Mettre en scène la nature pour accéder à l’urbanité ? L’effet des politiques environnementales à Tournefeuille

The third largest city of Haute-Garonne, located along the first ring road of Toulouse’s urbanized area, Tournefeuille has seen its population increase twelve times since 1960, and the major part of its farmland consumed by an urbanization of single family homes, creating periurban landscapes without character or coherence. To break with this single-use residential monotony and strengthen the urban character of the small town, the municipal team in place since 1997 has committed itself to environmentally oriented policies, which, without ending urban growth, try to "green up" the urban setting and to highlight the existing natural zones in different ways. But, this concern with giving coherence to the urbanized areas, using approaches more sensitive to the "natural" environment with the practices associated, would require acting at the intermunicipal level to be really effective.