Elsa Gautier
“The
Parisian High-Line” : The Petite-Ceinture
The Petite-Ceinture is an old railway line of 32km, going around Paris and belonging to the SNCF (the public company of the railroads in France, “the French SNCB”).
The first trains ran on it in 1852 and the last ones in 1993. Built during the industrial revolution, the Petite-Ceinture contributed to the economic development of Paris by transporting both goods and passengers. Since the 90's, except for some sections, no more train has been circulating on the Petite-Ceinture, this space had no function and vegetation developed there. This green space located into the Parisian high density, is a strategic land and many promoters wanted to buy it. Since 2007, its owner (the SNCF) and the city hall of Paris have concluded a contract to transform almost the entire Petite-Ceinture into an urban park around Paris. This process, still in progress, is long, expensive and could be complicated depending on the location : in an open air at the ground’s level, under the ground’s level, or even in a tunnel.
For this
process to benefit as many neighbourhoods as possible, the SNCF and the city of
Paris have chosen to begin by opening several small sections throughout the
city, and not just one large section in one neighbourhood. Gradually, former
sections of the Petite-Ceinture that were closed to the public are being opened
up and transformed into urban parks.
Whether
open or closed sections, in both cases nature is present but not in the same
way. Moreover, it is also important to be aware of the different social stakes
that are hidden behind this very particular green space.
The
public sections: transformed as urban parks
Today eleven
sections are open to the public as a public park. Very few tourists visit the
Petite-Ceinture, it is mainly parks for local residents who go there for a
walk.
The
sections of the Petite-Ceinture which are open to the public have been
developed as a place for walking while taking into account certain
specificities. A specific landscape treatment has been adopted to preserve the
rails, for their historical value, and also to protect the fauna and flora.
In the way
these sections have been landscaped everything has been done to have a large variety
of naturally present plants and different natural
environments: grassland, wooded slopes, shrubs, trees, walls, or rocks.
Each of these environments hosts different animal species.
According to a census of the fauna and flora conducted in 2016, each section
hosts on average: 130 plant species and 110 animal species including about 20
birds.
The private sections: reservoirs of
biodiversity in the heart of the city
Officially, the only people authorized to visit
the closed sections are the associations maintaining these spaces. These
associations only do the minimum to maintain a passage and prevent the
vegetation from invading everything.
Contrary to the sections open to the public, where nature has been
recreated and is supervised by man, in the sections closed to the public nature
has not been supervised. A wild and spontaneous vegetation has been developing there
for thirty years.
If for some people these spaces are seen as “abandoned spaces” or “urban wastelands”,
these spaces without human beings and with numerous
natural environments, both plant and mineral, represent sanctuaries for the
reproduction of certain species of birds, reptiles and small mammals. These
sections are real reservoirs of flora and fauna in an urban environment.
This
richness is widely highlighted by experts: the linear configuration of the Petite-Ceinture
and its proximity to woods, large parks and the Seine, allows the propagation
of species. It has become an ecological corridor.
The social effects of this nature into the
city
It is important to note that the
Petite-Ceinture is crossing many neighbourhoods in Paris: the richest (to the
west) as well as the poorest (to the north). Thus, the Petite-Ceinture is an
opportunity to give access to green spaces to poor districts and very mineral
areas of Paris. For example it happens that on some closed sections,
neighbourhood associations create a "shared garden" with the support
of the city hall.
Another phenomenon creates gentrification,
mainly in the north of Paris, along the Petite-Ceinture: the opening of a bar
or restaurant. As the Petite-Ceinture is a green, pleasant and atypical place,
when a bar or restaurant opens on the Petite-Ceinture, it attracts many people
often richer. This phenomenon contributes to the shift of a population in a
district and leads to its gentrification.
The
Petite-Ceinture is one of the few places where you can find such a rich
biodiversity in the middle of Paris. In order to continue to enjoy its many
ecosystem services, it is important to be aware of it to preserve it.
Do not
hesitate to visit it if one day you are in Paris!
Two maps
detailing the public sections and their entrances :
-
https://petiteceinture.org/acceder-a-la-petite-ceinture/
Sitography :
-
https://www.paris.fr/pages/la-petite-ceinture-2537
-
https://www.paris.fr/pages/la-petite-ceinture-et-ses-promenades-ecologiques-7855
-
https://www.promeneurs-petiteceinture.paris/le-guide
No comments:
Post a Comment