First line of tramway : a tool for the urban regeneration of the

city

1.a difficult social-economical background:

• Unemployment, socials problems (low level of health , alcoolism..),

• Hainaut was the only area in France classified « Objective 1 » FEDER.

• Wasted land in the heart of the city , damaged urban infrastructures,(linked to the closing of coal mines and steelworks industry in the 80’s)

Beyond the launching of the first line of tramway and the associated transportation policy, the initial will of the territory ( Siturv, city of Valenciennes and intercomunal structure  « Valenciennes Metropole ») was to use the tramway as a tool to rationalise urban planning et restaure social cohesion in a territory in crisis

This approach, mixing transportation and urbanism results from our history :

In the 60’s and 70’s , removal of most tramway networks in France (contrary to Belgium for instance) .

Towns have put in place bus networks (considered as a modern way of transportation at that time!)

Thats why, in the 80/90’s , when a few cities reinstaured the tramway in France, the whole concept of urban tram had to be reinvented.

Therefore the new concept was mainly to use tramways to structure cities. Urban projects were defined trhough the tramway

The new concept lead the transportation policy of Valenciennes

1st line territorial impacts

in Valenciennes

Tramway :Contributed to reshape the territory:Urban renewal of 70 % of public

space in the center of ValenciennesUrban renewal along the tramway

path (« de façade à façade ») Total renewal of the center of

Denain

Offered the territory a new positive image and a better quality of life to its inhabitants. Now it appears as the symbol of the city ( postals cards for instance)

tool of territorial marketing Insuflated a new dynamism to all cities

linked by the tram (urban renewal, private real estate…)

In Valenciennes , the tramway is more a tool which helped the renewwal of the city than a mean of transport in itself

Since 1989, 463 millions of Euros from FEDER injected in Valenciennes!

Denain

Tramway has helped the new vitality on the territory

The building of the tramway happened at the same time as the renewal of the local economy : it seems to be the trigger of the renewal of the city

economic activity has been rekindled through automobile production, railway industry (European Railway Agency, Alstom, Bombardier and suppliers, worldwide cluster “ITRANS”…), the University of Valenciennes and, in 2006, a new city tramway

Is tramway a tool to boost economy?

First line of tramway meant many new urban projects. The most emblematic:

Les Jardins de Valmont former waste land of 12 ha in the heart of the city of Anzin (only1,5 km from the train station of Valenciennes!)

This landscape project deals with housings,public building, shops and offices around the former castle Dampierre (19th century)

The whole urban project is structurated around the line of tramway and the interchange place (P+R, buses)

SITURV has received some more money because future services of bus Will serve some particular parts of towns.

Those parts are classified as a priority by the french state (ANRU)

« Les rives de l’Escaut »: former Vallourec Mannesman factory, in front of the station of Valenciennes along the Escaut: