Policy of the city in France

This article deals with the policy of the city in France.

The political of the city consists of a whole of actions of the State aiming revalorizing certain urban districts and at reducing the social inequalities between territories. It includes/understands legislative measurements and lawful in the field of the social action and town planning, in a partnership with the territorial collectivities often resting on a contractual basis.

The Local development, related with a voluntarist approach, is to some extent a process of transformation which accompanies an improvement by the local conditions over one period of more or less long run. It takes account of the characteristics economic, social and cultural local. Local development is also function of the territory on which it rests. The place of exercise of the public policies depends on administrative cutting, sometimes without correspondence with the “human geography”, of the identity membership and the conflicts which can result from it.

Presentation of the policy of the city

It is during the years 1970 and 1980 (see low a detailed chronology) than an comprehensive approach, at the same time social and urban, problems specific to the modern cities appeared necessary. This awakening led to the creation of a ministry for the city in 1991. This “policy of the city” has however a particular status, because, well beyond the ministry which is specifically dedicated to him, it consists of a broad whole of actions carried out by several ministries different within the framework from their own policies: measurements in favor of the Housing, policy in favor of the Employment and the Economic development of the districts, safety and prevention of the delinquency, secondary education and promotion of the “equal opportunity”… Not less than 11 of the 34 missions of the State identified by the project of Finance law for 2007 are gathered with a title or another under the banner of the policy of the city.

The policy of the city obliges the various government departments to cooperate between them, but implies also a partnership between the State and the territorial collectivities concerned. The State intervenes then within the framework of contracts concluded with the communes and other local actors: contracts of city, urban contracts of social cohesion. This action rests on a preliminary cartography of the urban territory, which identifies the districts which will be the subject of assistances: disadvantaged urban areas.

Disadvantaged urban areas

Article 1st of the law of November 14th, 1996 relating to the implementation of the pact of revival for the city gives a definition of the policy of the city: “The policy of the city and urban social development is led by the State and the territorial collectivities in the respect of the free administration of those, according to the principles of decentralization and within the framework of the policy of Town and country planning. ”

In addition to the objectives of diversity of the habitat and Social diversity defined by the law of July 13rd, 1991 of orientation for the city, the purpose of it is to fight against the phenomena of exclusion in urban space and to support professional insertion, social and cultural populations living in great whole or districts of degraded habitat.

The disadvantaged urban areas formalize the concept of “ailing district”: they are characterized by the presence of great whole or districts of degraded habitat and by an imbalance accentuated between the habitat and employment. They include/understand the zones of urban relaunching and the free urban zones (law of February 4th, 1995). The State counted 751 ZUS in France

Random links: