Le Paysage, outil de résistance face à l’urbanisation

Abstract

This study presents two peri-urban vineyards (the controlled designations of origin of Montlouis and Vouvray) directly impacted by the urban sprawl of the agglomeration of Tours (Indre-et-Loire). The agglomeration has grown continuously since the end of the Second World War with a period of marked acceleration in the 1970s and a loss of 8 000 ha of agricultural land and of 58% of farms in the last 30 years. In spite of this, these vineyards have resisted and are a part of the largest wine growing areas in the agglomeration of Tours. Interviews with local stakeholders made it possible to understand the strategies for resisting urban pressure. Although the approaches and tools employed as well as the implication of these stakeholders were different in each of the cases, clearly the landscape and recognising it as a heritage proved to be the main defence against urbanisation.

Keywords

• controlled designation of origin (in French AOC)
• landscape
• heritage
• promotion of the vineyard
• urban pressure