La valorisation du végétal à Angers : de la ressource au patrimoine ?

Abstract

The paper questions the connection between the territorial anchoring of economy, resource-building process and functional specialization in a large French city related to a specific theme : the plant world. In the context of Anjou, the “plant world” (“Végétal”) refers to specific content, built since the 1980s by the public and economic actors. It means horticultural production, urban functions such as higher education, R & D, and more recently tourism. Plant-oriented technological innovation -through cluster Végépolys- is the main direction in which institutional actors undertake to use plant resources. Meanwhile, it comes along with the emergence of various signs and symbols that lead to the hypothesis of making plant resource a part of local heritage. Beyond the domino effects on local development sought through the patrimonial valorization, the investment of public actors regarding the plant world is perceived as a territorial specificity. Angers City-Region is in search of a more important role in the French Great West. The paper discusses the process of shaping heritage at work in Angers area (part 1). It questions the use of plant resources heritage to organize a revitalization of the local economy (part 2) and its mobilization as a tool for territorial differentiation (part 3).

Keywords

• vegetal heritage
• local public action
• urban and regional strategy
• metropolitan attractiveness