Bocarejo-Juan-Pablo - Word 97 - 2003

Page 1

Startle report on Paris – A bad project well sold?

Juan Pablo Bocarejo Bogotá, 09/01/2012 The casestudies for Paris focus on the instruments, the actors and the political issues that have culminated in transport and development projects which will mark the Paris region over the next few decades. The thing that startles me the most is the way the big decisions were taken for the adoption of the new transport plan for the Paris region. I am first struck by the fact that a plan which had been put together through a long consultation processand a feasibility analysis (the SDRIF), possibly unfamiliar to the public, was replaced by a very different and rapidly constructed project. This phenomenon, in which the institutional framework, the rules for the investment of public funds and the continuity of long-term plans, are interrupted and a new vision imposed, is precisely what we see in developing countries, where institutions are weak. Here, the arrival of a new government is often accompanied by the suspension of existing projects. Lack of long-term vision and ambition for territorial integration in the SDRIFand therefore need for a saviour, or desperate action? The fact that this new vision comes from the State is also surprising. Before Sarkozy’s arrival in power, with the changing composition of the STIF and the reduction in 2006 of state participation in the funding of public transport in Île-de-France, it looked as though the state’s influence in regional affairs, and especially in transport, was diminishing, and that local autonomy was increasing. Unlike London where, since 2001, the Greater London Authority, headed by the Mayor, is responsible for the city’s affairs, with a high degree of local autonomy, recent years have seen a greater desire on the part of central government to intervene in Paris. The flagship project itself, the “Big Eight”, of which I had never heard when I looked at the transport plans for the Paris region just 5 years ago, is also surprising, both in its ambition and its cost. The gamble of the Big Eight is to radically alter the way the Île-de-France region functions, by creating new centres, with better connections through the new public transport system. Although the Paris region was previously an example of innovation in territorial planning, with its new town concept, betting on a relocation of employment and strong employment growth in the future, which would be the basis of the use of the Big Eight, seemsa risky gamble. What also surprises me is the way the project seemsto change gradually over time, probably becauseit was put together too quickly at the beginning. Imagining that this costly project will be financed predominantly from land value surplusesis undoubtedly optimistic, with significant budget revisions, changing the project owner and operator gives an impression of improvisation… In some countries, the evaluation of transport projects is a significant preliminary processin their implementation. Detailed methods have been established and their


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Bocarejo-Juan-Pablo - Word 97 - 2003 by Institut pour la ville en mouvement-VEDECOM - Issuu