On May 19, 2021, the “Little town of tomorrow” agreement was signed in the town hall of Chasse-sur-Rhône between Christophe Bouvier, mayor of the town, and Jean-Yves Chiaro, then sub-prefect of the Vienne arrondissement.
Almost a year and a half later, on Wednesday December 21, 2022, I return to the same hall of the hunting commune, this time to really launch the system, with support funding, in the presence of Laurent Prévost, prefect of Isère and Denis Mauvais, sub-prefect of Vienne (photo above).
The year and a half that elapsed between these two dates was used to hire a manager of the “Little city of tomorrow” project and define the various operations to be launched and their roadmap.
This system of “small towns of tomorrow”, Chasse-sur-Rhône, it is true, it really needs it to face the various challenges it faces, starting with its galloping demographics: in ten years, from 2010 to 2020, the commune, due to its proximity to the metropolis of Lyon, has seen its population increase by 1,000 new inhabitants, an increase of almost 20%! And according to Christophe Bouvier, mayor, the 7,000 inhabitants are not far off.
A part of the population living in Lyon or in the Metropolis takes the direction of Chasse-sur-Rhône due to the many construction sites in progress, but also the prices which are around 4,000 euros per square metre. In short, still within the reach of a part of the population.
However, this demography also leads to adapting all municipal equipment to the new size of the municipality.
Fifty projects will be launched
Thus, under this mechanism, no less than fifty projects have been listed. And this, so that the Municipality can project itself into the next twenty years.
About twenty of these projects are already underway. More will be launched in 2023.
Among them: the redevelopment of the Château district where 80 dilapidated dwellings will be destroyed and replaced by owned social housing housing, compliant with the latest thermal standard, RT2020.
“We want to guarantee a residential course for all the inhabitants so that they can continue to live in Chasse-sur-Rhône, whatever their age,” Christophe Bouvier pledged.
There is also a health section, “with the creation of a health center and the arrival of doctors,” specified Christophe Bouvier.
Commerce has not been forgotten. Well surrounded by commercial areas, Chasse-sur-Rhône also intends to recreate the real city center it lacks. There is therefore no longer a hairdresser in the city centre, for example no bakery is open on Sundays. It’s also in the boxes…
Recreate a real city center
The projects also include mobility with the creation of cycle paths for Vienne and Givors; without forgetting the future RER in Lyonnaise, but which is not the responsibility of this municipality, but will prove to be important for the future.
The instructions for use of this “Little city of tomorrow? The Municipality will be able to apply for numerous project tenders and thanks to this brand it will have priority in obtaining concessions.
In short, the device was designed like this: it’s here to stay. This should allow Chasse-sur-Rhône to change its appearance, year after year.