Paris Oasis Schoolyards programme

Plan of the Charles Hermite Oasis Courtyard, Paris
Area characterisation: 

Paris is vulnerable to flooding from the Seine river. It is also a compact mineral city, increasingly subject to the heat island effect. Unpaving, greening and planting trees are thus real challenges and absolute necessities. Fortunately, implanting refreshing pockets of nature on permeabilized soil is made possible by the globally dense and homogeneous repartition of schoolyards. This is just what this project aims at, together with more education- and climate security-oriented purposes.The “Oasis” Schoolyards programme takes place in the wider framework of Paris’ Resilience Strategy. As such, it also attempts to meet the local requirements of socio-spatial inclusion, public environmental health and climate change mitigation.

Slideshow:

Nursery school, 12 rue de Torcy (18th arr., Paris). Planning references, photos by O. Brumard and F.  Renard (DEVE-SA) Nursery school, 12 rue de Torcy (18th arr., Paris). Planning references, photos by O. Brumard and F.  Renard (DEVE-SA) Primary  school  Louis  Blanc  (10th arr.,  Paris). Planning references, photos by O. Brumard and F.  Renard (DEVE-SA) Schematic representation of an impervious vegetable garden
Objective: 
  • Reduce the local heat island effect
  • Provide pupils with a healthy and stimulating learning environment
  • Educate residents to risk culture on climate change
  • Make refuges of freshness available to the most vulnerable populations
  • Create numerous meeting spaces to spur conviviality and solidarity
Actions: 
  • By using a light-coloured, low carbon footprint substrate with a modular porosity on schoolyards grounds, the latter are expected to be much cooler.
  • The ground’s cooling effect will be enhanced with the additional use of rainwater, by
  • ...
Potential impacts/benefits: 

Challenges

/goals

Enhancing

sustainable

urbanisation

Restoring

ecosystems and

their functions

Developing

climate change

mitigation

Developing

climate change

adaptation;

improving risk

management

and resilience

Challenge 1 :

Air/ambient

quality (to

reduce UHI

effect and/or

to improve

air/ambient

quality)

Improve air

quality.

Reducing

temperature at

meso or micro

scale.

Challenge 2 :

Climate

resilience

Increase

population &

infrastructures

protected by NBS.

Reduce droughtrisk.

Reduce flood risk.

Reduce risk of damages from drought.

Challenge 3 :

Water

management

Improve water

quality.

Increase

infiltration /

Water storage.

Reduce load to

sewer system.

Reduce run-off.

Flood peak

reduction.

Challenge 4 :

Public health

and well-being

Increase well-being.

Provision of

health benefits.

Increase

accessibility to

green open

spaces.

Changing image of the urban environment.

Carbon 

sequestration

and storage.

Challenge 5 :

Green space

management

(including

enhancing/

conserving

urban

biodiversity)

Increase Biodiversity.

Increase achievements of biodiversity targets.

Challenge 6 :

Social justice

and social

cohesion

Increase social

 interaction

Increase

communities’ sense of ownership.

Social inclusion

Challenge 7 :

Participatory

Planning and

Governance

Social learning

about location &

importance of NBS.

Increase stakeholder

awareness &

knowledge about NBS.

Increase awareness of NBS solution & their effectiveness and co benefits.

Challenge 8 :

Urban

regeneration

Increase amount

of green open

spaces for residents.

Increased cultural

richness and biodiversity

Transferability of the result: 

The results of this programme can be transposed to cities who want to:

  • Adapt cities to climate change by an urban and natural development:
    • Choose urban development considering NBS for social and climate challenges o Anticipate the evolution of urban infrastructure: consider NBS in face of repeated heat waves
  • Organize a participative management
Lessons learned: 

Process:

  • Integrated vision in response to various urban vulnerabilities
  • Inclusive approach of residents, public institutions and private sector
  • Share ideas and innovations from their cities

Objectives:

  • Ability to think systemically in order to multiply the benefits
  • Flexibility: natural and modular spaces and facilities capable of accommodating uses
Financing: 

The Municipality of Paris funds the project.

Contacts: 

Sebastien Maire sebastien.maire@paris.fr

Fompeyrine, Noemie noemie.fompeyrine@paris.fr

Goals:

  • Enhancing sustainable urbanization
  • Developing climate change mitigation
  • Improving risk management and resilience

NBS Actions:

  • Urban regeneration through nature-based solutions
  • Nature-based solutions for improving well-being in urban areas

Keywords:

Carbon sequestration and storage, Changing image of the urban environment, Climate change, Developing climate change adaptation; improving risk management and resilience, Ecosystem services, Green infrastructure, Nature-based solutions, Oceanic climatic, Public health, Regulating service, Resilience, Think Nature, ThinkNature, Urban, Flood peak reduction, Improve air quality, Increase achievements of biodiversity targets, Increase infiltration / Water storage, Improve water quality, Increase Biodiversity, Increase accessibility to green open spaces, Reduce drought risk, Increase amount of green open spaces for residents, Increased cultural richness and biodiversity, Reduce flood risk, Increase awareness of NBS solution & their effectiveness and co benefits, Reduce load to sewer system, Increase communities’ sense of ownership, Reduce risk of damages from drought, Increase population & infrastructures protected by NBS, Reduce run-off, Increase social interaction, Reducing temperature at meso or micro scale, Increase stakeholder awareness & knowledge about NBS, Developing climate change mitigation, Increase well-being, Restoring ecosystems and their functions, Enhancing sustainable urbanisation, Provision of health benefits, Social inclusion

Client:

Mairie de Paris

Design team:

Sébastien Maire, Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Paris

Publications and reports:

  • Mairie de Paris (2017, October), Action 10 : Transformer les cours d’écoles en « oasis », véritables îlots de fraîcheur (p.67), Stratégie de Résilience de Paris, paris.fr , Retrieved March 2018, from https://api-site-cdn.paris.fr/images/95335
  • GARAT Henri, Mairie de Paris, « Oasis » Schoolyards [not available online yet]

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