Villes Vivantes
Citizen-Led Gentle Urban Densification
Bordeaux, France (offices in Paris, Toulouse, Lyon, Dijon)
Highlight
Helps cities add housing within existing neighbourhoods instead of expanding into natural land.
Extended description
Villes Vivantes is a French urban-innovation company that helps local governments increase housing supply through 'gentle densification' of existing neighbourhoods. Its participatory methods and digital planning tools (BIMBY, BUNTI, BAMBA) enable homeowners to create new homes on underused plots, reducing urban sprawl while making better use of existing infrastructure. The approach preserves land, lowers infrastructure costs and supports more compact, walkable, climate-friendly cities.