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| A permanent secretariat for the Plan Urbanisme
Construction Architecture |
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This plan has an inter-ministerial vocation, coordinating
various research programs on urban development, construction and architecture.
The urban development construction and architecture plan or puca from
its French initials (Plan Urbanisme Construction Architecture) was
created in 1998 by the French Ministry of public works in order to
advance knowledge of territories and cities
and to shed light on public action.
These applied, multi-year programmes are implemented through subsidized
research projects, field demonstrations and pilots, as well as actions
which promote innovation.
The puca permanent secretariat, a part of the General Department of
Urban Development, Housing and Construction, in charge of steering
the Plan. It leads and organizes calls for research and demonstration
proposals from scientific and technical bodies, monitors the various
programs included in the Plan and highlights their value by publishing
the results of the work undertaken. puca is characterized by: |
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Diversity in its fields of expertise,
at the crossroads between multi-disciplinary and socio-economic approaches,
such as techniques for developing territories, habitat, architectural
and urban design as well as construction.
A plurality of partners taken from varied
scientific backgrounds, bringing human and social science together with
engineering science, as well as professional contractors and urban development,
administration and local authority decision makers.
A variety of scales of intervention in
support of local, regional, national or even Europe-wide initiatives.
Tasks
| Scientific data mining,
inventorying the state of the art and capitalizing on knowledge, especially
through the organization of workshops or seminars held between researchers
on emerging themes and by publishing the Annales de la Recherche Urbaine
(Urban Research Digest). |
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| Direct support to r&d
as part of finalized programs, by issuing calls for research proposals
and by funding demonstration projects and pilots, and supporting innovation. |
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| Network leadership
at the national and regional levels as well as at the European level. |
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| Dissemination of scientific
and technical knowledge by spreading the results of work undertaken
by puca. By organizing conferences and meetings and through its many
publications, it constitutes a resource center at the dispos. |
Bodies
A committee of directors in charge of
setting up the puca’s agenda, ensuring appropriate funding is available,
and evaluating its results.
The Committee of Directors brings together the central administration
directors from the various French government ministries involved :
 Ministry
of employment, social cohesion and housing
Ministry
of national education, higher education and research
Ministry
of transport, equipment, tourism and the sea
Ministry
of culture and communication
Ministry
of ecology and sustainable growth
Ministry
delegated to housing and cities
Ministry
delegated to higher education and research
It is presided by Alain Lecomte, General Director of Urban Development,
Habitat and Construction.
An orientation committee comprising 35
members and presided by Pierre Albertini, member of the National Assembly
and Mayor of Rouen, brings together representatives of administrative
bodies as well as of the scientific and professional fields and urban
development decision makers : local authorities and public and private
sector urban developers.
This committee decides on the one-year and multi-year programmes which
will be coordinated by PUCA, and defines their strategic priorities.
It contributes to expressing the demands of civil society, re-describing
them as scientific questions, and evaluating local and national public
policies.
A scientific council presided by University
Professor Bernard Pouyet.
Comprising 25 members representing human and society sciences, engineering
science and architectural and urban research, this council is in charge
of scientifically validating the research and experimentation programs
and evaluating them.
Organization
puca’s organization is divided in four departments specialized
by field of intervention. These form a vertical structure that is combined
with horizontal task forces that ensure synergies between domains.
> Urban societies
and housing takes into account what is at stake for society,
social and territorial cohesion, in order to lead research actions
into the housing and urban development fields, both in terms of public
policy as well as the practices of urban stakeholders.
> Territories and urban development
looks at what is at stake in terms of urban development through foresight,
planning and territorial sustainable development as well as in spatial
dynamics at work in urban renewal.
> Cities and architecture
covers the quality of architectural and urban achievements at the
urban development and neighborhood project level, forms of intermediate
housing, design processes as well as the professions and professional
practices.
> Technology and construction
responds to the challenges of technological innovations in the fields
of construction, developing environmental quality, managing energy
usage and reducing greenhouse gas emissions levels for buildings. |
puca has a number of departments for supporting research :
 A general
and financial affairs department
A communication
department
A documentation
and publications department
Research programmes
the 2006 –2010 strategic plan
Six finalized multi-year programs for 2000–2005
A city for
all
Finding housing,
living
Organizing
territories
Urban renewal
Future of
habitat
Innovating
for durable construction
Network leadership and scientific partnerships
puca represents a privileged environment for meetings and debates between
scientific, professional and urban decision making backgrounds.
This networking is initiated at the beginning of each programme, with
the definition of research problem areas, and continues throughout their
implementation – thus ensuring that results will be disseminated
effectively and to the right stakeholders.
This is how puca provides its support and takes part in various networks
:
“gis
Socio Économie de l’Habitat”, a scientific cooperation
group that has worked on a multiple yearly basis since 1999 with French
research body cnrs.
The “Club
Ville et Aménagement” made up of and led by various urban
development companies and the French government.
The “Réseau
Activités et Métiers de l’Architecture et de l’Urbanisme”,
a research network approved by the Architecture and Heritage department.
puca also undertakes regional actions for which it has encouraged the
emergence of Regional Exchange clusters for territorial development and
renewal. These ten organizations known as predat are joint ventures between
researchers and practicioners, organized at the initiative of the regional
departments and the scientific and technical network run by the ministry
of public works.
puca takes part in gip “The European Architectural and Urban Projects”
forum tasked especially with organizing Europan in France, the European
program for fostering a competition for ideas on urban city development
among young architects, at the initiative of 19 European countries.
Dissemination of scientific
and technical knowledge
Part of puca’s financial resources are committed to capitalizing
on expertise and to add value to its work in line with a schedule
of thematic workshops, meetings and conferences such as an annual
forum called “Les deux jours du puca” as well as through
numerous publications: a newsletter called Premier Plan, a collection
of best research reports in Collection Recherches and Cahiers thématiques,
and the on-line publication of more than one hundred research reports
every year, as well as support forprivateeditions who publish works
based on research. puca publishes an annual activity report available
from its web site (www.urbanisme.equipement.gouv.fr/puca). |
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