Port-Saint-Louis du Rhône (France): regenerating brownfields and developing yachting

Port Saint-Louis du Rhône (PSL) is around one hour’s drive west of Marseilles. With a population of over 8,600, this port town was founded in the early 20th century as a means of developing the mouth of the Rhône river. Formerly an industrial town, it has refocused heavily on sailing, and PSL now has 4,000 dry and wet berths for yachts. Quality of life for residents is clearly a priority, with new housing, parks and recreational amenities having been created in these redeveloped areas in recent years. The aim is also to create a soft transition between the residential zones and the logistical or tertiary precincts. PSL is a human-sized town with big ambitions for the interface zone between the port and the urban areas, and for that reason AIVP was keen to interview its Mayor, Mr Martial ALVAREZ. The Town of Port Saint-Louis du Rhône has been a member of AIVP since 2018. View from the yachting port of Port-Saint-Louis © Nautismed AIVP - Since 2018, the regeneration of brownfield land on the Mazet peninsula has been a flagship project for the municipality and its partners. Disused sites and old warehouses were demolished, before the land was cleared of pollution and converted into tertiary economic zones, along with an intergenerational park open to the population. Could you tell us more on this brownfield land regeneration? Mr Martial ALVAREZ, Mayor of Port-Saint-Louis du Rhône - For our municipality, the Mazet peninsula represents a substantial reserve of over 300 hectares of land. This area is strategically valuable for developing marine activities, such as sailing, shellfish farming, fishing, and seaside tourism. It is located between the historically developed urban zone to the north of the central port, the Camargue Regional Natural Park to the south, and the container port at Marseille Fos to the east. The local area was already home to several marinas (over 3,000 wet and dry berths), fishing, and shellfish farming.We were keen to preserve and promote the development of those different economic activities, whilst maintaining a healthy spatial balance between urban, economic, and natural zones. It was also important to lay the foundations for more ambitious development in the future. That required a number of steps. Getting control of the land, to start with. Then carrying out environmental surveys and cleaning up the brownfield land. This process enabled us to identify more clearly what the different spaces would ultimately be used for, and to create the right technical conditions for developing them.Finally, an agreement was signed with Grand Port Maritime de Marseille, to transfer management of certain quayside zones on the main channel leading to the sea, deemed no longer essential for their activities. That cooperation with Grand Port Maritime de Marseille was vital to allow us to move forward.It meant we were able to create a new fishing port, grouping together the existing fisheries and shellfish-related activities, and plan new facilities to house the…