Introduction

Lille is a city in northern France home to around 240,000 inhabitants (Statista, 2022). The city is well served with multiple motorways entering the Lille Metropolitan area allowing residents to easily take their cars all around Europe. Furthermore, Lille is around 220km from Paris and 120km from Calais both of which places can be reached by cars and trains (Google Maps, 2022). Additionally, Lille has a direct Eurostar connection to London St Pancras via the Eurotunnel which takes 80 minutes (The Independent, 2015).

In this written piece I will be discussing the changes Lille has made to move away from the fossil fuel-dependent urban areas we in the West have become accustomed to towards a more sustainable model that incorporates more green space and cheap, easily accessible public transport.

One of the most striking parts of Lille’s sustainability developments is its electric tram network.  The two lines connect the centre of Lille to the nearby cities of Roubaix and Tourcoing. Both cities are home to around 100,000 inhabitants offering them a quick ride into Lille roughly 30 minutes each way (The French Goverment , 2019). The lines have around 35 stops along the route allowing residents from the outskirts of Lille a quick eco-friendly journey (Lille Tourisme, n.d.). The journey from the centre of Lille to the city of Tourcoing runs on purpose-built tracks that run parallel to the roads therefore they do not affect road vehicles and are every 20 minutes during off-peak times. The current fares on the trams are around €5.30 for a 24-hour pass that covers both lines in and out of the centre (Lille Tourisme, n.d.). The frequency and cheap price are to encourage residents to use public transport instead of their cars as they are one of the most common polluters in urban areas.

But it is not so good offering an eco-friendly transportation network powered using electricity if that electricity has been produced by the burning of fossil fuels. However, since France produces around 70% of its electricity from nuclear power and almost 23.4% from renewable sources such as hydroelectric and wind the transportation in the city is very highly likely to run on clean energy (Agency, 2021) (Plackett, 2022).

It is not just Trams that are being used to make Lille’s infrastructure more sustainable. The ‘iLevia’ bike rental service is available across the city and in nearby cities such as Roubaix and Tourcoing. The bikes offer a quick and affordable way to travel in and around the city. Also, by having the iLevia service in neighbouring cities people can rent the bikes for €2 which will give them access to iLevia for 24 hours. Not only are they cheap but the system you use to purchase them is quick and simple. The whole process to acquire a bike for 24 hours takes around 5 minutes. Lille’s bike network works extremely well as the city is very bike friendly. Cycle lanes are an ever-present sight all around the metropolitan area. The Lille metropolitan area is mostly flat with some gentle slopes dotted around making the perfect geographical conditions for a mass uptaking of bikes.

For a visitor from the UK, a surprising feature that is apparent in one of the largest supermarkets in France ‘Carrefour’ was their ‘Bio’ section. This area in the store is to encourage shoppers to bring/use their refillable containers to minimise waste. The large vertical jars seen in Figure 3 allow customers to refill their containers with cereals, rice, flour and spices. Carrefour also offers the containers themselves which you can see on the right-hand side of Figure 3. All these containers are made from glass with wooden lids to reduce the number of harmful plastics being used and are expected to be used many more times. The bio section doesn’t just offer refillable services, it also has food and drinks you can buy but again all the items available to purchase are packed in eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging rather than single-use disposable packaging that most high-income countries seem to use.

Lille has also been investing in green spaces throughout the city; the example in figure 4 was taken in central Lille showing a small junction covered in trees and plants. Not only do the plants filter the urban air they also create a habitat for animals and a friendlier more inviting environment for the people that live and work in the region.

The centre of Lille is also going through significant changes as new developments are getting built all along the river “Leie” in the centre. An example of this is the “Saint Sauveur Development” right in the heart of the centre of Lille. This development on a former railway goods station started construction in 2018 after 5 years of planning and is set to become the home of a new neighbourhood with some 5,000 people living in it (Gehl, 2013). The site will include workplaces, shops and education facilities with more still planned. The development will be covered in green spaces for recreational use and aesthetic use. The project is set to be completed in 2030 (Gehl, 2013).

The “Euratechnologies” development is an example of a successful regeneration in Lille. The large space to the southwest of the centre was once a major industrial site for many years until it closed due to the mass movement of industry to new emerging economies located outside France. The site fell into a state of dereliction but, after significant investment, the old industrial complex became a hub for tech companies. As of 2022 over 300 technology companies operate from the Euro technologies regions around France many of them from the Lille site (Euratechnologies, 2022). In total over 4,500 people work in these complexes (Euratechnologies, 2022). The large uptake has made some of the largest tech companies partner with the program. The likes of Microsoft and DejBox are official partners and use the office spaces for themselves (Euratechnologies, 2022).

Figure 7 showcases how Lille is using all resources to aid it economically and environmentally. The container yard seen in figure 7 is a section of the Port of Lille and is used to load and unload freight from barges and goods trains. A survey by the University of Brussels in 2007 found out that around 30 to 40 containers per day are sent by barge with two of Lille’s most valorisation plants transporting approximately 220,000 tonnes per year via the waterways. Because rail and water transportation requires less energy per kilometre than air or road transport, it is more environmentally friendly to transport heavy or bulk goods via rail or waterways when minimising cost per tonne transported is more important than rapid transport (Wessex Institute of Technology, UK, 2014).

Newer construction projects in the city have tried to continue Lille’s ambition of becoming a sustainable city. “Le Grand Sud” is a performing arts venue in the southern part of the city that can welcome up to 100,000 visitors at once. Since it opened in 2013 it has both shown and created more than 400 events ranging from concerts to plays (Hello Lille, 2022). The building itself is unique with an internal layout that can be altered and changed to fit people’s needs. The south-eastern side has an indoor garden with plants ranging from small, planted pots to huge sprawling vines. This indoor garden offers an interesting view from some of the performance areas but also filters the urban air for the people inside.

The building also supports a large green roof that is home to a diverse range of plants including some fairly large trees. Like the indoor garden, the roof adds plants to a part of the urban area that is rarely covered in green space which will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air helping to offset other emissions from the city’s remaining industry. The roof is also used for recreational purposes as there is a nice path that meanders its way up to the highest point of the roof where around 10 wooden benches are located offering 360-degree views of the city.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe Lille is doing a fantastic job in becoming a sustainable city and with upcoming projects across the city, it is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. Furthermore, public views on climate change will become stronger and stronger due to the far-reaching effects of rising temperatures and its ever-increasing media coverage drawing the attention of the general public which will put increasing pressure on local and national authorities to make their cities and countries more sustainable.

References

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Euratechnologies, 2022. Become a partner: Euratechnologies. [Online]
Available at: https://en.euratechnologies.com/partners/

Gehl, 2013. Completing the heart of Lille, Lille: Gehl.

Google Maps, 2022. Google Maps: Directions. [Online]
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Hello Lille, 2022. The Deep South. [Online]
Available at: https://hellolille.eu/en/patrimoine/le-grand-sud/

Lille Tourisme, n.d. Public Transport. [Online]
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Plackett, B., 2022. Why France’s nuclear industry faces uncertainty. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02817-2

Statista, 2022. Number of inhabitants of the city of Lille, France in 2019, by gender. [Online]
Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/542051/number-of-inhabitants-by-gender-lille-france/

The French Goverment , 2019. Decree No. 2019-1302 of 5 December 2019 amending Decree No. 2003-485 of 5 June 2003 on the population census, s.l.: Republique Francaise.

The Independent, 2015. Lille. The Independent , 4 July.

Wessex Institute of Technology, UK, 2014. Urban Transport XX. Southhampton: WIT Press.