Rediscovering the River Bièvre : the feasibility of restoring ecological functions in an urban stream

Abstract

The Bièvre's 36-kilometer course stretches from the southwest of Paris near Satin-Quentin-en- Yvelines through numerous towns before disappearing into the urban hydraulic network upon its approach to Paris's dense urban core. Recent plans to restore the stream and uncover its buried sections outside of the core have lead to current plans to reintroduce the stream within Paris proper. Analysis of the environmental history and recent restoration efforts leading up to current plans helps to understand the motivation for such an impressive project. Despite the omnipresence of stream restoration practice in the world today, very few projects are comparable in scope and ambition to the restoration of the Bièvre stream in Paris, France. This thesis explores the extent to which a city fixated for centuries on its domination of nature through architecture and civil engineering is prepared to go to assimilate natural processes into the urban sphere. Through analysis of comparable projects in other cities, the degree to which all urban streams are capable of becoming ecologically-functional will be examined.