Vulnerability, Urban Design and Resilience Management

Abstract

After 30 years without any serious flooding, and over half a century without any major floods (the river Seine’s last “important” flooding in Paris took place in January 1955), the 2016 event questions our capacity to evaluate the flood hazard and its impacts. For the Ile-de-France region, the hazard occurred outside defined periods of vigilance, as a result of heavy rains downstream of the main protection structures formed by reservoirs. For this reason, these large protection works only had a very moderate influence on the event. Management of the 2016 event has been analysed on the basis of local measures whose effectiveness varied depending on the context. Among the positive lessons to be drawn, the 2016 floods revealed the high level of resilience of the Matra district in Romorantin. This resilient district, which has high urban qualities, has shown that, in the French regulatory context, flood risks can be treated effectively by appropriate development projects.