La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland

The vegetated spaces located around Western cities (agricultural land, wooded areas, wetlands, abandoned spaces or recreated nature), are now integrated into metropolitan policies for the management and preservation of nature and landscapes. They are also a living and leisure environment for city dw...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fabien Roussel
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Réseau Développement Durable et Territoires Fragiles 2023-12-01
Series:Développement Durable et Territoires
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/developpementdurable/23276
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832095559266074624
author Fabien Roussel
author_facet Fabien Roussel
author_sort Fabien Roussel
collection DOAJ
description The vegetated spaces located around Western cities (agricultural land, wooded areas, wetlands, abandoned spaces or recreated nature), are now integrated into metropolitan policies for the management and preservation of nature and landscapes. They are also a living and leisure environment for city dwellers, especially the more affluent. Along with reflections on green gentrification, the notion of luxury effect has been proposed to designate the effects of wealthy populations on the increase of biodiversity or, on the contrary, its impoverishment, with the authors referring to a reverse luxury effect. The question must be considered not only from a quantitative point of view, but also in the qualitative dimension of biodiversity.The vast agricultural area in the heart of Randstad Holland in the Netherlands – a conurbation of nearly 7 million inhabitants in 2018 –, referred to in Dutch legislation as the Green Heart, is an archetypal example of multifunctional management of peri-urban vegetated areas that combines agricultural, recreational and ecological issues. Initially very centralizing and regulatory, the policy in favor of nature in the Netherlands has experienced since 2010 a dynamic of disengagement of the central state, in favor of actions at regional and local levels that risk increasing the logic of landscape self-interest. A biogeographic approach was undertaken here based on botanical data, landscape observations and socioeconomic indicators to discuss the effects of affluent populations on the landscapes and flora of the Green Heart. We focused on riverbanks, which are more accessible and highly attractive to urban residents.The riverside flora associated with the most favored sectors has a very anthropophilic character, suggesting an inverted luxury effect, and highlights the qualitative dimension of biodiversity. The hygrophilous flora, which meets the conditions of wetlands and therefore the challenges of preserving biodiversity, is found in the areas furthest from the conurbation, where more modest inhabitants live. The nature targeted by the wealthy residents is more a controlled landscape setting: wooded banks or offering a clear view on the river. However, a spatial convergence is occurring between nature protection measures and the presence of wealthy populations. Some ideas are suggested concerning the management of these measures by the institutions and the resulting negotiations with local actors.
format Article
id doaj-art-6b9cf865dd824c3fb99270c92b985b07
institution Kabale University
issn 1772-9971
language fra
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher Réseau Développement Durable et Territoires Fragiles
record_format Article
series Développement Durable et Territoires
spelling doaj-art-6b9cf865dd824c3fb99270c92b985b072025-02-05T16:35:31ZfraRéseau Développement Durable et Territoires FragilesDéveloppement Durable et Territoires1772-99712023-12-011410.4000/developpementdurable.23276La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad HollandFabien RousselThe vegetated spaces located around Western cities (agricultural land, wooded areas, wetlands, abandoned spaces or recreated nature), are now integrated into metropolitan policies for the management and preservation of nature and landscapes. They are also a living and leisure environment for city dwellers, especially the more affluent. Along with reflections on green gentrification, the notion of luxury effect has been proposed to designate the effects of wealthy populations on the increase of biodiversity or, on the contrary, its impoverishment, with the authors referring to a reverse luxury effect. The question must be considered not only from a quantitative point of view, but also in the qualitative dimension of biodiversity.The vast agricultural area in the heart of Randstad Holland in the Netherlands – a conurbation of nearly 7 million inhabitants in 2018 –, referred to in Dutch legislation as the Green Heart, is an archetypal example of multifunctional management of peri-urban vegetated areas that combines agricultural, recreational and ecological issues. Initially very centralizing and regulatory, the policy in favor of nature in the Netherlands has experienced since 2010 a dynamic of disengagement of the central state, in favor of actions at regional and local levels that risk increasing the logic of landscape self-interest. A biogeographic approach was undertaken here based on botanical data, landscape observations and socioeconomic indicators to discuss the effects of affluent populations on the landscapes and flora of the Green Heart. We focused on riverbanks, which are more accessible and highly attractive to urban residents.The riverside flora associated with the most favored sectors has a very anthropophilic character, suggesting an inverted luxury effect, and highlights the qualitative dimension of biodiversity. The hygrophilous flora, which meets the conditions of wetlands and therefore the challenges of preserving biodiversity, is found in the areas furthest from the conurbation, where more modest inhabitants live. The nature targeted by the wealthy residents is more a controlled landscape setting: wooded banks or offering a clear view on the river. However, a spatial convergence is occurring between nature protection measures and the presence of wealthy populations. Some ideas are suggested concerning the management of these measures by the institutions and the resulting negotiations with local actors.https://journals.openedition.org/developpementdurable/23276biodiversityperi-urban nature areasThe Netherlandsluxury effectgreen gentrificationbotanical survey
spellingShingle Fabien Roussel
La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland
Développement Durable et Territoires
biodiversity
peri-urban nature areas
The Netherlands
luxury effect
green gentrification
botanical survey
title La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland
title_full La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland
title_fullStr La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland
title_full_unstemmed La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland
title_short La nature en privilège : de l’effet des populations citadines aisées sur les paysages et la flore du Cœur vert de la Randstad Holland
title_sort la nature en privilege de l effet des populations citadines aisees sur les paysages et la flore du coeur vert de la randstad holland
topic biodiversity
peri-urban nature areas
The Netherlands
luxury effect
green gentrification
botanical survey
url https://journals.openedition.org/developpementdurable/23276
work_keys_str_mv AT fabienroussel lanatureenprivilegedeleffetdespopulationscitadinesaiseessurlespaysagesetlafloreducœurvertdelarandstadholland