During the Mayors’ Dialogue Session at the World Canal Cities Forum, the Mayor of Orléans, France, Mr. Olivier Carré shared his city’s experience in promoting sustainable development.

In his speech, Mr. Carré had focused on sustainability in urban development and introduced the lessons learnt by Orléans in the areas of urban environmental protection and management.

Mr. Carré believed that the long-term development of a city require the support of modern tools and various big data technologies. Orléans is an innovative city and has won many awards. For more than a decade, it has made significant progress in promoting economic development and improving the well-being of people. However, the economy should not be developed at the expense of the environment.

The city of Orléans had combined the protection of the environment with the improvement of the quality of life, with a focus on achieving two changes: (i) changes in the use of big data and intelligent management and (ii) changes in energy. At present, Orléans has achieved remarkable results in protecting the air, drinking water and soil quality of the city.

Mr. Carré used the example of promoting public transportation to improve air quality. This is similar to China’s approach in reducing private car travel by promoting electric vehicles. The proportion of private vehicles in Orléans had been reduced from 80% to 40-50%, and the city looks to achieve 100% in electric vehicle travel in the next five years. At the same time, the city of Orléans has also promoted energy-saving measures in housing, conducted thermal insulation renovation and large-scale rectification of all residential buildings, conducted a rigorous survey of interior decoration of houses, and promoted multi-channel energy supply instead of a centralized supply through intelligent systems. This resulted in more reasonable usage of energy, heat and electricity. At the same time, with regards to its canal water source, the city promotes conservation measures while ensuring long-term monitoring of drinking water. Currently, Orléans does not have any sewage discharged into clean water sources. In this regard, the City of Orléans has adopted a big data strategy to monitor all water networks and used smart water meters, which help residents of each household to better control the water consumption of their families.

Mr. Carré also shared that Orléans emphasizes zero pesticides to protect the quality of its soil. Locally produced agricultural products make up the main supplies in Orléans and this may be a big challenge for bigger cities. However, for the sustainable development of the city, Orléans advocates that all citizens should be actively involved. Through educating the younger generation and using the Internet to promote and share relevant information with the public, the city has achieved remarkable results and the soil has been effectively protected.

Mr. Carré stressed that the city of Orléans has also changed its strategy in public and political management. It focuses on enhancing the well-being of residents and responding to their needs in a timely manner. Citizens are now more demanding on information transparency and they hope to be able to make their own informed choices, rather than to rely on public or government agencies. Therefore, the city of Orléans has implemented a new concept of political decision-making, which encourages the Mayor and Members of Parliament to guide citizens to participate actively in changing the city. At present, this effort has seen an increase in enthusiasm amongst the citizens. In the upcoming management system, everyone will be able to see traces of their activities and this will further strengthen civic engagement. Citizens will increasingly feel that they are shaping the future of the city.

In his conclusion, Mr. Carré mentioned that new technologies, new energy and new management are indispensable in the sustainable development of Orléans. This is the main direction for future development and they are the main driving forces. We hope that Orléans can exchange experiences with other countries in the world and share our achievements to achieve a win-win outcome and the common realization of sustainable development.