The EcoCité Nice Côte d'Azur

The Eco-Vallée - view from Gattières © EPA

The Eco-Vallée - view from Gattières © EPA

The 3000 hectares of the Ecocité Nice Côte d’Azur will serve as a test lab for the urbanism of the future.

A national label

Following a national call for projects, the Southern part of the Var valley was selected as one of the thirteen EcoCités of France. Through the joint efforts of the EPA, the local territorial instances and the « Ville de demain »* funding, the Eco-Vallée is set to become an experimental territory for urban planning. The goal: to create a 21st century city model, based on sustainable development. The 3000 hectares of the ÉcoCité Nice Côte d’Azur are situated between the airport and the town of Saint-Laurent du Var to the South, and la Baronne-Lingostière to the North. In terms of sustainable development, four strategic axes have been defined, aiming for eco-exemplarity in terms of construction, the best mobility for inhabitants and workers, autonomy in terms energy consumption, and with the overall goal of serving as showcase for the intelligent city of the future. Three projects, led by the EPA, have been launched within the EcoCité area to date: Grand Arénas, Nice Méridia and La Baronne-Lingostière.

Public and private financing

The operation is piloted by Nice Côte d’Azur and the EPA Plaine du Var. A local pilot committee has been put in place. The project is also supported by local companies, major groups as well as SMEs. Among these, IT leaders IBM, Orange, CISCO, or Demetech, energy and urban service providers EDF, GDF Suez, and Veolia, and real estate actors such as Cogedim. 

Actions programmed

Three actions have, as of now, been selected, representing a total budget of 4.1 million euros financed (for investments and planning) by the « Ville de demain » funding.

The three actions are:

- to set up dedicated areas, within the multimodal hub, demonstrating how new technologies and urban services can help reduce the effects of the Mediterranean’s hot spells

- to put in place a network of charge points for electric vehicles.

- to set up a Smart Grid compatible chart for all urban planning and construction work. 

Preselected or eligible actions

Another set of actions, preselected or declared eligible, are currently under study:

1. The Nice-Saint Augustin Aéroport multimodal hub is to be a showcase for innovation with:

- Areas with high energy performance, based on innovative technologies.

- A state of the art data system, providing passengers with real time information

- An intelligent parking system to optimise the number of places available.

2. Within Méridia-Moulins

- Two solar power systems are to be installed to produce and store solar energy

- An urban monitoring system will be put in place

3. Transversal actions

- An electric car share system will be deployed (70 stations).

- The center of urban surveillance (CESURE) will keep an environmental watch over the urban sites covering natural and industrial risks as well as the impacts of climate change.

- An experimental geothermic cooling system, based on large quantities of sea water, is to be used for the Grand Arénas, in particular the Nice Saint-Augustin-Aéroport hub.

 

For more:

The "Ville de demain" funding, established by the Commissariat Général à l'Investissement (Prime minister’s cabinet), is dedicated to encouraging sustainable development measures.

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