Écoquartier Bottière-Chénaie is a mixed-use urban development in the Doulon-Bottière area, east of Nantes, France. The district began taking shape in 2005 on former market-gardening land; the 35-hectare development zone, or ZAC, was entrusted to Nantes Métropole Aménagement. 2 Its purpose includes limiting urban sprawl and meeting households’ housing needs, particularly those of lower-income residents. 2
The project’s landscape plan is organised around the Ruisseau des Gohards, a stream that had been buried and was reopened as part of the development. 2 The restored watercourse runs through a five-hectare park, while planted drainage channels collect rainwater in the open air. 2 The approach also preserves traces of the area’s agricultural past. 2
Christophe Delmar, a landscape architect, and Jean-Pierre Pranlas-Descours, an architect and urban planner, are identified as members of the team responsible for the ZAC. 2 The article says the first building, the Floresca-Guépin media library, opened in 2007; nearly 1,850 homes, along with facilities including a school, crèche and gymnasium, had been built by the time of the article. 2
The housing offer combines social housing, homes at below-market prices and market-rate housing. 2 In its final development phase, the project includes 270 homes, six shops and local services around the route de Sainte-Luce. 2 The Calypso programme is being developed by Giboire, La Nantaise d’habitations and Coop Logis; two further housing programmes, of 40 and 27 homes, are planned to complete the transformation in 2027. 2