Les coupures vertes de la métropole-jardin en val de Loire : rêve et réalité ?

The Loire Valley between Briare and Bourgueil, a densely populated zone near the Paris area, has for twenty years been greatly developed. Many of the most beautiful landscapes have been blighted by all sorts of buildings. Conflicts have arisen between the owners and the users of the land. A basic plan has been worked out to organize this development, one of the main principles of which is that discontinuity should be respected in town-planning. This implies the setting up of a number of towns of different sizes separated by broad natural open spaces or « green belts » for farming, horticulture, wine-growing, forestry and leisure activities. A « charter » sums up the steps to be taken for the protection and use of these green belts. What does this charter consist of ? — it will apply to : 268 « communes » representing 780,000 inhabitants in 1975 and 570,000 hectares make up the area outlined provisionally by the three Conseils Généraux (County Councils) of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire until they receive the proposals of the « communes » concerned. — among the protectionist measures appear the implementation of the « sensitive area » procedure of the Town Planning Code and the progressive application of the land use plans. — the utilization possibilities proposed are the preservation and reinforcing of farming and forestry activities, the development of the river and the introduction of leisure activities. The success of this programme depends above all on the support of the local council members and of the inhabitants themselves.