INVEST
- hélas adopté à Maurice - qui consiste à séparer le travail de l ’ habitat , l ’ habitat du commerce , le commerce des loisirs ou des services , etc ., l ’ aménagement mixte regroupe , à proximité les unes des autres , les diverses fonctionnalités d ’ un espace social . Ce dernier devient tout à la fois lieu de vie , de travail , il réunit des offres d ’ éducation , de loisirs , d ’ approvisionnement et consommation , cela structuré autour d ’ un espace public convivial , le tout conçu pour faciliter les déplacements à pied . Outre d ’ être mixtes , il est souhaitable que les quartiers soient denses et compacts ; idéalement , les usagers devraient pouvoir se rendre aux principales destinations en marchant pas plus de dix minutes de chez eux ou de leur travail .
Est-ce le modèle d ’ aménagement que Landscope entend adopter sur les terres dites de Highlands ? Tout à fait ! Même si nous parlons là d ’ une surface de 2 200 arpents , s ’ étendant du Bagatelle Dam à Belle Rive , d ’ Hermitage à Dagotière et Côte d ’ Or . Ce n ’ est donc pas qu ’ un quartier d ’ une ville qu ’ il s ’ agirait d ’ assainir et de rénover ; lorsqu ’ on dispose d ’ une telle étendue à dynamiser de manière soutenable , l ’ urbanisme contemporain préconise aussi d ’ utiliser la notion de transect . Pour faire simple , il s ’ agit de localiser , sur des axes allant du cœur de ville à ses périphéries , les variations paysagères et de densité urbaine . Le transect est un outil de représentation d ’ un espace en transformation , également un moyen de gestion des équilibres , voire de la biodiversité au sein de l ’ espace urbain . Outre les cartes d ’ occupation des sols et les plans des bâtiments , outils des géomètres , des notaires et des architectes , le transect contraint à appréhender la transversalité d ’ une zone à bâtir . Si cela avait été fait à Ébène , au lieu de laisser tout un chacun s ’ étendre selon ses souhaits , nous aurions peut-être évité la catastrophe environnementale que ce triangle est devenu .
Faute d ’ urbanistes à Maurice , vous avez sollicité des étrangers … Ce n ’ est pas totalement vrai de dire qu ’ il n ’ y a pas d ’ urbanistes à Maurice . Il serait plus juste de noter que les projets de développement ne sont jamais à échelle urbaine . Ceci étant , Landscope * travaille effectivement avec une placemaking consultancy internationale , Place Dynamix , domiciliée à Dubaï . Ce sont des intervenants de cette société qui ont animé notre premier atelier de présentation du projet aux stakeholders . Nous avons également engagé des partenariats avec des services publics spécialisés de La Réunion . À proximité des stades qui seront créés pour les Jeux des îles de l ’ océan Indien 2019 , ce qui oriente la thématique sports de la future ville , cette dernière et les infrastructures sportives devraient se nourrir et s ’ animer mutuellement .
Gérard Sanspeur , you are an economist whose work we remember – within the Freeport , the Board of Investment … Today , you seem to be primarily interested by urban development . What explains this change in priority ? There is no change in priority , only a change in field of activity . As you pointed out , I am an economist . This means that when working , my primary aim is the optimal use of available resources . And yet , what do I observe once I become president of the ex-State Land Development Company in order to influence the development of 920 hectares of prime land ? I note that most of the property developers ’ projects are dysfunctional on economic and social levels .
What exactly do you mean ? The business model of the property development is based on spreading out the residential area , comprising vast lawns that require an excessive amount of water and leads to wastage . Moreover , this living environment is laid out in such a way that interaction between neighbours , which gives rise to positive social and economic dynamic , is not promoted . The inhabitants in those residential plots are far from the workplace , schools and commercial outlets , generating traffic that exceeds any reasonable level . Living in this type of residential plot becomes taxing not only for the inhabitants but also for those bearing the consequences of such living environments : they have to bear pollution , traffic jams , water shortage and the privatisation of space .
How would you proceed if you were to choose alternative ways ? This is not about promoting my own ideas , or those of X or Y . However , over the years and across a range of countries , a school of thought based on practical experiences of societal life , and concerning space planning and urban development has emerged . The Death and Life of Great American Cities , published in 1961 , and written by the journalist and activist , Jane Jacobs , condemns the urban sprawl ; the spreading which was encouraged in the USA due to the ease of access to motorised vehicles . This school of thought has then gained followers in Europe , notably through the Prince ’ s Foundation for Building Community initiated by Prince Charles , as well as in the States , through the New Urbanism movement …
How would you describe this school of thought in a few words ? In a single word : diversity . Unlike planning into zones – unfortunately the current practice in Mauritius – which consists in separating the workplace , commercial outlets , leisure and services , etc . from the residential area , mixed planning groups the various functionalities of a social environment within a space that keeps them close to each other . This hub comprises the living environment , the workplace , schooling , leisure , food and commercial outlets , all structured around a friendly public space and designed to encourage pedestrial access . Other than being diverse , the area must be dense and compact ; people should ideally be able to reach the main facilities on foot within ten minutes from their residence or workplace .
Is this the planning model which Landscope will use on the plots of land known as Highlands ? Absolutely ! Even if in this case we are talking about an area of 2200 acres , spanning from Bagatelle Dam to Belle-Rive and from Hermitage to Dagotière and Côte d ’ Or . It is therefore not just a suburb which needs to be renovated and cleansed ; when we have such a big expanse to dynamise in a sustainable manner , contemporary urban development advocates transect planning . In other words , along the axes moving from the urban centre to its periphery , there needs to be alternance between urban concentration and varied landscapes . Transect planning is a tool which represents an area that is under transformation . It is also a means to manage balance , and protect biodiversity within the urban space . Other than being helpful for land and building use maps and tools for land surveyors , notaries and architects , the transept forces one to take into account the tranversality of the area to build on . If that had been done in Ebène , instead of allowing each and every one to sprawl as they wish , we would probably have been able to avoid the environmental disaster which this area is subject to .
The lack of urban planners in Mauritius has led you to recruit foreigners … It is not totally true to say that there are no urban planners in Mauritius . It would be more accurate to note that development projects are never on an urban scale . Having said that , Landscope is working with an international place making consultancy , Place Dynamix , headquartered in Dubai . The contributors from this company have animated our first project presentation workshop aimed at the stakeholders . We also engaged in partnerships with specialised public services from Reunion Island . Nearby , the stadiums that will be erected for the Indian Ocean Island Games 2019 ( Jeux des îles de l ’ océan Indien ) will make the future town a sports-oriented one . The sports facilities and the town will work together and to a certain extent interdepently .
* Landscope gère l ’ activité commerciale du patrimoine foncier et immobilier de l ’ Etat . * Landscope manages the commercial development of State land and property .
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