Abstract
Coastlines have long attracted industrial activities, services, housing, and tourism. At select geographic locations, harbors host port facilities and provide local economic growth opportunities. As such, these areas also concentrate populations around the world. In the north of France, where the unemployment rate is high, port industries are still massive providers of work. However, in the last decades, the port development has become a major threat to the architectural heritage, the historical scenery, and the unique biodiversity of these areas, both at sea and on land. The impact of urban redevelopment has been clearly visible since 1950. At this point, this paper raises the following question: How is it possible, in this context, to efficiently limit this urban sprawl through legal frameworks to protect land, sea, and their in-between environment, in spite of the economic interests? The urbanization of the northern coastline of France has gradually expanded since 1950 until a fundamental act appeared in 1986, the Shoreline Act “Loi Littoral”. This act allows us to analyze the last thirty years of urbanization and its binding force towards the protection of the environment; and yet, we also understand that it has a limited role. It does not forbid all kinds of construction, but just new buildings coming out of nowhere, though expansion in urbanized areas is allowed. After decades of existence, this framework has been integrated by both politicians and citizens, and its results have been judged. If the law is now seen as a guardian of the shore, inhabitants and environmental organizations have often criticized its dimness, which favors interpretation. This paper analyzes the soft limitations that have affected the ongoing space consumption since the 1950s using aerial pictures provided by the IGN (Institut National de l’Information Géographique et Forestière), as well as if the rules were efficient enough in their protection.
Highlights
The post-war urban sprawl linked to the economic renewal of the 1950s put a lot of pressure on port cities and coastal areas
If the law is seen as a guardian of the shore, inhabitants and environmental organizations have often criticized its dimness, which favors interpretation
The piece observes the efficiency of the Shoreline Act through comparative pictures of coastal areas before and after the implementation of the law
Summary
The post-war urban sprawl linked to the economic renewal of the 1950s put a lot of pressure on port cities and coastal areas. The urban and industrial expansion related to the post-war economic and demographic explosion went together with a great need for space along the shore when many coastal cities in France and in Europe needed to be completely rebuilt. Urban Sci. 2020, 4, 60 pollution, transformation, and space consumption in order to promote tourism. To face this unregulated and ongoing expansion, the government reacted with strict limitations to new constructions in coastal cities. This Shoreline Act became a turning point in French legal history and coastal urban planning, in which the French system created and applied fundamental principles for environment protection and limitation
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