While residents of these neighborhoods have a carbon footprint that is lower than the national average, they are subject to additional environmental vulnerabilities: air and noise pollution, the effects of urban heat islands, poorly insulated housing stock. Within the environmental programming, it is therefore essential to take specific measures to ensure the ecological transition in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
“On the occasion of this inter-ministerial towns committee meeting, I set my government a simple target: to provide answers and outlook for the more than 5 million French people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. We call these neighborhoods ‘priority urban neighborhoods’. This name means something. In these neighborhoods, challenges accumulate. They deserve priority attention from mainstream public policy, and collectively we must rise to the challenge. Urban policy was born more than forty years ago in response to unprecedented economic crisis. It was born out of deindustrialization, the loss of jobs, and the crisis of urban developments that were designed to house these inhabitants. Today, this crisis is partly behind us. France is reindustrializing, and the achievable target of jobs for all offers new opportunities …” – Elisabeth Borne
