In northern France, right in the heart of a mining region, Loos-en-Gohelle is a true oddity. If this small town of 7,000 inhabitants proudly shows the remains of its past and yet painful industry, it has also started a thorough green revolution to become a model of sustainable development.
The green mayor Jean-François Caron has been carrying this ambitious project for nearly 20 years, and is convinced that he is laying the foundations of a new model.
Up Next in Planet Home: Ecological homes from around the globe
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Passive houses
Rethinking a so-called sensitive neighbourhood's photography by integrating new houses that meet ecological norms, together with the will to promote social diversity, is what many towns publicly aim for.
In Le Havre, France, the urban renovation programme has thoroughly changed the Henri-Dunant ... -
The Darwin project
Renovating instead of demolishing: this sustainable approach seems logical, but it is still far from being obvious.
Everywhere in France, abandoned urban wastelands could be demolished in favour of new constructions which aren't always necessary.
In the Bastide neighbourhood in Bordeaux, abando... -
Lapa Rios
In the heart of Costa Rica, paradise exists: the Lapa Rios.
Two Americans head this adventure that started in the 1990s: Karen Lewis and her husband left the US and invested all of their savings in a single dream: building 17 bungalows in complete harmony with their surroundings while respectin...
