"Helping to rebuild towns within towns, creating a sustainable environment and ensuring a varied social mix: three challenges facing local authorities and planners today, and three of the France Terre Group's areas of expertise."

Confronted with the ever-growing housing needs of the French population, local authorities today must meet three fundamental requirements of urban renewal :

• Reconstruction within the town, in addition to extension at the edges, between town and country. Real estate opportunities liberated by major industrial transformations, obsolescence and the renewal of part of the building stock make this possible.
• The will to ensure a varied social mix of habitation. Those involved in planning must consider and facilitate the search for a better sociological balance to improve the way people live together.
• • Creating a sustainable environment. An environmental quality process must be an integral part of today's urban projects, involving particular care in the choice of materials and in how the site is treated.

The France Terre group brings together all these skills, and has offered an alliance of property trades and services for the last 30 years.

• Planner
  France Terre, established in the major regional cities, is one of France's leading urban planners.
• Developer-builder
  France Terre creates high-quality housing developments throughout France, respecting local architectural styles.
• Property administrator
  For the past 20 years, France Terre provided property management services for investors who purchased property developed by France Terre. Today, France Terre has concluded a partnership withthe leading property manager in France: Foncia.
• Secure estate management
  France Terre protects buyers and investors with guarantees that are unique in France.

These multiple complementary and integrated skills enable the group to respond to the requirements of both town councils and individual clients.

Guy PORTMANN,
Chairman of the France Terre Group