Aménagement de la Cité de la Bricarde

previous state

The La Bricarde development was built in 1972 to meet the high demand for rented social housing which occurred at the time in most European conurbations. In the case of Marseille, the growth in population was motivated by two simultaneous phenomena: the large-scale influx of immigrants from Algeria and the setting up of the major industrial complex at Fos, forty kilometres from Marseille. Unlike other metropolitan areas, where housing developments were built on the outskirts of cities, the social housing, in this case, was located within the municipal territory of Marseille -which still had wide open spaces-, and was more concentrated in the northern zone of the city.

This concentration led to a strong imbalance between the north and south of Marseille, which accentuated the problems created by the large-scale presence of this type of dwelling: namely, their relative integration into the pre-existing urban weave and the resulting phenomenon of exclusion arising from this.

aim of the intervention

The intervention in the Cité de la Bricarde took into account both the refurbishment of the housing complex as a whole, as well as the improvement of outdoor spaces. The first part of the programme, begun in 1986, undertook work geared to the general improvement of the buildings, and some of the existing blocks were demolished or refurbished in order to give a new layout to the new public spaces. The urban renewal programme, passed in June 1988 by the municipal council, set as its basic objectives the opening and linking of the Cité to its surrounding area, in order to bring it out of isolation; the improvement of mobility between the different areas of the complex and access to public facilities (schools...), shops, etc.; and the reorganisation of open spaces according to their situation in the ZAC( agreed development zone) of Saint André and the new housing scheme of Lorette (a new development built in 1993 which has replaced an old area of shacks from the sixties, occupied by Algerians).

This project took into account the problem of employment by making provisions for the inhabitants of the Cité to be involved in some of the jobs created by it.

description

The intervention in outdoor spaces clearly defined the entire public area of the Cité in contact with the other urbanised sectors around it, and also the private area, inside the housing development, for the direct use of its residents.

Once communications with the Boulevard Barnier had been improved, making it the main roadway into the zone, alterations to the entrance to La Bricarde began, based on an approach which improved access to the complex and made it more easy to read.

The demolition and refurbishment of some of the existing blocks has made space available in the zone near the entrance and created gardens nearby, characterised by the differences in height dealt with as a slope.

Nevertheless, the most important intervention in public space has been in the Place du Marché, which provides shopping facilities and services, and has been set out with a car park on both sides of a central pedestrianised zone; the Rue de la Bricarde has been developed as an urban thoroughfare with quality street furniture.

The entire public zone is completed by the creation of an access to the ZAC of Saint André and to Lorette, in the sector called Mail de St. André, which has brought La Bricarde out of isolation from its immediate surroundings.

The private area involved the creation of an internal communications thoroughfare due to the partial demolition of a block and the establishement of one walkway under another. This thoroughfare has brought the different areas of the Cité out of isolation. The parking spaces and the most important green spaces have been set out along this thoroughfare. These include the Place Haute, which extends the Place du Marché inside the district via a monumental stairway, and the Jardin du "I", which deals with the differences in height inside the development.

assessment

There is no doubt that, overall, the different interventions undertaken in La Bricarde have considerably improved the urban environment and made the entire complex a pleasant place to live. The project to bring it out of isolation has also been a success. However, this has led to social tension resulting from the opening of the district to the outside.

More specifically, there has been a certain objection to new businesses which have set up premises on the ground floors of the buildings. Nevertheless, the experience means we can state that we must coordinate closely the investment projects geared to the urban renewal of areas of social housing and the practical measures concerning urban management and operations.