Paris unveiled its first zero-carbon neighbourhood

It’s tiny, but it’s also a step in the right direction and a possible model to replicate

Last week saw the official inauguration of what has been dubbed Paris’ first zero-carbon neighbourhood, located in the 19^th arrondissement. The new residential complex, consisting of four buildings is called Îlot fertile (Fertile Isle) and despite its small size contains housing units, hotels, shops, offices and sports facilities, and quite remarkably – no parking spaces, at all.

The Fertile Isle is located on what used to be a degraded industrial space located between railway tracks and occupying a surface of 1.3 hectares. The small area of the quartier, however, also demonstrates that it is possible to create viable and multi-functional urban spaces in line with sustainable standards. 15-minute city? This could even bring about a 2-minute city concept.

Zero-carbon thinking is ingrained into its every fibre

Every facet of the neighbourhood conforms to sustainable and low-carbon practices.

The layout and design of the buildings have been carefully considered to limit energy requirements for heating, cooling and lighting as much as possible. On-site energy production is planned with bio-solar roofs of 1,000 m2 of photovoltaic panels, naturally cooled by the various plants also present on the roofs.

Read the full article on Mayor.eu

Authors: Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov

Recommended by Stephanie Cheung