The plaine du Var’s often anarchic development throughout the 20th century, has given it many of the characteristics of an economic suburb of the Nice agglomeration. Yet, with its 116 000 inhabitants, exceptional landscapes, and range of economic activities, this territory deserved better.
The State, as well as the local instances, after agreeing on the diagnosis, came together to conceive a new territorial project.
At the initiative of Christian Estrosi, the State deployed major means: The project was given the status of Operation of National Interest, with sustainable development as a guide line. A State run public development agency, referred to as EPA (Etablissement Public d’Aménagement) de la plaine du Var, was set up to pilot the ambitious project. Ambitious because of its extended scope: to propose a new urban planning model which combines ecology and economy. The ultimate goal, over the next thirty years, is to profoundly modify the economic structure of the metropolis, as well as the modes of transport and housing.