One of the most interesting new neighborhoods in Greater Paris is a river eco-neighborhood located on a small island on the Seine, in l’Île Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. The former Mayor of this small insular municipality, Michel Bourgain, had a vision to develop an environmentally ambitious new neighborhood in an area formerly occupied by warehouses. Brigitte Philippon, a partner at design firm Philippon-Kalt, was involved from the outset. As the neighborhood takes form, I spoke with her about her experience on this remarkable project and the challenges of bringing an environmentally ambitious new neighborhood to life in the real world.

The race to achieve zero emissions by 2050 is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. We have finally started to realize this and have begun enacting laws, putting in place financing mechanisms, and developing technological and practical solutions.

Urban policy is without question highly mobilized toward the Net Zero objective. But for urban planning and design the question is more difficult to grasp. In this article we address the question of how Net Zero affects the physical configuration of the city. Or asked another way, what does a Net Zero city look like?

Charles Percier, often known through his work as part of the duo Percier and Fontaine, is an architect of immense importance to French architectural history and to the Napoleonic period in particular. An exhibition at the Château de Fontainebleau affords a look at his work.

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There are a number of events planned for April and May, and there will be more news in the months to follow.

Happy New Year from the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville. Best wishes for 2013.