how to build without concreting the municipalities?

Building new houses without concreting the countryside is becoming a new challenge for municipalities. In Dreux (Eure-et-Loir), elected officials have decided to limit urban sprawl. Germaine Fraudin, president of the Association Vie Environnement Respect Nature, has lived in the city for 70 years. “We inevitably destroy the biodiversity of the soil below“, she says. The agglomeration decided to rehabilitate abandoned buildings rather than build on agricultural land.

Owners encouraged to sell part of their land

A factory, shut down since 2019, will become an exhibition or performance hall. “Agricultural land is cheaper than urbanized land“, explains Émilie Neveu, director of land use planning for the Dreux agglomeration. 94 hectares of wasteland have been identified and 20% have already been rehabilitated. In Périgueux (Dordogne), the town hall encourages owners of large plots to sell part of it to build new housing.