Indeed, more and more citizens and elected officials are mobilizing against urban densification in the name of the quality of their living environment; a phenomenon which exacerbates the gaps between wealthy suburbs and poor neighborhoods.

Switzerland

A mountainous country of more than 40.000 km2 located in the heart of the Alps, Switzerland has a very concentrated population. Indeed, more than two-thirds of its 8,7 million inhabitants live on the Swiss Plateau, a flat portion which represents only 30% of the national territory. At the same time, Switzerland enacted an ambitious regime of land sobriety in 1979 with the Territorial Planning Law, which imposes on the cantons "a measured use of the land and respect for a separation between the buildable and non-buildable parts of the territory ". This legislation coupled with the concentration of its population within a territory constrained by significant relief has generated the image of a country that is economical in terms of land resources.

However, the Territorial Planning Law was revised in 2022 to meet the artificialization needs of a country marked both by vigorous economic and demographic growth and by a structural housing crisis of an unprecedented scale in Europe. The note also focuses on the policy of externalization of artificialization that Switzerland is pursuing outside its borders, like the urban sprawl of Geneva towards France.

Japan

With its 377.975 km2 and 124,7 million inhabitants, Japan is the 11th most populous country in the world, but only ranks 62nd in terms of the size of its territory. In addition, being a nearly 80% mountainous country, the vast majority of its population is concentrated in a very small number of coastal plains and inland basins, increasing the pressure of artificialization on scarce land.
However, Japan experiences very great population contrasts. For example, the department of Hokkaido, the large northern island, has a density of only 65 inhabitants per km2 and is in a situation of depopulation, while that of the department of Tokyo, the highest, exceeds 6 inhabitants per km300.

These geographic and demographic singularities have largely contributed to the myth of “lack of space”. However, Japanese land use planning is based on a spread out density which can be explained in particular by the structuring of urbanization around railway lines operated by private companies operating in the country.
Furthermore, the archipelago has been facing exceptional demographic decline for several decades that the public authorities have been unable to halt. Therefore, the question of land sobriety in Japan tends to be confused more with issues of de-artificialization rather than urban expansion.