Essec Business School

To prepare for ESSEC’s Real Estate and Sustainable Development Chair’s annual conference "Green buildings: utopia or reality? The asset that is both sustainable and profitable?" I had the pleasure of interviewing Jean-Louis Missika, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Planning, Architecture, Economic Development and Attractiveness as well as the “Grand Paris" Project, regarding the greening of Pairs.

Greening is one of the major objectives of Mr. Missika’s mandate: Over the coming years, his aim is to build 100 acres of green roofs and terraces across Paris, one third of which would be dedicated to urban agriculture.

Thanks to green roofs, Mr. Missika plans to: 

• Improve the quality of life and well-being for residents and augment the attractiveness of the city while engaging in the fight for the preservation of bio-diversity and against global warming;
• Leverage innovation (green space management technology, soil weight reduction techniques);
• Develop an economic model for urban agriculture as it fits within the localist movement.

Our recent study revealed that sustainability is one of the top concerns for young graduates when they decide where they would like to live and work.    

Watch the full interview!