Ecology, Landscape and Territorial Planning

The collapse of biodiversity highlights the need for a paradigm shift in land-use planning, in which soils are not only land to be developed, associated with economic value, but also living environments, associated with social and ecological value.

Responding to these observations and aligning with the European Union's No Net Land Take Policies, the research and teaching themes of the Ecology, Landscape and Territorial Planning Unit  focus on the evolution of strategies, planning tools, and stakeholder systems within coveted areas that possess essential environments, uses, and functions, with low land rents (ports, artisanal, agricultural, natural areas, etc.), and that offer environmental (biodiversity) and social (human well-being) benefits. Methodologically, these themes involve, on the one hand, analyses, reflections, and projections regarding public policies, territorial strategies, and citizen mobilizations, and on the other hand, a nuanced understanding of ecosystem balances to preserve soil functions, the water cycle, and biodiversity.

The research and teaching approaches are rooted in the territorialist school, notably initiated by Magnaghi, and emphasize:

• Hydrogeomorphological balances and the quality of ecological networks, through the analysis and modeling of ecological networks and landscape connectivity;
• Polycentric urban centers and their public spaces, through geohistorical analysis;
• Local economic systems, through the selection of interfaces (city/port/water; city/agriculture; city/productive activities, etc.);
• Local cultures and knowledge, through grounded approaches and a detailed understanding of the local scale;
• Participatory democracy institutions and local project processes, through the analysis of stakeholder systems.