Lyon

La Confluence in Lyon

The Confluence area is in the southern part of Lyon city centre. At the end of the 90s, the district was an industrial wasteland. Today, as part of the Lyon-Confluence urban project for which SPL Lyon Confluence is responsible, more than half of the district area has been redeveloped.

The still-to-be-renovated southern part of the district will be the Positive & Clean Energy District (PCED). In 2028, the PCED area will host more than 19,000m² of retrofitted buildings and 170,000m² of new buildings with different uses: housing – including 55% of social or affordable housing - offices, shops, restaurants, and bars, etc.

From its inception, the Lyon-Confluence urban renewal project has been driven by environmental goals. It is now in its final phase, with an aim to push the boundaries further by establishing a PCED.

The PCED in La Confluence 

To meet the objective of making the south of La Confluence a PCED, the planned investment for constructing buildings is €379M, while an additional 6M€ will be allocated to renewable energy production systems.

The implementation of a PCED in La Confluence and the overall ASCEND project are playing a critical role in the City of Lyon’s “Lyon 2030” programme, aiming at making Lyon one of the 100 Climate-neutral & Smart Cities by 2030. At the same time, in its Sustainable Energy Climate Action Plan (SECAP), the Lyon Metropolitan Authority has set itself the goal of drastically reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 2050.

The lessons learnt within ASCEND will be instrumental in achieving this goal and optimise the investment plan. 

City Alliance

The potential for replication of the solutions deployed at La Confluence is very high, and is one of ASCEND's key objectives, particularly through the deployment of Solution Packages.

Firstly, replication will be carried out on a metropolitan scale. The Lyon Metropolitan Area encompasses 59 municipalities of all sizes: Lyon has around 500,000 inhabitants, Villeurbanne 150,000, while the smallest municipality in the Metropolitan Area, Curis-au-Mont-d'Or, has just 1,000 inhabitants.

As part of ASCEND, a Local Partnership Council (PIC) has been set up by SPL Lyon Confluence. This council, which aims to reflect on the solutions deployed at Confluence and facilitate their replication elsewhere, brings together private players, associations, investors, research institutes, etc., and of course, local policymakers: representatives of the City of Lyon, the City of Villeurbanne, the Lyon Metropolis Authority among others.

SPL Lyon Confluence is also an active member of the national urban developer network (CVA), cooperating with numerous other urban developers in charge of similar projects. Thus, this active network constitutes an opportunity for replication all over France.