The Paris 2012 Olympic bid says it will provide 11,000 new homes if it wins the Games.
The athletes’ village at the heart of the Paris 2012 Olympic bid would provide 11,000 new homes after the games, if selected as host.
Crammed into a 43ha space in Les Batignolles, North-west Paris, 40% of these would be used for social housing. This compares to the 30-50% target for the after use of the village in east London’s bid.
The social housing would probably not be pepperpotted through the site, rather blocked off from the more luxury homes that would also be developed after the games.
According to the village masterplan of architect Francois Grether, the village will be at the heart of a 10ha park comprising eight buildings of six to eight storeys in height.
To avoid attack and intrusion, the village would be cut off from the rest of Paris during the games, with tall hedgerows and screens. It would be opened up to the rest of the city after the Games, with transport links and offices added.
Grether said: “It [the village] will be a cocoon for the athletes. But when the games are finished it will be the complete opposite. It is like an egg that opens up.”
Paris 2012 chief operating officer Essar Gabriel said that winning the Games would accelerate regeneration in Paris. He said: “Something that could take 20 to 30 years could be achieved within a decade.”
Other advances that could be made include providing disabled access at Metro stations in Paris, which would be vital under International Olympic committee rules. Gabriel said: “The is would raise awareness of people with a disability - in France we need a leap forward like this.”
