The Paris City Council on Wednesday adopted its highly anticipated local urban development plan (Plan local d’urbanisme, or PLU) after four years of intensive discussions and more than 50,000 public proposals.
The plan is built on four pillars: adapting to climate change, increasing public housing, promoting local business and preserving Paris’s architectural heritage.
“The challenge is to ensure that Paris remains the city we want to live in for generations to come,” said Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, receiving warm applause from her majority following the vote.
Aligned with Paris’s 2024-2030 climate action goals, the PLU aims to contribute to the city’s broader effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while tackling social challenges.
Paris, Europe’s most densely populated capital, has been steadily losing residents over the past decade. According to a 2023 study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, it also holds the highest risk of heatwave-related deaths among European capitals.
Expanding green spaces
One of the plan’s flagship initiatives is the creation of 300 hectares of new public green spaces. Currently, Paris offers only 8.6 square metres of green space per resident, falling short of the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 10 square metres.
The proposal has been met with some scepticism, with David Alphand, a councilor from the right-wing Les Républicains party, dismissing it as “almost laughable”.
“Who could seriously find the equivalent of 420 football pitches in Paris?” he quipped during one of the discussions.
Charles-Antoine Depardon, one of the plan's key architects and an advisor to deputy mayor Lamia El Aaraje, acknowledged the scale of the challenge.
“300 hectares is ambitious,” he explained, “but we’ve already planned 50 hectares in projects at the city gates, with another 100 hectares in public spaces, including streets converted into gardens and schoolyards.” He also cited the transformation of the quays along the Seine. “The goal is to turn them into a real park,” he said.
Additionally, the city aims to unlock currently inaccessible green spaces, such as large gardens owned by religious institutions.
“An example is the Val-de-Grâce park in the 5th arrondissement (district) – an immense green area that is closed to the public right now, but set to reopen thanks to the PLU", Depardon said.
Shifting housing priorities
The plan is also intended to address the capital's pressing housing crisis. By 2035, the city aims to ensure that 40 percent of its housing stock is public, with 30 percent dedicated to social housing. To combat the historic housing disparity between the eastern and western parts of the city, developers in "hyper-deficit zones" will be required to allocate 50 percent of new constructions to social housing.
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The plan further prioritises residential buildings over office spaces. In central and western Paris, the construction of office-only buildings will be banned, and new projects exceeding 5,000 square metres will be required to include at least 10 percent housing.
“This is what we call functional diversity," Depardon explained. "Now, any office renovation in Paris will need to include a housing component.”
This shift has drawn criticism from opposition members, who argue that it could hamper real estate development and drive up property prices. Jean-Baptiste Olivier, councilor and vice-chairman of the right-wing Changer Paris group, described the policy as an attack on private property, warning that it could reduce property values and discourage renovations.
The fight against Airbnb
As part of efforts to alleviate housing shortages, the plan also introduces stricter regulations on short-term rentals like Airbnb.
“Not only is housing scarcer, but it’s also being misused," Depardon said. "Primary residences are turning into second homes or tourist rentals."
He pointed to international models such as Vienna, where public housing accounts for nearly 60 percent of the housing stock.
“It’s a city consistently ranked among the best places to live because housing is not an issue there,” he explained.
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From 2025, no new furnished tourist accommodation will be allowed in key districts, including the 1st to 11th arrondissements and Montmartre. Prioritising public housing, which cannot be rented out for short-term stays, will further limit the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market.
“We want to enable transformation with ambitious yet realistic rules,” Depardon said. “This plan is a major step forward, and we’re eager to see its results unfold over the next two decades.”