The first meeting of Metropolis' Commission 1 was held in Paris on 28th and 29th June 2010.

The workshop had as its title « Open spaces : peri-urban agriculture, water and biodiversity » and by means of many presentations on the subject, a discussion of the various relevant issues was proposed.

These issues concerned in particular the concept of eco-region and the complexity of taking into account peri-urban (also known as « exurban ») agriculture in local policies and by local authorities.The promotion and development of short supply chains in the distribution of agricultural produce (via direct sale in farmers' markets, for example) ; the role and importance of water ; and the conservation of biodiversity, were also debated.The presentations allowed us to fully consider the role of nature in cities and of cities in nature.

The Presidency of Metropolis' Commission 1 was represented at the meeting by Hélène Gassin, the Vice-president in charge of Environment, Agriculture and Energy, and President of the Eco-region Commission 1.

Furthermore, a large number of cities participated in the session: Abidjan, Aubagne, Bamako, Brazzaville, Caracas, Dakar, Grenoble, Guarulhos (Sao Paulo), Leusden, Medellin, Milan, Moscow, Nanterre, Paris, Rome.

For more information, click here.