MEDIA RELEASE PR36453
21st Century Urban Sustainable Development in Dijon, France
DIJON, Oct. 7/ PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
- Dijon Reaffirms its Desire to Become a Reference for Ecological Urban
Development
Communities influence and impact up to 50% of greenhouse gas
emissions through urban or rural planning policies, transportation and other
public measures. Because of this, communities have a heavy responsibility to
act on environmental issues and increase citizens' awareness. Through its
ecological urban policy, the city of Dijon, France, aims to create the best
conditions for regional development while promoting social cohesion in
harmony with the environment.
Burgundy's capital commits to the environment
Dijon is committed to environmental improvement on all levels.
The city has set an objective for carbon balance by 2010 and is following
a regional energy climate plan called PCET (plan climat énergie
territorial), designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It
has also applied for the European City'ergie label 2010.
With the objective to preserve its rich cultural heritage, protect
its surroundings and improve the quality of life of its citizens, le
Grand Dijon (Dijon and its surrounding region) in collaboration with key
actors in the region (citizens, associations, companies, institutions
and members of parliament), put forth an environmental Charter in 2004.
This Charter encompasses four major themes:
Transportation
Dijon is investing in alternative public
transportation modes and several projects are underway including:
construction of a tramway with two lines planned for 2013, usage of natural
gas in buses, free electric shuttles in the city centre, free bike system,
development of bike lanes, increasing car-free areas in the city centre,
investing in Dijon becoming a central connection city for the TGV network by
constructing three branches of the future LGV Rhin-Rhône high-speed railway
line.
Dijon's ecology friendly transportation
initiatives have received recognition on a national level and, at end of
2008, le Grand Dijon was granted the Ticket vert (Green ticket) by the FNAUT
(Fédération Nationale d'Associations d'Usagers des Transports), the French
consumer association specialised in public transportation.
Urbanism
The city of Dijon is systematically
supporting ecological urban construction solutions that comply with
sustainable development standards such as the French Haute Qualité
Environnementale (High Environmental Quality) standard for green building,
and the Bâtiment de basse consommation énergétique (Building of low energy
consumption) standard. The city is also promoting its eco-districts such as
those of Junot, Hyacinthe Vincent and the "Grand Sud".
In addition, a local urbanism plan, écoPLU,
will integrate different environmental projects and support construction with
positive energy. The Elithis Tower, the first positive energy office building
in the world, located in Dijon, exemplifies the type of eco-urban development
the Dijon is committed to supporting.
Water purification
Since 2004, le Grand Dijon has been leading
a meticulous water programme called "Eauvitale" that includes: constructing
two new purification centres that considerably reduce pollution, renovating
Dijon-Longvic purification centre's incinerator according to regulatory
norms, increasing water usage consciousness, pushing for tap water
consumption.
Dijon participates in a competitive cluster
of VITAGORA Goût Nutrition Santé (taste, nutrition, health) with the
objective to improve the taste of water to increase tap water consumption.
Recycling and waste management
Dijon aims to optimise waste management
through several actions: generalising selective waste collecting, creating a
domestic waste sorting centre designed to sort materials (wrappings and
papers) and sending this waste to specialised recycling centres, opening a
special unit for potentially infectious waste, renovating factory
incinerators according to European regulatory norms, installing a turbo
alternator which converts energy produced with combustible waste into
alternative energy.
Real determination for sustainable development
At a time when sustainable development becomes a necessity, Dijon and
its region are truly devoted to prioritising environmental issues. This is
reflected in the level of investment dedicated to protecting natural
resources; since 2002, the city has invested almost 100 million euro in
the environmental domain (investment in the tramway not included).
François REBSAMEN, Senator and Mayor of Dijon and president of
le Grand Dijon commented during the inauguration of the Elithis Tower:
"Sustainable development has to be a priority for all of us. It cannot be
considered a matter of a central decision level only. It must be reinforced
at all levels. I want us all, together, to make new forms of energy available
and to follow the example of the Elithis Tower to make of our city one of the
most symbolic examples of sustainable development."
For further information, please contact the press department below:
Open2Europe
Johanna Toiviainen
+33-1-55-02-14-58
j.toiviainen@open2europe.com
SOURCE: Dijon
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