ANALYSIS Both one of the causes of the climate change and one of the first victims of its effects, the contemporary city is at the epicentre of the ecological and climate crisis. The Covid19 crisis reveals in particular the fragility of our socio-economic structures and the excessive length of supply chains. The stakes of the relocation of our production (food and industrial) and of the Energy Descent arise now with new acuteness. How can we finally implement the ecological city? Over the past two decades or so, we have been observing the rise of a social dynamic that is changing the way we live in cities: urban agriculture. This transnational citizen dynamic (along with others, like metropolitan hiking) is now converging with the theoretical productions resulting from research (particularly in the fields of bioregionalism, ""agritecture"" and ecological humanities). These practices and theories, which are mutually reinforcing, give us a good ground to design now with the citizens the ecological city. OBJECTIVES In this historical situation, which seems mature, and which involves many social actors (citizens, decision-makers, researchers), the project intends to build affordable, cross-cutting, land-based educational tools to provide decision-makers with tools that will enable them to better support the emergence of the ecological city: 1) theoretical skills, 2) field methodologies and 3) a complete and coherent vision of ecological urban planning. The project aims to contribute to a new, ecological, city-making. TARGETS The project targets 1) in the private sector: entrepreneurs (town planners, architects, landscape designers, ecologists, researchers, economists...) and not-for-profit managers (in fields related to town planning, ecology, citizenship...), and 2) in the public action: elected officials and technicians from local authorities and agencies (and in priority to those related to town planning and ecology). CONTENTS This educational project is based on a concept of ecological urbanism rooted in the land. Its singularity consists in articulating citizen dynamics with theoretical contents. In particular, the project will bring together 1) urban agriculture and contemporary research in ""agritecture"" (Sébastien Marot, Rem Koolhaas), and 2) the dynamics of metropolitan hiking with the work of bioregionalism. This project is the result of the partners' prior experience in ecological urban planning education, their regular contacts with decision-makers and inhabitants, and access to cutting-edge theoretical resources. INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTIONS 1) The Trainer's Booklet The booklet formulates the general structure of the training (pedagogical sequencing, pedagogical field protocol), which guarantees the coherence of the 3 other productions and promotes the replicability of the project. 2) The learning manual This handbook is the reference document, linking a corpus of emblematic concrete initiatives with the theoretical issues of ecological urban planning. 3) Awareness-raising videos Based on the manual, the videos are attractive introductory materials, which help to attract a large and unconvinced public to the project. 4) The game How to implement the Energy Descent and Relocation of Production? This ""serious game"" is an essential tool to transmit the fundamental elements of the ""Terrestrial Cities"" project in an efficient way, adapted to each urban territory. KEY SKILLS The skills that the project wants to pass on are: 1) Basic knowledge in ""ecological urban planning"". 2) Training in the territorial approach to the urban project via a field methodology based on Metropolitan Trails. 3) A comprehensive and coherent presentation of the ecological city of tomorrow, in order to go beyond the status quo and stay the course. IN SUMMARY 1) Method: ""Walking and gardening"" The project crosses the networks of urban agriculture and metropolitan hiking - in an educational protocol rooted in (peri-)urban territories. 2) Contents: ""Theory and practice"". By articulating research (in urban planning and ecology) and a representative selection of emblematic concrete initiatives, the project transmits ""situated knowledge"". 3) Beneficiaries: ""Decision-makers and citizens"". By targeting decision-makers and facilitating their access to cutting-edge theoretical content and innovative social practices, the project promotes better synergy between citizens and elected officials. At the intersection of these 3 stakes, are the territories – our living places – which we need to know better, to get to inhabit them better.
Our aim was to create a coherent, high-quality training course that would become a benchmark on the subject. Based on our productions and the feedback they have generated (during numerous test sessions and multiplier events), we seem to have succeeded. The objectives stated in our application were: "The project aims to build affordable, cross-disciplinary, qualitative educational tools, anchored in territories, to provide decision-makers with the tools to better support the emergence of the ecological city: theoretical skills, field methodologies, and a global vision of ecological urbanism." All these elements were achieved during the course of the project, through contents O1, O2, O3 and O4 available in free access on the Villes terrestres website, and through various dissemination activities (numerous test sessions, multiplier events, communication). With its 74 tool cards described and linked to an evaluation grid, the game was often perceived by participants as "a valuable decision-making tool" for elected representatives and technicians, which we consider an important outcome of the project.
As for the needs, we have noticed in the course of our professional career that urban ecology, which is almost never the subject of formalized teaching, is little known and little mastered by city players, whose ecological culture (both scientific and political) is limited. Those involved in urban planning are often aware of one or other aspect of the "sustainable city", but rarely have skills in both urban planning and ecology, for the simple reason that urban ecology is an emerging field, and therefore not the subject of formalized teaching. How can we grasp all the challenges of the sustainable city? How do you know where to start? How do you prioritize and align your actions? How can we consolidate our convictions to convince our interlocutors? How to fight climate change and habitat destruction locally? One of the ideas of Villes terrestres was to propose a definition of urban ecology as "the theory and practice of human habitats (within terrestrial habitats)". (cf. O1)