The urban project

Deux-Rives / Zwei Ufer - The riversides are changing !

The Deux-Rives/Zwei-Ufer project is a sign of how open Strasbourg is to the Rhine, to Germany and to the rest of Europe.

It illustrates the desire of the City to use its transborder situation to create a continuous urban space commensurate with the strengthening of Franco-German relations and Strasbourg’s claim to being the capital of Europe. Site of France’s 2nd largest river port and with its atypical industrial port heritage, Strasbourg is also a city-port.

The extension of the tram network towards the German town of Kehl and the development of the four new districts, Citadelle, Starlette, Coop and Port du Rhin mark the latest phase in this major urban project.

Vision

Photo of Jeanne Barseghian and Pia Imbs

Deux-Rives project: building with nature

By ms. Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of Strasbourg, and ms. Pia Imbs, President of Strasbourg Eurometropole (written in French).

The largest development project in our region, the Deux-Rives project extends from Neudorf to the banks of the Rhine and offers continuity from Heyritz Park to Kehl-am-Rhein. This project forges links, breaks the isolation of historic districts, long on the margins, and offers a new destiny to this vast region, located in the heart of the port of Strasbourg.

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The history of the Project

The second half of the 20th century saw Strasbourg develop towards the north, south and west at the expense of its border with Germany. Anxious to renew its ties with its neighbour across the Rhine, meet the growing need for housing and avoid urban sprawl by recycling wastelands, in the 1990s, Strasbourg launched its largest urban development project since that of Neustadt: the transformation of some 250 hectares of port wasteland extending from the Ill to the banks of the Rhine, from Strasbourg’s Heyritz district to the German city of Kehl-am-Rhein.

The Deux-Rives / Zwei Ufer project was born : discover its history in detail and the key figures of the project below.

1990s

Start of consideration around the development of 250 ha of port wastelands, from the River Ill to the Rhine. Work began on the Heyritz district in 1996.

2004

Inauguration of the Jardin des Deux-Rives park.

2005-2016

Development work on the Malraux Peninsula (Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, André Malraux Media Library, Black Swans, Seegmuller Tower, Rivétoile…)

2010

Start of development of the Danube Eco-district by SERS.

2013

Deux Rives Master Plan / Co-managed by the Urban Community of Strasbourg (now Eurométropole) and the Autonomous Port of Strasbourg, the Master Plan lays the foundations for the urban transformation of the region.

2014

Creation of SPL Deux-Rives and the Mixed Development Zone (ZAC des Deux Rives). Inauguration of Heyritz Park.

2016

Definition of the major urban, landscape, architectural and environmental direction of the project through the Regional Guide Plan (Citadelle, Starlette and Port du Rhin districts) and COOP Guide Plan.

2017

Inauguration of the Franco-German tramway linking Strasbourg to the German city of Kehl-am-Rhein. Three new stations serve the urban project region.

2019-2022

Inauguration of public spaces, cultural and socio-economic facilities of the COOP: Virgule, Wine Cellar, Social Union, KaléidosCOOP; Welcoming the first inhabitants and workers in the Coop, Citadelle and Starlette districts.

2021

Evolution of the project and Guide Plans of the Citadelle, Starlette, Coop and Port du Rhin districts, in line with the ambitions of the elected representatives of the city and Strasbourg’s Eurométropole.

2017-2030

Construction of public facilities and spaces by SPL Deux-Rives, schools, parks, Coop facilities, and real estate operations (housing, offices, shops, services, etc.) by property operators and social landlords.

1990s
2004
2005-2016
2010
2013
2014
2016
2017
2019-2022
2021
2017-2030

Site of the project within Strasbourg

Urban strategies over the years

To understand the latest phase of the major Deux-Rives project we also need to discover the project background and geography, and how the project slots into the surrounding context and environment. It is important to understand the innovative method applied to the project, with its changing guide-strategies appealing to the collective intelligence and adapting themselves in light of subsequent proposals and feedback.

A pioneer right from the beginning, at the end of the 1990s, the Deux-Rives project is a reaction to urban sprawl where building development spreads beyond the city walls and gradually swallows up natural greenspaces and farmland. Prior to carrying out a study of its West-East axis, the City of Strasbourg had identified three main goals it wished to achieve, namely to:

recycle urban spaces, by turning the abandoned port areas – former industrial sites – into new urban development plots, thereby preserving farmland and natural spaces,

heal old wounds, by re-opening Strasbourg to the Rhine, previously a no man’s land, soon to be a linking feature and home port.

– speed up the ecological transition, thus consolidating the foundations for a resilient and united city, by carrying out a wide range of actions in different fields (energy, transport, housing, materials, public services and facilities, biodiversity, greening, etc.).

Presentday

The project factory

Why build, how, and with whom? How to reconcile city and nature? Why reduce the distance between where people live and where they work? How can citizens be involved in their future living environment? The new project is about re-thinking how to design the city so that traditional approaches can be left behind and plans adapted to suit the locality. Here we let you in on a few “manufacturing”  secrets.

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Consultations and public procurement

All consultations and public procurement