Le logement social, un vecteur de revitalisation des petites villes ? Le cas de Saint-Eloy-les-Mines (Puy-de-Dôme)

Abstract

The article examines the role of social housing in the revitalisation of small towns. The depreciation and decline of social housing in this type of town reflects a set of public policies that are not conducive to the development of social housing. However, the willingness of local authorities to take action can offset the effects, as in the case of the Puy-de-Dôme department and the municipality of Saint-Eloy-les-Mines. In this small town in decline, the revitalisation policy implemented by the local actors includes two orientations relating to settlement: on the one hand, it is a question of strengthening residential attractiveness, both with the aim of maintaining and diversifying the population, and on the other hand, it is a question of rightsizing the urban fabric by densifying the housing in the town centre while at the same time reducing the urban density of some peripheral areas. In these two orientations, the transformation of the social housing stock has a decisive leverage effect.

Keywords

• small towns
• urban decline
• revitalisation
• social housing
• Puy-de-Dôme