Towards a negotiated project-led urban planning: principles and instruments of the French model

Contemporary urban challenges call for innovative planning tools able to overcome the dichotomy between regulatory planning (rigidity) and site-specific interventions (fragmentation) in order to produce urban space. This paper investigates the hybrid operational realm between these two dimensions, with particular reference to the French context. In France, over recent decades, the idea of negotiated urban planning has taken shape, positioning public administrations as the focal point of discussions within ‘project-led’ transformation of strategic urban areas. The instruments associated with this paradigm promote deliberative arenas that bring together civic actors, private stakeholders, and design teams, aiming to explore and co-construct possible trajectories of urban development. The paper examines the French model through its historical-theoretical reconstruction, a description of the operational tools in use, and an analysis of the revitalisation project for Hennebont city centre.