SEINECITYPARK –Life+ PROGRAMME
“After LIFE” communication plan The success of any LIFE+ project occurs through effective communications and widely circulating the results. That is why it is essential, in addition to communication initiatives conducted throughout the entire project, to continue to circulate information in order to ensure that the work developed during the project is a success.
Context and objectives of the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project: Improving the quality of the urban environment has become a public policy priority. For many years, cities grew without any consideration for the environment. Urban zones often suffer from a lack of natural spaces and the fragmentation of natural habitats. This can have a significant impact on the quality of life for inhabitants. The use of natural spaces in the urban environment has therefore become a key element in regional development policy. In urban zones, towns and nature have been cut off from one another for far too long, but the time has come to forge strong bonds once again. These bonds concern not only ecology and the landscape, but human relations as well. It was in this context that the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project was born in 2011: its objective was to demonstrate how the socio-economic development of a 1,700-hectare urbanized region may be combined with the improvement of local environmental conditions through the creation of a green urban infrastructure. The objectives of the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project were thus: • To set up an ecological, landscaped and human corridor between the Seine, the Peuple de l’herbe departmental park, the Nouvelle Centralité joint development zone and the Coeur Vert up to the Hautil uplands in the north of the Chanteloup loop. The development of the Park is the first step in the implementation of this corridor; • To implement transition zones between open spaces such as the Seine and fallow land and urbanized spaces that form the urbanized fringe of Carrières-sous-Poissy and future city planning and development projects; • To integrate nature into the city. Nature plays a key role in the framework of urban development and represents a spatial organization tool for urban and suburban zones; • The rehabilitation of a former and abandoned quarry site through the creation of a departmental park listed as a Sensitive Natural Space (ENS), a departmental protection tool for natural spaces via their property acquisition, as well as former orchards in the center of the loop; • to make the population aware of environmental issues. The stakeholders and development operations The Yvelines departmental council (CG78), the 2 Rives de Seine Agglomeration Community (CA2RS) henceforth the Grand Paris Seine & Oise Urban Community (CU GPS&O), Paris Ports (PdP), the Mantois Seine Aval Public Development Company (EPAMSA), the Public-Private Entity for the development and management of the banks 1 LIFE + SEINECITYPARK - After LIFE communication plan
of the Seine and Oise (SMSO) and the Municipalities of the Chanteloup loop (Carrières-sous-Poissy, Andrésy, Chanteloup-les-Vignes, Chapet, Triel-sur-Seine and Verneuil-sur-Seine) have taken part in this vast project aiming to improve the environmental performance of their region. The ecological urban infrastructure developed by this project will define a green network in which the different eco-responsible projects will be integrated, all managed by one or another of the stakeholders mentioned above: • the Peuple de l’herbe Park, which serves as a biodiversity reserve for the entire region, all the while becoming a space with pedagogical and recreational functions dedicated to the population; • the “Nouvelle Centralité” joint development zone in Carrières-sous-Poissy, which will be equipped with a series of public gardens, each a few hectares in size, as well as High-Quality Environmental (HQE) housing and businesses; • the “Coeur vert,” a vast rehabilitation project of former orchards, with a total surface area of more than 150 hectares, developing the cultivation of silvergrass for the development of a bio-based material industry; • the “Ecopôle,” joint development zone, a 250-hectare industrial park dedicated to eco-activities, where there will also be a technical college dedicated to the green building industry; • the Triel-sur-Seine Ecoport, which will offer river-transport access to companies in the Chanteloup loop. The LIFE+ SeineCityPark project’s initiatives were the following: • the creation of a green lung, the first link in the green corridor chain: in the southern part of the loop, sandwiched between the urban fringe of Carrières-sous-Poissy and the Seine, a natural space was developed. Its ecological and landscaped function within the corridor was strengthened with the following developments: redesigning the banks of the Seine, creating natural environments such as channels and ponds, planting waste-stabilizing species in order to purify pond water, phytoremediation in order to decontaminate the ground, creating wooden pedestrian paths accessible to people with reduced mobility, etc. A program of attack against the invasive species present onsite was set up. This site is thus strengthened in its role as a biodiversity reserve for the Chanteloup loop. In addition, it makes it possible for visitors to re-appropriate the Seine and its river landscape. • Work on: o The transition between the city and the park’s natural space, which is represented with an “active strip” combining human activities and a smooth transition to the natural environment; o The transition between the Park’s natural space and the banks of the Seine, which were developed in order to offer river views; • The creation of an urban network in the Chanteloup loop in order to promote the development of a framework that is both ecological and landscaped, while simultaneously developing pedestrian and bicycle circulation routes between the Seine, the park, the Nouvelle Centralité, the Coeur vert and the Hautil forest. The landscaped and ecological developments make it possible to connect open spaces with urbanized ones; • Environmentally-responsible educational initiatives in order to encourage citizens to take part in the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project, the following educational initiatives were set up: such as the creation and installation of birdhouses and insect hotels, the creation of nature restoration sites, etc.
The communication initiatives already carried out during the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project: • • • • • • • • • • • •
Creation of a website dedicated to the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project in French and English; Publication of 15 newsletters during the project; Installation of three information signs in the Chanteloup loop; Creation of a brochure presenting the LIFE+ SeineCityPark project in 4,000 copies translated into English; Creation of a brochure on the Peuple de l’herbe Park in 4,000 copies; Creation of a promotional film for the Peuple de l’herbe Park subtitled in English; Creation of a good management practices guide; Conception of an educational handbook available online on the LIFE+ SeineCityPark website; Creation of 5 roll-up and 5 regular posters associated with the project; Fabrication and installation of informational markers and educational panels; Participation in colloquiums and conferences; Conducted technical and familial visits; 2 LIFE + SEINECITYPARK - After LIFE communication plan
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Composed articles and press releases; Inaugural event for the Peuple de l’herbe Park (10,000 visitors); Creation of an outdoor photo exhibit in order to display the evolution of the Peuple de l’herbe Park.
Summary of the communications carried out for the inauguration of the Peuple de l’herbe Park: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
TV: 6 shows; Radio: 6 shows Written press/Departmental daily newspaper: 5 articles; Written press/National daily newspaper: 2 articles; Written press/Local weekly newspaper: 4 articles; Written press/Regional weekly newspaper: 12 articles; Written press/National weekly newspaper: 8 articles; Written press/Departmental monthly: 1 article; Written press/National monthly: 5 articles; Web press: 35 articles; Blogs: 12 articles; Twitter: 22 articles; Facebook: 10 articles; Instagram: 20 posts.
Communication purposes: The goals of the communication plan for this project are: • Promote the Park, at the inter-communal scale and beyond; • Introduce the project and its schedule; • Strengthen the image of the project and the developed sites; • Ensure that locals, residents of the Yvelines department and city dwellers appropriate the project and want to come and discover it; • Clearly indicate and promote the work that the project’s partners carried out in addition to the human, financial and political investment undertaken.
The messages to promote/communications strategy: Through the communications strategy put into place, the following messages were circulated: • The Peuple de l’herbe Park is a major-scale natural and recreational space, which injects the region with renewed attractiveness and a new image related to nature and pastimes; • This site creates a link between urban and natural spaces; • It made it possible to turn the Seine’s bank into qualified natural and recreational spaces for inhabitants, an identifying and unifying element for the region. Message content according to the identified targets: For the general public: • The Park is an attractive place, with regional influence, at the very least. It is an innovative park, it represents a window onto the quality of life in the region of the Seine Valley; • An ecologically exemplary park at the gates of Paris; • A biodiversity reserve in the heart of the city. 3 LIFE + SEINECITYPARK - After LIFE communication plan
For students: • The Park is an essential element for the protection of the environment; • The Park is a fun and educational space. For politicians: • The integration of a park at the edge of the urbanization in Carrières-sous-Poissy aims to improve the quality of life for cities while respecting the biodiversity present onsite; • The Park represents one of the projects that symbolizes the development method for communities: developing a landscaped infrastructure concurrently with urban development projects. For local economic stakeholders: • The Park is a project that initiates the recovery of the banks of the Seine, in particular, with recreation and tourism, in accordance with the agglomeration’s regional plan. For the Park’s maintenance team: • The Park must be managed responsibly and the differentiated management plan should be applied; • The members of the Park’s management staff are the project’s ambassadors.
The public targeted: The communication plan will need to target: • Residents of the Yvelines department; • Economic partners, whether they reside in the Yvelines or not; • Public and institutional stakeholders (mayors, local officials, organizations, etc.); • Residents of the population basin and beyond.
Communication resources and media: • • • • • • • •
the Yvelines Department; Grand Paris Seine & Oise Urban Community; Tourism offices for the Yvelines department and the Grand Paris Seine & Oise Urban Community; Municipalities; The OPIE, Office for Insects and their Environment; The LPO, the Bird Protection League; Local associations: Friends of the Park association, La Galiotte association, etc.; Paris Ports.
The communication plan uses many different types of media, while taking into account the environmental aspect of the project. It uses existing tools and channels as much as possible. Oral: the most reliable means of communication (50% of communications) • visits; • activities; • press conferences. Written: • articles in magazines for the Yvelines Department (YvelinesMag) and the city of Carrières-sous-Poissy; • exhibitions; • flyers; • brochures. Press: 4 LIFE + SEINECITYPARK - After LIFE communication plan
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articles in specialized magazines (L’Art des jardins, Espace public & Paysage, etc.); advertisement inserts; press releases.
Onsite media: • banners; • signage; • posters. Web media: • website; • the Department’s current event website: yvelines-infos.fr • social networks (Facebook pages for the Park, the Yvelines department and the Grand Paris Seine Urban Community, the Twitter feed for the Yvelines department and the Grand Paris Seine Urban Community); • smartphone app in order to discover the Park. Multimedia: • local television; • local radio. Events: • open-air movie screenings (to be repeated every year at the Park); • athletic events: yearly race in the Park every March, etc.; • citizen initiatives: cleaning the riverbanks, etc.
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DATA PROJECT Project location: France - Département des Yvelines Project number: LIFE11 ENV/FR/746 Project start date: 01/08/2012 Project end date: 31/07/2017 Duration: 5 years Total budget: 3 473 266 € Project website: http://www.seinecitypark.fr/programmelife/
BENEFICIARIES Coordinating beneficiary : Département des Yvelines Associated beneficiaries : Communauté Urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise, Port autonome de Paris, Ecorem.
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