Promoting Radical Change: The Loi Relative a` la Solidarite´ et au Renouvellement Urbains in France

Abstract

At the end of 2000, France enacted major reform of its planning system in the Loi relative a` la solidarite´ et au renouvellement urbains (Loi SRU). It presented a restructuring of the instruments of land-use planning and in addition carried sections that dealt with housing policy and urban transportation. It linked the preparation of plans to emerging forms of local government. Using Hampson's analysis of the causes of the French Revolution, this article identifies both the long-term structural weaknesses and the contingent decision-making of the previous decade that led to reform. It concludes that the Loi SRU is probably not as radical as it was promoted as being, but may nevertheless be instrumental in achieving evolutionary change. Avenues for future research are identified.