Les IBA sont-elles en capacité de valoriser des territoires transfrontaliers en émergence ? Cas appliqué à la Grande Région. Entre France et Luxembourg, Audun-le-Tiche et Esch-sur-Alzette

Border Region

Greater Region, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Saarland, Rhineland-Pfalz, Wallonia, Upper Rhine

Language(s)

Français

Type

Note on a scientific book publication

Main Category

Regional Development – Sustainability

Introduction

The essay looks at the ability of IBAs - International Architecture Exhibitions - to encourage territorial development in the Grande Region.

Summary

Among the palette of European tools available to support the development of cross-border territories, this essay considers the impact that an Internationale BauAusstellung (IBA, International Architecture Exhibition) would have on the territorial development of the Greater Region. First of all it describes the specific nature of this spatial development tool, then identifies the specific characteristics of the Greater Region which would justify the use of such a tool. It concludes with a set of reasoned proposals on procedure and possible outcomes.

Content

The essay is structured in three parts: the first is devoted to the definition of the IBA, the second to the specificities of the cross-border territory studied and the third to the expected outcomes of such a procedure in the Greater Region.

An IBA is a dynamic procedure for showcasing a set of architectural and urban engineering projects that meet high quality requirements in a given territory. It is an open process that can be adapted to different territories, in particular cross-border ones such as Basel. It relies heavily on the commitment and involvement of its participants and has its own governance. It can serve as a tool for territorial development by defining urban quality requirements and by localising the built projects selected.

The wish to set up common territorial development tools in the Greater Region is relatively recent. As yet there is no - or relatively little - governance structure established to carry through such projects. In addition, planning and construction cultures are far from homogeneous or even shared. Nevertheless, there is a common heritage linked to the territory's industrial past and a common future with the development of Luxembourg and its satellite towns as a central metropolitan pole.

The third part contains a series of strategic proposals supporting the scenario of an IBA in the Greater Region. A proposal for a scope, first of all, encompassing the locations of abandoned industrial sites, the zones with the greatest potential for demographic development and the area accessible by cross-border transport amenities. A proposal for a common identity emphasising the shared economic and historical trajectories of the formerly industrialised territories. This link would add goodwill value to the cross-border character of the initiative. A proposal for a strategy, finally, with an analysis of the structures that could possibly carry such a project (an EGTC already exists) and of the funding process.

The probable outcomes of this IBA will depend on the involvement of stakeholders and citizens in the process and the setting up of an effective system of cooperation over a significant period of time. The border-related obstacles: linguistic, different levels of power and the slow pace of procedures remain the main obstacles to the success of an IBA common to several territories.

Conclusions

The Territory of the Greater Region is relatively young, and closely tied in with the reality of cross-border workers. This means there is a lack of a strong enough identity. This identity could be strengthened by the IBA, but this could also be a substantial obstacle to the smooth implementation of the process.

Another large obstacle is the paucity of territorial ambitions common to the different components of the Greater Region and the relative newness of the bodies that could implement such ambitions. However, some cross-border dynamics (the cross-border polycentric metropolitan region (RMTP), for example) have managed to unite different stakeholders in a positive way, which is encouraging for a process like an IBA.

The relatively flexible way in which an IBA works and its non-binding nature are advantages in a diverse and complex territory like the Greater Region.

The length of the project (10 years), however, could turn into a significant obstacle given that the success of the process depends on the commitment and involvement of the stakeholders. On the other hand, this period would create long-term partnerships and a major change in the way the territory is seen and practised in the part of Europe.

Key Messages

The project for an IBA has enough positive qualities to overcome the obstacles represented by the Greater Region in terms of territorial development. This is a flexible process capable of being adapted to different cultural, regulatory and administrative constraints, but one which depends on a high level of commitment from those involved.

The specificities that would allow an IBA to be organised in the Greater Region can also be seen as weaknesses that would limit the concrete impact of the process, in particular in view of the long duration of the project could wear down the enthusiasm of the participants.

Lead

Marion Chevallier

Author of the entry

Sylvain

MARBEHANT

Links

https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-01240078/document

Keywords

cross-border cooperation

IBA

Territorial marketing

territorial identity