Strasbourg’s inclusive policies for migrants and the IBA urban developmental paradigm

Abstract

The issue of limiting motorized traffic can sometimes generate unexpected problems. For example, the city centre of Strasbourg is crossed by a major motorway, which is constantly congested and polluted. This source of irritation is now at the heart of debates on urban planning. The public authorities wish to transform the route into a boulevard as well as to develop surrounding areas. Currently, the numerous vacant spaces around the transport infrastructure are used by various associations, whose right of residency is relatively unsettled. An increasing number of small illegal settlements can also be found here as well as in adjacent neighbourhoods. While the city council is implementing inclusive policies towards migrants, how can these issues be translated locally into urban planning tools?

Strasbourg is an important transit point for migrants between France and Germany. Further, due to its border location, the city has always been an important hub for the exchange of ideas; in particular, new concepts of urban planning find fertile ground here. In order to transform the motorway, the public authorities intend to implement the German urban development tool known as the International Building Exhibition (German: Internationale Bauausstellung or IBA). In the following, we examine the IBAs of Hamburg and Berlin in order to try to identify good practices which could inspire French town planners and elected officials. This study is conducted through the prism of Henri Lefebvre’s book The Right to the City (1968).