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Room for the River visits Orléans and Paris
At the invitation from the city council of Orléans a delegation of the Room for the River programme – lead partner of the FRC and ALFA project - visited the ‘Festival de Loire’ in Orléans on 23rd September. About 650,000 people visited the festival.
The delegation which consisted of Liesbeth van Riet Paap, Ben Broens and Cor Beekmans, was curious to hear about the way in which the French city council puts a great deal of effort into attempting to raise awareness of the positive aspects of the river Loire among its residents. They were also interested in the evacuation plan of the city, which will be implemented in case of flooding. The river behaves problematically for a few days every year and Orléans and the surrounding areas have to deal on average with of one flooding event every year. In order to prepare for such flooding, extensive evacuation simulations and evaluations are held. Coordinating evacuation between four different governing institutions and subsequently taking care of the resulting mess and repairing the damage is a very tough job.
During their visit to the ‘Rive Gauche’ district in Paris, the managing-director explained the situation using a model and subsequently showed the delegation around the new neighbourhood. The visit demonstrated how the French managed to transform an industrial site into a new district within a limited time frame. In this part of Paris, between the Gare
Austerlitz, the river Seine and the Peripherique, the only thing to be found ten years ago was a large French railway yard and a flour plant. Today, however, a new district has been created at this location, perfectly combining living, working and leisure. The area has also been built in a flood resistant manner. The area from the Seine to the railroads has been elevated and the lower parking lots have been given the additional function as flood storage basins which can then be cleaned up once the water has receded. The upper part, which is home to the metro and train traffic, never floods.
Foto 1 en 2 : Festival de Loire, bron: Rijkswaterstaat
At the invitation from the city council of Orléans a delegation of the Room for the River programme – lead partner of the FRC and ALFA project - visited the ‘Festival de Loire’ in Orléans on 23rd September. About 650,000 people visited the festival. The delegation which consisted of Liesbeth van Riet Paap, Ben Broens and Cor Beekmans, was curious to hear about the way in which the French city council puts a great deal of effort into attempting to raise awareness of the positive aspects of the river Loire among its residents. They were also interested in the evacuation plan of the city, which will be implemented in case of flooding. The river behaves problematically for a few days every year and Orléans and the surrounding areas have to deal on average with of one flooding event every year. In order to prepare for such flooding, extensive evacuation simulations and evaluations are held. Coordinating evacuation between four different governing institutions and subsequently taking care of the resulting mess and repairing the damage is a very tough job.
During their visit to the ‘Rive Gauche’ district in Paris, the managing-director explained the situation using a model and subsequently showed the delegation around the new neighbourhood. The visit demonstrated how the French managed to transform an industrial site into a new district within a limited time frame. In this part of Paris, between the Gare
Austerlitz, the river Seine and the Peripherique, the only thing to be found ten years ago was a large French railway yard and a flour plant. Today, however, a new district has been created at this location, perfectly combining living, working and leisure. The area has also been built in a flood resistant manner. The area from the Seine to the railroads has been elevated and the lower parking lots have been given the additional function as flood storage basins which can then be cleaned up once the water has receded. The upper part, which is home to the metro and train traffic, never floods.
Foto 1 en 2 : Festival de Loire, bron: Rijkswaterstaat
