
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 Valenciennes
 Urban
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: