Les éco-quartiers : laboratoires de la ville durable

Abstract

Abstract: Eco-neighborhoods are often cast as laboratories for the city of the future – a city able to merge urban and rural elements, and to balance ecological, social, and economic needs. This short contribution debates on whether eco-neighborhoods have been initiating an urban paradigm shift or whether something in their “genetic” makeup actually dooms them to an inevitable return of the same. It draws from a review of specialized literature and from actual experiences, mostly Swiss and French.