Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

High-tech Toulouse

The city that built Concorde continues to look to the future, with urban development and regeneration at the top of the agenda

Text Rupert Wright

No one could accuse Toulouse of being backward looking. After all, this is the city that built Concorde and whose major tourist attraction is the Cité De L’espace – a theme park that features rockets and parts of the Mir space station. As the former capital of the Languedoc, Toulouse is justifiably proud of it past. Similarly, it’s mindful of the cachet conferred by its current position as pre-eminent city linking the

Atlantic to the Mediterranean Coast. But it remains a city that is chiefly concerned with the future.

As development in rival Mediterranean cities like Montpellier has accelerated, Toulouse has responded by investing heavily in its infrastructure – building roads, housing, bridges and even extending its tram line. And now, a newly elected mayor, socialist Pierre Cohen, has arrived with a mandate not only to continue this work, but to oversee the inception of new projects. Urban development and environmental sustainability have often made uneasy bedfellows, but under the auspices of Cohen, this may be set to change. He recently outlined a vision for the city that marries social responsibility with ambitious plans for growth:

“The 21st century will be about connectivity, particularly with regard to sustainable development. We need to get ready for the jobs of tomorrow.”

Toulouse is famous for its Capitole, which includes the City Hall, the Archives Tower and the courtyard of Henri IV. The Basilica of Saint-Sernin is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful religious buildings in France, while the neighbouring Jacobin Monastery dates from 1275. But under Cohen, preservation of the city’s rich architectural heritage will go beyond maintaining these few famous landmarks. ‘Le Grand Project de Ville’ (which best translates as the ‘Large City Project’) aims to revive neglected parts of the city centre. More than €20m has already been invested in the cleaning of façades and the restoration of dilapidated apartment blocks.

Some of Cohen’s initiatives are slightly contentious. One of his first projects was to make the city’s old town car free on the first Sunday of every month. But as a quid pro quo, all the museums in the area will open that day and entry will be free (although there’ll still be a charge for temporary exhibitions) – a canny move that’s sure to appease the 97,000 students who live here. Cleaner transport appears to be a recurring theme in Cohen’s manifesto. Taking his cue from Paris, Lyon and Montpellier, he plans to offer commuters free bicycles as an incentive to leave their cars at home.

Unsurprisingly, considering its role in the Airbus industry, Toulouse has always had excellent airline links. And now other modes of transport are finally catching up. There has been talk of extending the TGV line from Bordeaux to Toulouse – a plan which will cost an estimated €3bn and take until 2017 to complete. Somewhat sooner, the city’s newest tramline, ‘Route E’, will be completed. The 11km line, which has cost an estimated €50m, will run between Beauzelle (near AéroConstellation, where the Airbus 380 is built) to Arene in the city centre. It’s hoped it will ease congestion and offer people further inducement to take public transport.

In fact, there’s a distinctly sustainable stamp on the most high tech of projects here. One scheme Cohen has inherited from his predecessor is the Aérospace Campus, which will bring the Catalan company Foreign Office Architects together with the developer AltareaCogedim. The ambitious plan will see 40 hectares of land regenerated. Having been let go three years ago by Air France, the area will create laboratory space for 10,000 workers, from firms such as LAAS, Onera, CNRS and Cnes. There’ll also be a school for aeronautical engineers here – the development is modelled on American campuses, and it’s hoped that students and engineers will be able to mingle, fuelling future collaborations as well as applications for satellites. The total investment is expected to top €600m. Work is due to start in 2009, once planning has been confirmed, and the delivery of the first units is expected in 2011. Taking centre stage will be a 28-storey high glass skyscraper. More pertinently, cars will be banned from the park – passengers will have to leave their vehicles outside and get around either by bicycle or on foot.

No project will be more underpinned by the city’s respect and regard for the past than the construction of the Cancéropôle de Toulouse. Most of Toulouse’s inhabitants vividly remember France’s worst industrial accident in 60 years, when the AZF factory exploded on September 21, 2001. Now, the regional government and the European Union are funding a €1bn project to transform the 220-hectare site on which the AZF factory stood. The brainchild of pharmaceutical giant Pierre Fabre, the Cancéropôle is being built in phases, with a completion date of 2020. The centre will be split into three – a hospital and teaching university, a public research facility which will include a library and archives, and private research offices. And as well as serving to commemorate the lives of the 30 people who died that day, it will also provide employment for the local workforce, creating some 4,000 jobs by 2010.

With so much development afoot, the city is buzzing with projected schemes. Plans have been drawn up for the construction of a second airport, and a TGV line that would run to Montpellier and Barcelona, linking the city with the Mediterranean. The idea of an Aerospace Valley – which would house factories to support the city’s Airbus industry – has also been mooted.

And news of the newly buoyant mood in France’s fifth city is swiftly starting to spread. As property consultant Fiona Bennett commented:

“Toulouse is one of the most exciting cities in France at the moment. There are students, jobs, and a highly skilled workforce. The future is bright.”

FR Toulouse high-tech

Ancienne capitale du Languedoc, Toulouse est à juste titre fière de son passé, même si à l’heure actuelle, elle se sent plus préoccupée par son futur. Face au développement accéléré d’autres villes rivales de la Méditerranée comme Montpellier, Toulouse a répondu en investissant massivement dans ses infrastructures.

Le développement urbain et le développement durable n’ont jamais vraiment fonctionné main dans la main, mais sous les auspices de Pierre Cohen, le nouveau maire récemment élu, cette situation pourrait changer. Sa vision pour la ville intègre à la fois la responsabilité sociale et des plans ambitieux de croissance.

Un de ses projets consiste à faire de la vieille ville un espace sans voitures chaque premier dimanche du mois. A cette mesure, s’ajoutera l’ouverture et la gratuité de tous les musées.

L’objectif de ce Grand Projet de Ville est de raviver des quartiers négligés du centre ville. Parmi ces plans, on recense un projet de €20 millions pour nettoyer les façades et restaurer les immeubles à appartements délabrés. Cohen désire également faciliter les déplacements en vélo et il prévoit d’introduire des bicyclettes gratuites.

Du côté des transports publics, des améliorations sont également en vue. Des discussions ont été engagées sur une extension de €3 milliards de la ligne TGV de Bordeaux à Toulouse, mais elle ne verra le jour qu’en 2017. Un peu plus tôt, la nouvelle ligne de tram Beauzelle- Arene, d’un coût de €50 millions sera terminée, donnant un ballon d’oxygène à la congestion du trafic.

Cohen a hérité dans ses cartons du Campus Aérospace de €600 millions, qui créera un laboratoire de l’espace pour 10 000 travailleurs et une école pour ingénieurs aéronautiques. L’intention est de faire se rencontrer étudiants et ingénieurs en vue de futures collaborations. Les travaux devraient démarrer d’ici 2009.

Aucune construction ne sera plus liée au respect du passé de la ville que le Cancéropôle de Toulouse, construit sur le site de l’usine AZF qui a explosé en 2001. Prévu pour 2020, cet ouvrage de €1 milliard comprend à la fois une université et des infrastructures de recherche. Il commémorera la vie des 30 personnes qui sont décédées ce jour-là et il créera aussi 4 000 jobs à l’horizon 2010.

NL High-tech Toulouse

Als vroegere hoofdstad van de Languedoc is Toulouse trots op haar verleden, maar niettemin kijkt ze vooral naar de toekomst. Nu rivaliserende mediterrane steden als Montpellier zich in versneld tempo ontwikkelen, investeert Toulouse stevig in haar infrastructuur.

Stedenbouw en duurzaam milieubeleid gaan zelden samen, maar onder het waakzame oog van de pas verkozen burgemeester Pierre Cohen kan dat veranderen. Zijn visie voor de stad verzoent sociale verantwoordelijkheid met ambitieuze groeiplannen.

Een van zijn ideeën is om de oude binnenstad de eerste zondag van elke maand autovrij te maken. Als compensatie zullen alle musea er gratis hun deuren openen.

Le Grand Projet de Ville blaast verwaarloosde stadswijken nieuw leven in. Zo is € 20 miljoen uitgetrokken voor gevelreiniging en renovatie van vervallen flatgebouwen. Om zijn stadsgenoten aan het fietsen te krijgen wil Cohen gratis fietsen introduceren.

Ook het openbaar vervoer staat op zijn agenda. Er is overleg over een investering van € 3 miljard om de TGV-lijn van Bordeaux naar Toulouse door te trekken. Streefdatum: 2017. Eerder wordt € 50 miljoen geïnvesteerd in een nieuwe tramlijn Beauzelle-Arènes om het verkeer te ontlasten.

Daarnaast heeft Cohen de Aerospace Campus overgeërfd, een project van € 600 miljoen met laboratoriumruimte voor 10.000 werknemers en een school voor luchtvaartingenieurs. Uit het samenbrengen van studenten en ingenieurs zouden toekomstige partnerships kunnen ontstaan. De werken starten in 2009.

Geen enkel bouwproject illustreert zo goed het respect van Toulouse voor haar verleden als de geplande Cancéropôle op de terreinen van de AZF-fabriek, die op 21 september 2001 ontplofte. Dat bouwproject van € 1 miljard zou tegen 2020 klaar moeten zijn en combineert een academisch ziekenhuis met onderzoeksfaciliteiten. Dit eerbetoon aan de 30 mensen die toen het leven lieten, zal tegen 2010 zo’n 4000 extra banen opleveren.

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