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France To Help Make City Leader In Livability, Innovation: Envoy
Alexandre Ziegler says mobility, basic services to be salient, cross-cutting aspects of French vision.
The French connection of the City Beautiful continues. From being designed by Le Corbusier to meeting the challenges of the Smart City Mission, Chandigarh is relying on technical support from France to emerge as a leader in livability, sustainability, equality and innovation.
In an exclusive interview with The Tribune, a day before he arrives in Chandigarh on Wednesday, the Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler, said the Smart City Mission had spurred Chandigarh to create a new vision for its urban future. Mobility and basic services would be the salient and cross-cutting aspects of this vision. Excerpts from the interview:
The decision to help develop three smart cities in India — Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry — was taken during the visit of the then President Francois Hollande in 2016. What parts of the agreements have moved beyond paper?
French experts have been travelling regularly to Chandigarh, Delhi, Nagpur and Puducherry for providing technical assistance for the past three years. Three MoUs were signed between the French Development Agency (AFD) and the municipalities of these cities to assist them.
How do you make cities sustainable today? What experiences can you share from France?
Urban development is a sector in which France possesses expertise. France is a global advocate of sustainable urban development. It has decided to modernise its urban transport sector. Our cities have given a considerable push to the development of buses and the BRT, and promote the use of bicycles in urban areas.
