INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL DE LANCY
EXTENDED ESSAY FREDDY HEDBERG - 07/01/2011
THE INFLUENCE OF GENEVA ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE TWO RURAL FRENCH SETTLEMENTS THOIRY AND ST. GENIS-POUILLY.
ABSTRACT Typically the rural urban fringe on the edge of cities/towns has been portrayed as socially homogeneous, relatively safe, with houses and green areas. This essay compares the quality of life of two such settlements in France on the border of Geneva, Switzerland and attempts to answer the question: To what degree does the growth of the Swiss city of Geneva affect the quality of life in the two rural French settlements of Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly that are closely situated to this city? The two settlements, Thoiry and St Genis, varying in size and distance from Geneva, were chosen for this investigation. A large amount of secondary data in the form of census data have been analysed. Only part of these data relevant to this study are presented in the essay. Data of real estate prices are also presented. Primary data in the form of surveys of house types and age, environmental quality surveys, noise surveys and a quality of life questionnaire have also been collected and analysed. In order to determine the quality of life of both settlements, one must determine if they are still rural. The Cloke’s theory with an index of rurality has been used for this purpose with the collected primary and secondary data as an input. From this study it was concluded that the two settlements are no longer rural but to a large extent can be classified as urban. Not all settlements are the same, in order to determine if Thoiry’s and St. Genis-Pouilly’s inhabitants have been affected by too much migration from Geneva, impacting on their personal lives, the Mitchell fourfold classification of open/closed and integrated/disintegrating communities was applied. The result was that a classification of open & disintegrating was the most favoured by the data.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract
3
Table Of Contents
4
Table of Figures
4
Introduction
6
Secondary Data
7
Primary Data
17
Analysis Methods
26
Cloke’s theory
26
Mitchell’s theory
27
Environmental quality survey
28
Discussion, Summary And Conclusions
30
References
35
Tables
48
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Map of France (left) with a close-up of the region studied (right).
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Table 1: A summary of some of the census data from 2008 (from INSEE).
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Figure 2: Satellite pictures of St. Genis-Pouilly3.
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Figure 3: Satellite pictures of Thoiry3.
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Figure 4: The left map shows France with the annual change of population density.
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Figure 5: The increase of the population (in %) since year 1968 (data from INSEE).
12
Figure 6: The age profile for people in St. Genis and Thoiry in year 1999 and 2007 (data from INSEE). 12 Figure 7: Pie chart showing what part of the population lives in houses and apartments9. Figure 8: Pie chart showing what part of the population owns its home9.
13
Figure 9: Pie chart showing how large the homes are in different communes9.
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13
Figure 10: Pie chart showing what part of the population has lived a certain time in the commune. 14 Figure 11: Pie chart showing the distribution of companies in the different communes (data from INSEE). 14 Figure 12: Map showing average real estate prices in Euros per m2. Prices below the map are for apartments/houses. 15 Figure 13: Frequency plot of the reply to the environment question in the questionnaire.18 Figure 14: Average score for various parts of Thoiry.
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Figure 15: Average score for various parts of St. Genis.
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Figure 16: Land-use map for St. Genis.
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Figure 17: Land-use map for Thoiry.
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Figure 18: Age of buildings in St. Genis.
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Figure 19: Age of buildings in Thoiry.
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Figure 20: Measurement of noise levels in St. Genis (the values are in dB).
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Figure 21: Measurement of noise levels in Thoiry (the values are in dB).
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Table 2: Rurality scoring table.
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Figure 22: The result of the bi-polar study using Cloke’s indicators.
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Table 3: Indicators for the Mitchell four-fold classification15.
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Table 4. The scoring table used in the environmental survey.
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Figure 23: The result of the bi-polar study using environmental indicators.
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Figure 24: Summary of the Cloke-type analysis.
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Figure 25: System diagrams of St Genis and Thoiry.
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Table A1: Rurality scoring table for Annemase.
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Table A2: Rurality scoring table for Lelex.
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Table A3: Rurality scoring table for St. Genis-Pouilly.
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Table A4: Rurality scoring table for Thoiry.
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Table B1: Environmental scoring table for Rue Briand Stresemann.
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Table B2: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Breu.
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Table B3: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Combes.
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Table B4: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Genève.
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Table B5: Environmental scoring table for Rue Blaise Pascal.
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Table B6: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Lyon.
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INTRODUCTION For several years the housing shortage in the Swiss city of Geneva has had a major impact on the rural settlements of the French Pays de Gex region to the west of the city (see Figure 1). This was once an agricultural area with a scattering of rural settlements. Thus it has been observed that life and land use have changed from predominantly agricultural to residential. Increasingly, the urban characteristics of the city appear to be slowly engulfing these communities and these settlements are becoming more like dormitory enclaves. The general consensus amongst friends and fellow residents of Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly has consistently been that the quality of life in these rural areas is diminishing and changing and I am curious to investigate what impact Geneva is really having on the area where I have grown up. What is the rapidly spreading urbanisation doing to the environment, demographics, social mix and land use? Are St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry becoming suburbs of the Swiss city of Geneva and losing the open landscape that attracted many people to Pays-de-Gex? The research question for this essay is therefore: To what degree does the growth of the Swiss city of Geneva affect the quality of life in the two rural French settlements of Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly that are closely situated to this city? The aim of this study is to examine and assess the two chosen settlements, including the environmental quality, noise pollution, housing prices and whether these settlements are open or closed ones and rural or urban in character. This requires the gathering of primary and secondary data and analyses using Cloke’s theory and Mitchell´s theory to determine characteristics and features of the two villages. The final results will be discussed with reference to Ravenstein’s laws of migration. The following points were studied in order to evaluate the hypothesis that the character of the two villages has been changed because of their proximity to the city of Geneva : • • • • •
How rural in character are the settlements of St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry? Are the settlements open or closed? What is the environmental quality in St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry? Have Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly become an extension of the outer suburbs of Geneva? How has the quality of life changed and is changing in St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry for inhabitants?
SECONDARY DATA French census data obtained from “Institute National de la statistique et des etudes economiques (INSEE)” was selected and analysed for the “communes” of Thoiry1 and St. Genis-Pouilly2 . The idea was to use this data as input to parts of a Cloke’s type analysis in which the level of rurality and urbanisation is quantified and measured.
Figure 1: Map of France (left) with a close-up of the region studied (right) 3. To verify that the Cloke method was working properly, two additional communes in the region were studied as a control sample. Lelex was chosen as an example of a very rural “commune”. It is bordering Thoiry but is on the other side of the Jura Mountains so it is very rural (see Figure 1). Annemasse is one of the larger French towns in the region and is located on the other side of Geneva. It was selected as an example of an urban French “commune” that could be compared as such with Thoiry and St. Genis. Table 1 contains some of the census data from INSEE that is relevant for this study. In this table, a comparison of the values for the Department of Ain was also made to provide a further sample for comparison. St. Genis-Pouilly4 (Table 1 and Figure 2) is a rural urban fringe settlement situated in the Ain Department in eastern France. It is located in the Pays-de-Gex, bordering the Swiss frontier and it 1
INSEE data for Thoiry : /www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/esl/default.asp?page=statistiques-locales/ chiffres-cles/recherche-zonage/choix-pdf&Niveau=COM&IdSelGeo=01419
2
INSEE data for St Genis : /www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/esl/default.asp?page=statistiqueslocales/chiffres-cles/recherche-zonage/choix-pdf&IdSelGeo=01354&Niveau=COM
3 4
From Google maps: /maps.google.com/ Description in French at /www.annuaire-mairie.fr/ville-saint-genis-pouilly.html
is part of the cross-border area of Geneva and is 4.83 km from central Geneva, with a population of 8,379 inhabitants in 2008 and a land area of 9.77km².
Table 1: A summary of some of the census data from 2008 (from INSEE). Thoiry5 (Table 1 and Figure 3) is a rural urban town located at the foot of the Jura Mountains in Pays-de-Gex, Ain Department, Rhone Alps region in France. It is approximately 5 km from St. Genis-Pouilly and 10 km from central Geneva, it had a population of 4,938 inhabitants in 2008 and has a land area of 28,93km². Geneva is located in Switzerland, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva. It is surrounded by two mountain chains, the Alps and the Jura. Population wise, it is the second largest city in Switzerland, with a population of 463, 919 inhabitants6. It is both a global and diplomatic city with a large financial centre. It has been described as the third European financial centre and the most compact metropolis7 . Figure 4 shows the size of the “communes” Thoiry, St. Genis, Lelex and Annemasse. This figure also shows the population density in France around Geneva and the annual change of population density in France. One can see that the population density is high and increasing around Geneva. Figure 5 shows the increase of the population since 1968. It is evident that both St. Genis and Thoiry have grown much more rapidly than both the rural example (Lelex) and the urban example (Annemasse). Figure 6 shows a plot of the age-profile of the people living in Thoiry and St. Genis in 1999 and 2007. One can see that there is not a large percentage of old people which would be typical of a rural village because younger residents more move to the cities in search of employment. Interestingly, the profiles of St. Genis and Thoiry are very similar.
5
Description in French at /www.annuaire-mairie.fr/ville-thoiry-01.html.
6
Data from /www.ge.ch/statistique/domaines/01/01_02_1/apercu.asp
7
Description at /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva
Figure 2: Satellite pictures of St. Genis-Pouilly3.
Figure 3: Satellite pictures of Thoiry3.
Figure 4: The left map shows France with the annual change of population density. The right map shows the population density in the region around the two communes that are being studied8. The lighter coloured area is Switzerland. The urban regions of Thoiry, St. Genis and Geneva have been indicated in black.
A set of graphs was produced to compare the housing situation in the different communes and these can be found in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10. From table 1 one can see that the inhabitants of Thoiry have a larger household income than the inhabitants of other communes. It is therefore not surprising that a larger fraction of Thoiry’s population lives in houses than in apartments and that a large proportion owns their own home. Other factors that have influenced this trend is building permits for individual houses which are still allowed in Thoiry whilst such permits are very rarely issued in St. Genis-Pouilly as the policy is to build only apartment blocks. It is a bit more surprising that residents in Lelex, which is the rural comparison example, also own their own homes to a large extend. The explanation for this trend is that Lelex is too far away from Geneva hence the land price values are much lower. One can see that the residents of Thoiry also have the highest living standard because their homes are the largest (Figure 9). When it comes to the time lived in the commune it is the rural Lelex where people stay the longest followed by Thoiry. This is another indication that people find the quality of life to be better in Thoiry. There is also information about the employment situation in the census. One can see in Table 1 that the unemployment situation is better in Thoiry than in St Genis, which explains to some extent why residents in Thoiry are wealthier. Surprisingly, rural Lelex has a very low unemployment rate, this is probably due to the unemployed migrating to the cities for employment. One can also see that the fraction of jobs per person in the commune is very large in Lelex compared with the other communes.
8
Maps from /www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/carto/ESL_CT_cartethematique.asp? nivgeo=COM&submit=Ok
Figure 5: The increase of the population (in %) since year 1968 (data from INSEE).
Figure 6: The age profile for people in St. Genis and Thoiry in year 1999 and 2007 (data from INSEE).
Figure 7: Pie chart showing what part of the population lives in houses and apartments9.
Figure 8: Pie chart showing what part of the population owns its home9.
Figure 9: Pie chart showing how large the homes are in different communes9.
Figure 10: Pie chart showing what part of the population has lived a certain time in the commune 9.
Figure 11: Pie chart showing the distribution of companies in the different communes (data from INSEE). Thoiry and St. Genis have a low proportion of jobs per inhabitant but as the unemployment rate is not very high this means that residents in both settlements work to a large extent in Geneva. If one looks at the distribution of companies (Figure 11), one can see that the largest amount of farming is practiced in Thoiry, though, it is relatively small, however, one would expect Lelex to have the highest amount of farming but it does not because of its geographical situation high up in the Jura Mountains. The largest fraction of companies in Thoiry is retails stores. This is because of a large 9
Pie charts from ``Carte de France´´ /www.cartesfrance.fr/
shopping complex, called “Val Thoiry” which is situated on the outskirts of Thoiry (see Figure 2) and this complex successfully attracts customers from other towns in Pays-de-Gex, including St. Genis, and residents from the Geneva region. An important factor for the quality of life is the affordability of housing. A survey was made using data from local real estate agents but this did not give a detailed picture (except that housing in the region is expensive) therefore an internet site10 has been used to obtain the average price per square meter in different French communes. The result is shown in Figure 12. One can see that real estate in Thoiry is the most expensive followed by St. Genis. In Annemasse the real estate is considerably cheaper and in Lelex, located on the other side of the Jura Mountains, the cost is less than half of that in Thoiry and St. Genis.
Figure 12: Map showing average real estate prices in Euros per m2. Prices below the map are for apartments/houses10 .
10
Data and map from the real estate site “Meilleurs Agents” at www.meilleursagents.com/priximmobilier/.
One factor which is difficult to measure is the French population’s resentment towards the large influx of foreigners in the region. There is, however, one right-wing French party, Front National (FN), that has anti-immigration as an important part of its platform11. The party is mostly against Muslim immigration and not European immigration, but the voting record can still give an indication of French citizens’ opinion towards immigration. In the first round of the 2007 presidential elections, FN received 10.4% of the votes in France12. In Thoiry 7.1% voted for the FN candidate, in St. Genis-Pouilly 8.9% and in the control sample the results were 12.4% for Lelex and 9.5% for Annemasse. There is therefore no evidence that the large immigration to Thoiry and St. Genis has resulted in a large resentment of foreigners.
11
National Front Wikipedia /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_(France)#Immigration
12
French election results from the ministry of the interior /www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/ a_votre_service/resultats-elections/PR2007/index.html
PRIMARY DATA A questionnaire was design in French and English to collect primary data which served to give firsthand information on occupations, residents’ opinions regarding openness to change, crime and how long they had lived in Thoiry/St. Genis-Pouilly (see Appendix C). This questionnaire was given to people at the local primary school, the supermarket and the town centre in St. Genis. In Thoiry, it was given out to residents at the Sunday market place and the primary school. In total 21 replies were collected in St. Genis and 20 in Thoiry. The second aim of the questionnaire was to collect information about living conditions and opinions about the living environment. The question about the environment looked like this:
An average score for this question was calculated for each questionnaire and was then entered into the frequency plot in Figure 13. The results clearly show that the people in Thoiry rate their environment higher than the people in St Genis. The following question asked the people to score the various areas of Thoiry. A similar question was made for St. Genis.
The results are given in Figure 14 for Thoiry and Figure 15 for St. Genis. For both villages one can see that there are clear differences between different parts of the settlements. The parts with mostly single family homes are scored to be the more attractive and the parts with apartment blocks the least attractive.
Figure 13: Frequency plot of the reply to the environment question in the questionnaire.
Figure 14: Average score for various parts of Thoiry.
Figure 15: Average score for various parts of St. Genis. The satellites photos of St. Genis and Thoiry in Figures 2 and 3 show a clear difference between the two villages since St. Genis has more apartment blocks than Thoiry. This is also quantified in Figure 7. Land-use maps have been made to investigate this and other further aspects (see Figure 16 and 17). The categories used were “villas” (single-household houses), “apartments” (houses for many house-holds), “commerce” (shops), “municipal” (buildings used by the local authorities), “leisure” (sport facilities, cinemas, theatre etc), “industrial” (companies of all sorts), “abandoned” (vacant/derelict buildings) and open fields. The map of St. Genis shows a settlement with a mixture of villas and apartments, a main road with shops and an industrial area with company buildings. The picture for Thoiry is very different. It has only a few apartment blocks in the town centre but it is otherwise completely dominated by villas. There are only a few shops in the town centre since most shops are concentrated in “Val Thoiry”, the shopping area outside of the town which is not shown in Figure 17 but can be seen in Figure 3. By examining the land use of these two maps it was also possible to assess some aspects of the quality of life in terms of residents´ type of housing, as public high-rise housing is quite often where substantial numbers of low-income, “problem” households have become localised13. The census data shows (see Figure 5) that the population of St. Genis and Thoiry has increased rapidly during the last 40 years. Maps of the age of buildings have been made to further study how the two settlements have developed (see Figure 18 and 19). The map of St. Genis shows a very small village before the year 1900 that then grew rapidly through the construction of both apartment blocks and villas. A large part of the town has been constructed during the last decade. The map of Thoiry shows that there were originally two villages in this “commune “and that these have now joined together through rapid construction of single-household houses.
13
Urban Social Geography, Environment and behaviour in urban settings – The urban geography of social crime, page 220.
Figure 16: Land-use map for St. Genis.
Figure 17: Land-use map for Thoiry.
Figure 18: Age of buildings in St. Genis.
Figure 19: Age of buildings in Thoiry.
A measurement of the noise level from traffic has been made in the two villages in order to evaluate the quality of life. Three streets (including the main street) were chosen in the centre of each village. The measurements were carried out during weekdays between 17:00 and 18:00 when the traffic is at its highest. At each measurement point the noise level was measured 5 times with a one minute interval and the average value was calculated. These are plotted in Figures 20 and 21. The average noise level on the main street in St. Genis (Rue de Genève) was 75.1 dB. For the other two streets the values were 73.2 (Rue de Lyon) and 65.0 (Rue Blaise Pascal). The latter street has less traffic than the other two and that shows in the lower noise level result. In Thoiry, the main street (Rue Briand Stresemann) had an average of 77.0 dB while the two other streets had 69.1 dB (Rue de Combes) and 68.7 db (Rue de Brue). Again showing that the main street was noisier as one would expect. A difference of 10 dB might not look like much but one has to remember that this is a logarithmic scale and so a 10 db difference is significant.
Figure 20: Measurement of noise levels in St. Genis (the values are in dB).
Finally, an environmental quality survey was made of the same streets studied in the noise survey. Twelve different environmental characteristics were scored from -2 (very bad) to +2 (very good) for the three streets in each town. The characteristics that were studied where: lighting, conditions of roads and pavements, litter, vandalism, congestion, noise, open space, proximity to shops, parking, garden size, recreation facilities and landscaping.
Figure 21: Measurement of noise levels in Thoiry (the values are in dB).
ANALYSIS METHODS Different analysis methods have been applied on the primary and secondary data to try to combine and analyse these and make it possible to draw conclusions. CLOKE’S THEORY
In order to determine the quality of life of both settlements, one must determine if they are still rural. The Cloke’s theory, the index of rurality is a method of measuring the intensity of change over distance, although this theory is based on England and Wales, it has been applied in this study to St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry. The index is obtained by combining a range of measures which varies from absolute urbanity at one end to extreme rurality at the other14. One is then able to conclude from using such a model if Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly still have some traits of rurality or if they are no longer rural settlements. The scoring table shown in table 2 is based on Cloke’s criteria and was used to score, not only Thoiry and St. Genis, but also Lelex and Annemasse as two control samples.
Table 2: Rurality scoring table. The scoring of the population characteristics in this table was based mainly on secondary census data (Table 1 and Figures 4 to 11). The building and service characteristics were on the other hand based mainly on primary data, in particular the land-use maps (Figure 16 and 17) and the building age survey (Figure 18 and 19) as well as the satellite photos (Figure 2 and 3). The detailed results of the scoring are given in Appendix A. The result of the scoring is then used in a bi-polar analysis in which all positive and negative scores are added up separately and then plotted in a graph (Figure 22). The profiles of the two control samples (Lelex and Annemasse) are very different and by comparing these with those of Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly one can see that these settlements are much more urban than rural. One can also see that St. Genis-Pouilly has a more urban profile than Thoiry. 14
Advanced Geography, Nagle, p258
Figure 22: The result of the bi-polar study using Cloke’s indicators. MITCHELL’S THEORY
Mitchell has proposed a classification15 of villages into open and closed as well as integrating and disintegrating. An open settlement is one which is willing to change with time while a close settlement is unwilling to do so. Integrated villages are socially successful while disintegrating villages are not. Mitchell therefore proposes a four-fold classification with the indicators given in Table 3. Using these indicators and our primary and secondary data we can see that the two villages can best be described as open disintegrating. The control sample consisting of Lelex and Annemasse would best be described as closed integrated and open integrated.
Table 3: Indicators for the Mitchell four-fold classification15.
15
Advanced Geography, The rural mosaic, Nagle, page 258.
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY SURVEY
Quality of life is associated with the physical environment we live in. To assess environmental quality, one needs to define its concept which usually includes: • • • • •
Visual appeal - garden landscapes, views and open spaces Functionality - proper roads and lighting, parking facilities, good footpaths, and street furniture Recreational facilities - children’s playgrounds, sports stadium, football grounds Availability to local shops/services. Clean and tidy - no litter, clear of vandalism and graffiti.
A bi-polar survey was designed to take into account the above indicators and data were collected along three land transects in the centre of both settlements as these represented both the centre with shops and residential areas. This survey was undertaken to gain more knowledge about these two settlements’ physical environment as a good environment contributes to a better quality of life. The scoring table used is shown as Table 4. The streets where the data for this study were collected are shown in Figures 20 and 21.
Table 4. The scoring table used in the environmental survey.
The result of the bi-polar analysis is shown in Figure 23 with the detailed results of the scoring given in Appendix B. All six streets that were surveyed had a very good environment but the streets in Thoiry had a somewhat better score than those of St Genis.
Figure 23: The result of the bi-polar study using environmental indicators.
DISCUSSION, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS After collecting relevant primary and secondary data and applying different methods to these data, one can try to answer the main questions that are relevant to this essay.
HOW RURAL IN CHARACTER ARE THE SETTLEMENTS OF ST GENIS-POUILLY AND THOIRY?
A lot of primary and secondary data have been used to perform a Cloke type classification of the two villages. The results in Figure 19 are summarised in Figure 24 and show that both settlements now have an urban character with Thoiry slightly less urban than St Genis. These villages were clearly very rural up to the 1960s when they started to become more and more urbanised and to a larger extent, suburbs of Geneva.
Figure 24: Summary of the Cloke-type analysis.
ARE THE SETTLEMENTS OPEN OR CLOSED?
Following Mitchell’s classification it has been determined that St Genis and Thoiry can best be described as being open disintegrating. The only indicator that is not fulfilled is that of “social tensions”. Because of the lack of affordable housing in Thoiry and very few apartments, most people who can afford to live in this settlement are at least middle-class and from the questionnaire, there appears to be hardly any social tension. The very high level of foreigners living there probably does create some resentment among the French but since the foreigners are mostly at the same social level as the French there are few conflicts. The voting record shows that people in Thoiry vote less for the anti-immigration Front National party than the rest of France. In St Genis there is more affordable housing and the population is more varied which could lead to more social conflicts. There is also a larger portion of the French voting for FN buts still less than the national average.
Figure 25: System diagrams of St Genis and Thoiry.
WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN ST. GENIS-POUILLY AND THOIRY?
The term, the built environment refers to a human made area for human activity ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighbourhoods and cities that include supporting infrastructure such as water supply and energy networks16. Geneva’s built environment is highly developed with an acute shortage of accommodation. The green belt on the Franco/Swiss border appears to be threatened by the increase in construction of residential units varying in size from small housing developments to high density apartment blocks. The environmental quality survey (see Figure 23) showed that the streets in the centre of both settlements have a high environmental quality. In Thoiry there was hardly any litter, graffiti or vandalism and the negative score of two of the three streets were zero. In St. Genis there was some level of vandalism which pulled down the score somewhat but also here the environment was good. The questionnaire study also showed that people in Thoiry rate their environment higher than the people in St. Genis (see Figure 13). Both settlements had differences between the score for different parts of the towns (see Figure 14 and 15) with the parts dominated by single family homes being more popular than the parts with apartment blocks. While St. Genis-Pouilly is expanding rapidly and its green space is disappearing, more and more high density apartment living is becoming the norm in this town, most of the housing is apartment blocks (68%). Thoiry has much more rural space with a smaller population and its distance from Geneva has helped to preserve its environment.
HAVE THOIRY AND ST. GENIS-POUILLY BECOME AN EXTENSION OF THE OUTER SUBURBS OF GENEVA?
The study of the age of the buildings in the two settlements (Figure 18 and 19) shows that both were small villages before the 20th century and that they have undergone a rapid expansion during the last century. There has been a phenomenal increase in the population since the sixties (Figure 5) which is much larger than a natural population increase. At the same time the ratio of the number of jobs in the settlements divided by the population is low, as well as the unemployment (Table 1). This means that most people in the two towns are working in other settlements, most likely Geneva. With the increasing impacts of globalisation, many transnational corporations (TNC's) have moved their headquarters to Geneva because they receive substantial tax breaks and many American and non-European companies have a chance to gain access to the European market. The influx of TNC's has increased the number of workers in Geneva and led to a huge shortage of housing. The 2010 statistics for the city of Geneva indicated that it experienced an influx of 27,733 people migrating to its city whilst 23,187 people emigrated which means that there was an increase of 4,546 people moving to Geneva17. This situation was foreseen and some years ago the Swiss authorities with the Geneva City Council negotiated with the French authorities in Pays-de-Gex, 16
/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Built_environment
17
Office cantonal de la statistique, Communiqué de presse, Genève, janvier 2011.
France to allow French border workers (“les frontaliers”) to legally be employed in Geneva in exchange for Swiss nationals working in the Geneva area to be allowed to legally reside on a permanent basis in Pays-de-Gex18 . From the inception of the “Chartre d´engagement du Projet d’agglomération” in 200719 the rural settlements of St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry have absorbed much migration from Geneva to their communities. Ravenstein’s laws of migration can be applied, that of the “push” and “pull” factors20, it is attributed as the reason for so much cross-border migration in the Pays-de-Gex. Geneva’s physical geography as a plain between the Jura mountains and the Salève mountain range circulating Lake Geneva makes land scarce. This is the ultimate reason for lack of accommodation in this city. Therefore, Geneva dwellers are pushed out of the city limits because of the expensive real estate market21 or they are unable to find accommodation, hence these “push” factors force them into rural France where the “pull” factors, of having more space, much more accommodation choices (house or apartment), lower costs, the possibility of having a garden, more green spaces and being close to nature make it a much more attractive place to live.
HOW HAS THE QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGED AND IS CHANGING IN ST. GENIS-POUILLY AND THOIRY FOR INHABITANTS?
One can conclude that Thoiry and St. Genis-Pouilly have undergone a rapid increase in population and a rapid change from rural to urban settlements. They can now be regarded as “open” settlements. The urban environment can, however, be regarded as good in both villages. For the inhabitants already living in St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry one of the results of the large migration from Switzerland has been a rapid increase of real estate prices (Figure 12). These towns now have a housing market that is much more expensive than most other areas of France which makes it difficult for young people and people with modest incomes to live in these settlements. Urban sprawl is linked to Geneva’s growth, the results of this growth are perceived as loss of farmland, wildlife habitats, increased water use, increased noise and air pollution, increased energy consumption and social fragmentation22. In many ways, St. Genis-Pouilly and Thoiry are experiencing the negative impact of urban sprawl as farmland and forests are being deforested/ degraded into residential areas and residents have to commute to work in Geneva, thus elevating air and noise pollution. There clearly is an increase in cross-border movement. The impacts from the increase of people moving to St Genis and Thoiry can be negative in other aspects, for example an increase in construction, a lack of services such as schools, social 18 19
20 21
22
Le Point, Pays de Gex, Des projets qui font débat, 21 April 2011, Vol. no. 2014, pp. 127-130. "L'agglomération Franco-valdo-genevoise." /www.espaces-transfrontaliers.org/territoire/ terri_doc_ag_fvg.html CSISS Classics – Ernest George Ravenstein: The Laws of Migration Average rental price in Geneva for a 90m² flat is CHF3,500 per month, to buy an 85m² flat in Geneva is CHF990,000. To rent a 100m² house in Geneva is CHF4,600 and to buy a 110m² Townhouse costs CHF1,390,000. Source: www.immoscout24.ch. Land use and urban sprawl, Clean Water Action Council, /cwac.net/landuse/index.html.
change, less agricultural land and border congestions. However, positive aspects of this migration are the creation of social integration, enhancing cultural experience for the French and other resident nationalities. Also, increased tax revenue creates more public spending on infrastructure and public/private services. Figure 25 show a system diagram that summarised the positive and negative aspects of the development of St Genis and Thoiry. In conclusion, the growth of Geneva has had an impact on both settlements. However, the quality of life is to some large extent subjective as some people prefer to live in an urban environment with lots of services and leisure activities while others prefer a rural settlement with a social network, private gardens and closeness to nature. All the residents interviewed realised that their settlement had grown, some were skeptical about further expansion whilst others considered it to be an advantage, overall, most residents seemed to be satisfied with their life quality of life.
WORDCOUNT: 4439 
REFERENCES "Built Environment." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Built_environment>. CARTE DE FRANCE : Départements Régions Villes - Carte France. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.cartesfrance.fr/>. "Cartes Thématiques - Statistiques Locales." Insee Statistiques Locales. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/carto/ESL_CT_cartethematique.asp?nivgeo=COM>. Cloke, Paul J. Introducing Human Geographies. London: Hodder Education, 2009. Print. “Croissance démographique genevoise : + 6 291 habitants en 2010” "Statistiques Cantonales République Et Canton De Genève." Bienvenue à Genève. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ge.ch/statistique/tel/compresse/2011/geneve_cp_2011_02.pdf> "Des Projets Qui Font Débat - Le Point." Le Point – Actualité Politique, Monde, France, Économie, High-Tech, Culture. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.lepoint.fr/villes/des-projets-qui-font-debat-21-04-2011-1324201_27.php>. Flint, Corrin, and David Flint. Urbanisation: Changing Environments. London: Collins Educational, 2003. Print. "Geneva." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Geneva>. Google Maps. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en>. "Insee - Bases De Données - Statistiques Locales - Recherche De Chiffres-clés Sur Un Territoire." Insee Statistiques Locales. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.statistiques-locales.insee.fr/esl/default.asp?page=statistiques-locales/chiffres-cles/ recherche-zonage/choix-pdf>. Knox, Paul L., and Steven Pinch. Urban Social Geography: An Introduction. Harlow, England: Pearson Education, 2006. Print. "L'agglomération Franco-valdo-genevoise." Espaces Transfrontaliers: Le Site De La Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.espaces-transfrontaliers.org/territoire/terri_doc_ag_fvg.html>. "Land Use and Urban Sprawl on Clean Water Action Council." Clean Water Action Council - CWAC. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://cwac.net/landuse/index.html>. Le Site Officiel Du Ministère De L'Intérieur, De L'Outre-mer, Des Collectivités Territoriales Et De L'Immigration. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/resultats-elections/PR2007/index.html>. Nagle, Garrett. Advanced Geography. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print. "National Front (France)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Front_(France)>.
"OFFICE CANTONAL DE LA STATISTIQUE." République Et Canton De Genève (Suisse) - Ge.ch Administration Cantonale Genevoise. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ge.ch/statistique/domaines/01/01_02_1/apercu.asp>. "Prix Immobilier : Le Prix Du M2 Pour Toutes Les Villes De France." MeilleursAgents : Agence Immobiliere, Estimation Et Prix Immobilier. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http:// www.meilleursagents.com/prix-immobilier/>. Ravenstein, Ernest George. The Laws of Migration. Indianapolis: Robbs-Merrill, 1970. Print. "Ville De Saint-Genis-Pouilly - La Commune, La Mairie De Saint-Genis-Pouilly Et Sa Ville En France, Rhône-Alpes." Annuaire Mairie - Informations Sur Les Mairies Et Les Villes De France. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.annuaire-mairie.fr/ville-saint-genis-pouilly.html>. "Ville De Thoiry - La Commune, La Mairie De Thoiry Et Sa Ville - Ain En France, Rhône-Alpes." Annuaire Mairie - Informations Sur Les Mairies Et Les Villes De France. Web. 08 Jan. 2012. <http://www.annuaire-mairie.fr/ville-thoiry-01.html>.
Appendix A – Cloke Type Scoring Results Annemasse
RURAL
Rurality score -2
Population
-1
0
+1
Low population density
URBAN +2 √
High population density
Decreasing population
√
Increasing population
High % over 65 years
√
Low % over 65 years
Low % males 15-45 year
√
High % farmers Low % industrial workers
High % males 15-45 year
√
Low % farmers High % industrial workers
√
Low % commuting
√
High % commuting
Low % stayed < 5 years
√
High % stayed < 5 years
Low building density
√
High building density
High % old building style
√
High % new building style
Lots of open spaces
√
Little open spaces
Distance from a city
Far away from the city
√
Close to the city
Services
Only minor roads
√
Major road access
No public transport
√
Frequent public transport
Few services
√
Many services
Few streetlights
√
Many streetlights
Buildings
Table A1: Rurality scoring table for Annemase.
Lelex
RURAL
Rurality score -2
Population
Low population density
-1
+1
+2 High population density
√
Decreasing population
√
Increasing population
High % over 65 years
√
Low % over 65 years
Low % males 15-45 year
√
High % males 15-45 year
High % farmers
√
Low % farmers
Low % industrial workers
√
High % industrial workers
Low % commuting
√
High % commuting
Low % stayed < 5 years Buildings
0
URBAN
Low building density
√ √
High % old building style
High % stayed < 5 years High building density
√
High % new building style
Lots of open spaces
√
Little open spaces
Distance from a city
Far away from the city
√
Close to the city
Services
Only minor roads
√
Major road access
No public transport
√
Frequent public transport
Few services
√
Many services
Few streetlights
√
Many streetlights
Table A2: Rurality scoring table for Lelex.
St. GenisPouilly
RURAL
Rurality score -2
Population
-1
0
+1
+2
Low population density
√
High population density
Decreasing population
√
Increasing population
√
High % over 65 years
Low % over 65 years
Low % males 15-45 year High % farmers
√
Low % farmers High % industrial workers
√ √
Low % commuting Low % stayed < 5 years
High % males 15-45 year
√
Low % industrial workers
Buildings
URBAN
High % commuting High % stayed < 5 years
√
Low building density
√
High building density
High % old building style
√
High % new building style
Lots of open spaces
Little open spaces
√
Distance from a city
Far away from the city
√
Close to the city
Services
Only minor roads
√
Major road access
No public transport
√
Frequent public transport
Few services
√
Many services
Few streetlights
√
Many streetlights
Table A3: Rurality scoring table for St. Genis-Pouilly.
THOIRY
RURAL
Rurality score -2
Population
-1
0
+1
+2
Low population density
√
High population density
Decreasing population
√
Increasing population
High % over 65 years
√
Low % males 15-45 year
Low % industrial workers
Low % over 65 years High % males 15-45 year
√ √
High % farmers
Low % farmers High % industrial workers
√ √
Low % commuting
Buildings
URBAN
High % commuting
Low % stayed < 5 years
√
High % stayed < 5 years
Low building density
√
High building density
High % old building style Lots of open spaces
High % new building style
√ √
Little open spaces
Distance from a city
Far away from the city
√
Close to the city
Services
Only minor roads
√
Major road access
No public transport
√
Frequent public transport
Few services Few streetlights
Many services
√ √
Table A4: Rurality scoring table for Thoiry.
Many streetlights
Appendix B – Scoring Results In The Environmental Study
Environmental score Rue Briand Stresemann
-2
-1
0
+1
bad
+2 good
Lighting
√
Conditions of roads and pavement
√
Littered
√
Vandalism
√
Congestion
√
Noise
√
Open space
√
Proximity to shops
√
Parking spaces
√
Garden size
√
Recreation facilities
√
Landscaping
√
Table B1: Environmental scoring table for Rue Briand Stresemann.
Environmental score Rue de Breu
-2
-1
0
+1
bad
+2 good
Lighting
√
Conditions of roads and pavement
√
Littered
√
Vandalism
√
Congestion Noise
√ √
Open space
√
Proximity to shops
√
Parking spaces
√
Garden size
√
Recreation facilities
√
Landscaping
√
Table B2: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Breu.
Environmental score Rue de Combes
-2
-1
0
+1
bad
good
Lighting
√
Conditions of roads and pavement
√
Littered
√
Vandalism
√
Congestion
√
Noise
√
Open space
√
Proximity to shops
√
Parking spaces
√
Garden size
√
Recreation facilities
√
Landscaping
√
Table B3: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Combes.
\
+2
Environmental score Rue de Geneve
-2
-1
0
+1
bad
+2 good
Lighting
√
Conditions of roads and pavement
√
Littered
√
Vandalism
√
Congestion
√
Noise
√
Open space
√
Proximity to shops
√
Parking spaces
√
Garden size
√
Recreation facilities
√
Landscaping
√
Table B4: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Genève.
Environmental score Rue Blaise Pascal
-2
-1
0
+1
bad
good
Lighting
√
Conditions of roads and pavement
√
Littered
√
Vandalism
√
Congestion
√
Noise Open space
+2
√ √
Proximity to shops
√
Parking spaces
√
Garden size
√
Recreation facilities
√
Landscaping
√
Table B5: Environmental scoring table for Rue Blaise Pascal.
Environmental score Rue de Lyon
-2
-1
0
+1
bad
+2 good
Lighting
√
Conditions of roads and pavement
√
Littered
√
Vandalism
√
Congestion
√
Noise
√
Open space
√
Proximity to shops
√
Parking spaces
√
Garden size Recreation facilities Landscaping
√ √ √
Table B6: Environmental scoring table for Rue de Lyon.
Appendix C â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Questionnaire Used To Study The Quality Of Life
!
Appendix D – How The Figures Were Made Figure 1. Maps from Google were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program. Figure 2-3. Three satellite pictures from Google were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program Figure 4. Maps from the INSEE site were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program. Figure 5-6. Data from the INSEE site was analysed and plotted by the Excel spreadsheet program. Figure 7-10. Pie charts from the “Carte de France” site were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program. Figure 11. Data from the INSEE site was analysed and plotted by the Excel spreadsheet program. Figure 12. Data and three maps from the site “Meilleur Agents” were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program. Figure 13-15. Data was analysed and plotted by the Excel spreadsheet program. Figure 16-19. Empty maps obtained from the town hall were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program. Figure 20-21. Several satellite pictures from Google were assembled and annotated by the Adobe Framemaker program. Figure 22-23. Data was analysed and plotted by the Excel spreadsheet program. Figure 24-25. Figures were created with NEO Office program.
TABLES
Population Land area (km2) Population density (person/km2) Annual change in population density Number of households Average number of persons/household Fraction of females in population Average net household income (euros) Unemployment rate Fraction of companies with no Fractions of jobs per inhabitant
RURAL
Buildings
Services
St Genis 8,379 9.77 858 +3.1% 3,569 2.3 47% 28,277 8.3% 58% 28%
Rurality score -2
Populatio n
Thoiry 4,938 28.93 171 +2.2% 1,967 2.5 50% 35,598 5.8% 51% 25%
-1
0
+1
Lelex 225 17.6 12.8 +0.3% 106 2.1 50% 19,821 1.7% 61% 64%
Annemass 30,468 5.0 6118.1 +1.3% 14,638 2.1 52% 22,594 14.6% 58% 37%
Ain 581,355 5,762 101 +1.3% 234,939 2.5 24,793 8.0% -
URBAN +2
Low population density
High population density
Decreasing population
Increasing population
High % over 65 years
Low % over 65 years
Low % males 15-45 year
High % males 15-45 year
High % farmers
Low % farmers
Low % industrial workers
High % industrial workers
Low % commuting
High % commuting
Low % stayed < 5 years
High % stayed < 5 years
Low building density
High building density
High % old building style
High % new building style
Local building material
Non-Local building material
Lots of open spaces
Little open spaces
Only minor roads
Major road access
No public transport
Frequent public transport
Few services
Many services
Few streetlights
Many streetlights
Environmental score -2
-1
bad
0
+1
+2 good
Lighting Conditions of roads and pavement Littered Vandalism Congestion Noise Open space Proximity to shops Parking spaces Garden size Recreation facilities Landscaping
Open integrated 1. Quite large settlements
Closed integrated 6. Isolated
2. A diversity of occupations
7. Stable population
3. Social and economic center for surrounding 4. villages Self-sufficient
8. Inward looking
5. Active local organizations
10 . Unwelcoming to newcomers
Open disintegrating
9. Self-contained and traditional
Closed disintegrating
11. Rapidly growing
16. Small
12.
17. Population in decline
High population turnover
13. Outward looking
18. Closure of villages service
14. Social tensions
19. Common in mining areas
15. New housing grafted on to old village