{"id":1100107932,"date":"2026-03-04T11:48:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T10:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T11:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:44:08","slug":"municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet","status":"publish","type":"tribune","link":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As Paris and other major urban centers accelerate their ecological transition, rethink their transportation systems, and strengthen their resilience in the face of climate, energy, and geopolitical crises, one thing is clear: every square meter counts, and candidates must take this into account.  <\/p>\n\n<p>As car usage evolves in Paris, tens of thousands of square meters are losing their original purpose: underground parking garages. This reality presents a major strategic opportunity for Paris. In a city with limited space, where available land is scarce, the underground represents a strategic space with great potential, capable of simultaneously addressing the challenges of sovereignty, security, and the ecological transition. To seize this opportunity, genuine political ambition is required.     <\/p>\n\n<p>The concept of circularity, which has become widely accepted in the consumer sector, can and should also be applied to urban infrastructure\u2014this is the goal of the Chair in Circular Urban Infrastructure established by the \u00c9cole des Ing\u00e9nieurs de la Ville de Paris and the INDIGO Group.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Such a vision is a long-term endeavor and must be championed and implemented by the owner of these strategic infrastructures: the City of Paris itself, with the support of its public and private partners. This op-ed is an invitation to the candidates for mayor of Paris to include in their platforms the consideration\u2014and even the development\u2014of a heritage strategy for infrastructure, for the next term of office and beyond.   <\/p>\n\n<p>The underground space is an integral part of the city and its development. Long hidden from view, these infrastructure systems can become platforms for innovation\u2014whether in urban logistics, energy production and storage, secure hosting of sensitive data, urban agriculture, recreation and events, storage spaces for individuals, or even public safety and protection in the event of a major crisis.   <\/p>\n\n<p>The goal is to integrate the right urban services (parking, logistics, heating and cooling, data centers, etc.) into the right infrastructure at the right time, to support the city\u2019s ongoing transformation and the functions essential to the daily lives of Parisians: food, heating, transportation, supplies, connectivity, safety, and ensuring the continuity of services in the face of climate, health, or geopolitical crises. Other cities around the world have already successfully embarked on this transition, from Helsinki to Montreal to Singapore. Paris, too, has everything it needs to become a model for the city of tomorrow\u2014built both above ground and underground\u2014where underground space can free up public space by integrating new services.    <\/p>\n\n<p>In the context of an ecological transition that prioritizes the reuse of existing infrastructure\u2014in line with the principles of the circular economy and the search for new revenue streams through the multiple uses of public space\u2014 Paris has a powerful, discreet, and strategic asset: its underground infrastructure, currently used exclusively for parking but which can be quickly repurposed, as demonstrated by the project beneath Avenue Foch, for example.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Paris\u2019s underground space can become a tool for resilience, sovereignty, and urban innovation: making better use of existing infrastructure and anticipating its transformation, preparing the city for future crises, and enhancing its appeal and strength. But this transformation requires strong political will, which incorporates these issues into the commitments made by the candidates.   <\/p>\n\n<p>Part of the solution lies right under our feet. The next administration can choose to put it into action to tangibly address the needs of Parisians and their legitimate aspirations. And what works for Parisians can also be replicated in other major cities.    <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2912\" height=\"3071\" src=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/YD_photo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1100105099\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.9482317664697063;width:157px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Youssef Diab, Professor of Urban Engineering, Gustave Eiffel University, Director of the Urban Circular Infrastructure Chair (EIVP\/INDIGO)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"gut-block gut-auteur\" >\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"title titre-h2\">  <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"4613\" height=\"4305\" src=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1100105107\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.0715567071955352;width:157px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>S\u00e9bastien Fraisse, Chairman of the Executive Board of INDIGO.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"gut-block gut-auteur\" >\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"title titre-h2\">   <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"gut-block gut-lire-aussi\" >\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/innovation\/une-chaire-de-recherche-au-service-de-la-mobilite-durable\/\" class=\"lire-aussi-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"img\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"S\u00e9bastien Fraisse et Franck Jung signature\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Photo-1-signature-Chaire-EIVP-Indigo-1440x1080.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"label\">Read also<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"title\">Une chaire de recherche au service de la mobilit\u00e9 durable<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Paris and other major urban centers accelerate their ecological transition, rethink their transportation systems, and strengthen their resilience in the face of climate, energy, and geopolitical crises, one thing is clear: every square meter counts, and candidates must take this into account. As car usage evolves in Paris, tens of thousands of square meters [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1100104727,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"cat-tribune":[],"class_list":["post-1100107932","tribune","type-tribune","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet? - INDIGO Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet? - INDIGO Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Paris and other major urban centers accelerate their ecological transition, rethink their transportation systems, and strengthen their resilience in the face of climate, energy, and geopolitical crises, one thing is clear: every square meter counts, and candidates must take this into account. As car usage evolves in Paris, tens of thousands of square meters [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"INDIGO Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T09:44:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1684\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/\",\"name\":\"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet? - INDIGO Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T10:48:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-08T09:44:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg\",\"width\":2500,\"height\":1684,\"caption\":\"rhezhrehethrthrth\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/tribune\\\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"INDIGO Group\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"INDIGO Group\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/login-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/login-logo.svg\",\"caption\":\"INDIGO Group\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.group-indigo.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet? - INDIGO Group","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet? - INDIGO Group","og_description":"As Paris and other major urban centers accelerate their ecological transition, rethink their transportation systems, and strengthen their resilience in the face of climate, energy, and geopolitical crises, one thing is clear: every square meter counts, and candidates must take this into account. As car usage evolves in Paris, tens of thousands of square meters [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/","og_site_name":"INDIGO Group","article_modified_time":"2026-07-08T09:44:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2500,"height":1684,"url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/","url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/","name":"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet? - INDIGO Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-04T10:48:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-08T09:44:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sebastien-Fraisse-083.jpg","width":2500,"height":1684,"caption":"rhezhrehethrthrth"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/tribune\/municipal-elections-what-if-the-future-of-our-cities-were-being-decided-right-under-our-feet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Municipal Elections: What if the future of our cities were being decided right under our feet?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/","name":"INDIGO Group","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/#organization","name":"INDIGO Group","url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/login-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/login-logo.svg","caption":"INDIGO Group"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribune\/1100107932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribune"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribune"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribune\/1100107932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1100107933,"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribune\/1100107932\/revisions\/1100107933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1100104727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1100107932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cat-tribune","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.group-indigo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cat-tribune?post=1100107932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}