Thierry Albertini: 'Sustainable development and living environment, two Municipal priorities'
In 2024, La Valette became a more resilient, safer, but also greener city.
Indeed, as evidenced by the ranking of France's greenest cities on the 'Nos villes vertes' website, La Valette has now reached a ratio of 116m2 of green space per inhabitant, which is 7% more than the 109m2 in 2022.
PLANTING OF 2,000 TREES In this regard, the mayor details the local authority's approach: 'We have 36% tree cover in urban areas (+10 points) and 58% total vegetation (+24 points). These are factual data. These good ratios bear witness to our commitment to the environment and are reflected in the presence of 2 remarkable gardens (Baudouvin and Orves), 4 parks, 2 public gardens, 10 squares, and 2 playgrounds spread across the territory.
In addition, the 1 enfant 1 arbre initiative, launched in 2020, has led to the planting of 1,810 trees. The goal is to plant as many trees in the city as there are pupils in the municipality, which is 2,000 in the long run.'
At the same time, the Métropole's green spaces department works daily to beautify public space by innovating, as seen with the new green space on the Maryse Rousset forecourt inaugurated last June, near the collège Bosco, which is inspired by the Japanese Myawaki method, creating a true island of coolness and greenery in an urban environment.
The mayor continues: 'To innovate in our commitment to a more sustainable city, we are a pilot city of TPM in the collection of bio-waste. We have therefore started installing the first bio-waste collectors, to convert them into natural compost.
9 KM OF SECURE CYCLE PATHS Still regarding waste, the 'Coudon Propre' operation, carried out in the spring, helped mobilize and raise awareness among citizens through a major waste collection campaign organized in collaboration with the Région Sud. The 2025 edition will be done in collaboration with the Chercheurs en Herbe association to further raise awareness among the youngest. Speaking of the youngest, we have chosen to enroll the municipality, since 2021, in the Programme Watty, an educational program to raise awareness from nursery school onwards about energy savings and the challenges of climate change.'
Thus, in 2024, it was a resident of La Valette (Iris, a pupil in CE1 at François Fabié) who won the national art competition by brilliantly illustrating the theme 'My school is committed to the planet'.
For elected officials, preserving the environment also involves implementing a soft mobility strategy. For example, since the end of 2024, 9 km of secure cycle paths have connected the city's different neighborhoods. L'Avenue 83 and the Université are also served, making it possible to go from La Valette Centre or Nord to La Valette Sud 'in just a few pedal strokes,' as Bernard Roux, deputy in charge of the matter, likes to point out.
Still on the theme of the living environment, 2024 saw the launch of the Anatole France project.
VITALITY OF THE CITY CENTER 'This project is the result of a courageous decision to rehabilitate a former school into a living space, which will host a senior residence whose services will be managed by our CCAS, as well as housing for all, while increasing the green space area. It is being done in consultation with the residents of La Valette through workshops in which the Conseil municipal des enfants, the Conseil des sages, and the residents of La Valette participated. It was presented at two public meetings and is part of a housing policy to keep the population in the city center to meet the demand of residents of La Valette of all ages, from families to seniors, and thus prevent the municipality from losing inhabitants, and to vitalize our city center.
The urban planning policy we have chosen allows us to control the land and therefore the projects we want, by preserving certain spaces that could be used by the private sector. This is the case thanks to the agreement signed with the EPF, which has caused so much ink to flow lately due to harmful misinformation, but which is in reality a tool facilitating the development of projects necessary for the future of the municipality, or like the Jean property, where control of the project will ultimately allow us to open a 6,000m2 park,' concludes Thierry Albertini.
Photos PRESSE AGENCE.