Land consolidation as a Vector for an Urban Idea. The Example of the Reconstruction of Yvetot

The reconstruction of Yvetot, a small Normandy town bombed by the German army in June 1940, represents an interesting case of intervention that did not generate debates or conflicts. In this respect, the transformation of its historical centre can help us examine the administrative and planning procedures in detail. This analysis allows us to understand the aims of the reconstruction actors within the process of plot reallocation and road network reorganization. Such a process, called remembrement, consists in the de-materialization of the individual properties, which are then converted into their economic value, in order to rearrange the blocks. The comparison between Yvetot’s reconstruction plan and the pre-war situation reveals their complex interconnection. The need to provide car access and replace family homes with collective housing called for the modification of the pre-existing configuration. On the other hand, the necessity to keep the location of businesses in certain areas and to connect the new roads to the surviving ones limited the changes that could be made. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the cadastral plans highlights both the new correlation between buildings and public spaces, and the results of the cadastral rationalization as the basis of the project for the new urban centre.

Keywords: Yvetot, Post-war Reconstruction, Plot reallocation, Cadastral plans, Urban planning

Virginie Chabrol, Il remembrement come vettore di una idea urbana. L’esempio della ricostruzione di Yvetot in "STORIA URBANA " 155/2017, pp 131-149, DOI: 10.3280/SU2017-155007