Refreshing Marseille with cooler, greener and more accessible public spaces

As a Mediterranean coastal city, Marseille is strongly impacted by climate change, including rising temperatures, more frequent heat waves with tropical nights (>20°C), coastal erosion, and increasing carbon emissions. Such challenges demand urgent local action. To safeguard the city's quality of life, Marseille has taken a leading role in climate adaptation efforts, with a broad strategy to create a low-carbon, heat-resilient city. 

More specifically, to mitigate extreme heat and build resilience, the City has implemented a wide range of actions, ranging from urban planning and participatory governance, to implementing innovative projects aimed at reducing urban heat islands and promoting sustainable living. This includes expanding access to shaded and cool areas while prioritising water conservation and rethinking public spaces. 

^{Source: The City of Marseille}

New strategy and working methods to “refresh” public spaces 

“Manifesto for Marseillais Public Spaces” 

At the heart of Marseille’s efforts to become more resilient to climate change and resistant to rising heat, is their “Manifesto for Marseillais Public Spaces” (Manifeste des Espaces Publics Marseillais).  

This Manifesto, published in 2024, is built on four key principles to create welcoming and heritage-rooted public spaces with environmental elements that create a cohesive spatial identity. In the future, public spaces will be more peaceful, balancing different uses (socialsing, strolling, passing through, etc.), designed by open, participatory decision-making and serving as climate-resilient "refuges" or "transition spaces." 

A fifth principle stresses the need for coherence in urban interventions and better coordination among stakeholders, calling for a shift in working methods across local authorities and with partners. The second part of the manifesto defines public actors’ roles and outlines a new process to transform public spaces, including improved diagnostics. 

Key initiatives and local actions for a heat-resilient city 

Cool itineraries  

To address rising summer heat, Marseille is part of the European Cool Noons project, developing two “cool paths” with shaded, ventilated, and water-integrated routes. Designed through citizen workshops, the project prioritises cooling strategies like increased vegetation, shaded areas, and improved air circulation. By summer 2025, new public space features will help cool the city, with maps guiding residents and tourists to these cooler areas. 

Since summer 2022, Marseille has also launched an interactive Cool Zones map, listing and identifying naturally cool or cooled spaces, including water points, such as fountains, misters, and water play areas accessible during heat waves. 

^{Find the interactive map here -  the City of Marseille}

More trees 

Marseille’s Tree Plan aims to plant thousands of trees in parks, gardens, and around kindergartens, daycare centers, social and cultural hubs, and sports facilities. Trees’ cooling capacity help cities cope with extreme heat by providing shade, moisture, and refreshing air, helping prevent heatwave-related deaths. So far, around 308,000 seedlings, including 8,000 mature trees, have been identified for planting. 

^{Source: The City of Marseille}

Water management 

Through the COPR'EAU DE PLUIE Project managed with the Water Agency, Marseille is focusing on de-waterproofing and greening condominiums to reduce urban heat islands and improve water management. By integrating green and blue infrastructure, the project enhances the resilience of buildings to climate change while promoting sustainable design. 

Resilient historical city center  

Through the "Plus fraîche ma ville" initiative, the government agencies Cerema and Ademe will support the cooling of two main historical streets in the historical city Center of Marseille. 

These interventions will bring together heritage and bioclimatic approaches. Indeed a holistic diagnostic released in 2022 on Marseille historical city centered measured the effects of climate change on the historic center of Marseille and prioritised adaptation actions. The study revealed concrete, multiple, and growing vulnerabilities of Marseille City center: urban heat islands, soils weakened by functionalist logic, overabundant or scarce water, a very low plant presence, and public health issues.  

The study also documents the bioclimatic functions of the historical city center in its initial conception of the habitat in the 1900’, with narrow streets, the more vegetalised public places, and give recommendations to restore these bioclimatic functions particularly in terms of refreshment and ventilation in summer.  

Green infrastructure 

Marseille is a transfer site of Bologna within the TALEA project, which has received 5 million euros in EU funding to enhance green infrastructure and implement urban interventions combating climate change. The project targets in Bologna 3 different areas that will be transformed to expand green spaces and tree canopies to cool urban areas, enhance soft mobility infrastructure to promote walking and cycling, improve stormwater management and soil permeability to reduce urban flooding. Marseille will benefit from Bologna experiment and replicate this integrated approach across its territory. 

Embarking citizens in resilience with a participatory budget 

Building on the success of its first participatory budget initiative, Marseille has expanded the programme to more districts, inviting residents to propose and vote on projects that improve urban life. Key focus areas include: 

• Urban greening and the expansion of shaded areas;
• Enhancement of public spaces for pedestrian use;
• Sustainable mobility initiatives, such as improved cycling infrastructure.
• Winning projects will be implemented within 24 months, ensuring direct community involvement in efforts to boost climate resilience.                     

^{Source: The City of Marseille}

Enhanced knowledge and data for a more resilience urban planning  

Marseille is addressing urban overheating through various initiatives aimed at diagnosing vulnerabilities and developing strategies for mitigation. The CO-Plan Heat project, in collaboration with national agency ADEME, focuses on identifying the factors contributing to urban heat and potential solutions to reduce its impact.  

Additionally, a prospective study on urban overheating, conducted with MétéoFrance, will analyse the future consequences of rising temperatures in the region, providing valuable insights to inform long-term climate adaptation strategies. 

Aix Marseille University is leading the COoL-AMmetropolis project, which identifies climate mitigation and conservation strategies tailored to the metropolitan area, focusing on sustainable solutions suited to the region’s specific challenges.  

Another key initiative, the RESILIENCE project (PEPR 2025-2030), also led by Aix Marseille University, aims to identify urban heat islands through detailed analysis of urban surfaces, vegetation and carbon emissions. This transdisciplinary approach evaluates the effectiveness of urban planning policies in improving living conditions, with a key focus on reducing urban heat islands by studying thermal properties of surfaces and the role of vegetation in cooling urban areas. 

Complementary initiatives to promote sustainable, accessible and peaceful places 

Complementary to Marseille’s efforts towards heat-resilient public spaces, the City is also focusing on fostering sustainable mobility and lifestyles. For "fresh spaces" that provide relief from extreme heat, it’s important to create peaceful spaces that are human-centered, accessible to all, where people can go to refresh and connect with the community. This means prioritising car-free zones, pedestrian-friendly pathways, and areas designed to encourage walking and cycling.  

Car-free spaces 

Since May 2021, Marseille has launched “La Voie est Libre” (“The Way is Free”), temporarily turning the entire Corniche into a pedestrian and soft mobility zone. Held 8 times a year on Sundays, each edition attracts 25,000-30,000 participants. Spanning 3.6 km of coastline from Catalans Beach to Talabot Park, the event offers a car-free, pollution-free space for walking, cycling, and enjoying activities like sports courses, music performances, and food trucks, while also providing information stands for locals to explore. 

^{Source: The City of Marseille}

Accessible spaces 

Marseille is implementing the "Children's Street" plan to secure and calm areas around schools. This initiative includes full pedestrianisation or partial restrictions with reinforced signage. In collaboration with teachers, children, and various urban stakholders, the city is creating safe spaces for children near schools, nurseries, and leisure centers. Eleven Streets of various types have already been established, and a target of 20 new Children’s Streets per year has been set, laying the groundwork for a larger-scale implementation by 2030. 

^{Source: The City of Marseille}

Community-centred spaces 

The “Prenez Place – Take Place” initiative is a community-driven project aimed at requalifying public spaces through several key actions: 

• Reducing car usage to decrease heat accumulation from asphalt
• Expanding pedestrian-friendly areas and cycle routes
• Increasing vegetation cover to combat urban heat islands 

This initiative aligns with Marseille’s broader strategy of tactical urbanism to create a low-carbon, heat-resilient city. A prime example is the requalification of Place Sébastopol, which, through innovative governance and citizen involvement, will help shape Marseille’s approach to urban space—reducing car use, promoting cycling and walking, and fostering a sustainable, low-carbon lifestyle. 

By rethinking the design of urban spaces, Marseille is creating environments that are not only heat-resilient, but also sustainable, healthy and community-centred. The integration of green infrastructure, public transport options, and safe, accessible areas for social interaction points to the City’s commitment to enhancing the quality of life for its residents through increased resilience 

Replicability

Marseille’s proactive stance on climate adaptation demonstrates its commitment to becoming a resilient and sustainable city. Through projects like Cool Noons, participatory budgeting, and the TALEA and RESILIENCE initiatives, the city is pioneering innovative solutions to address the intensifying effects of heat waves.  

By integrating urban greening, sustainable mobility, and citizen-driven initiatives, Marseille is not only mitigating climate risks but also setting a precedent for other Mediterranean cities to follow in the Refresh Campaign.  

Marseille's Refresh

Maximum temperature reached during extreme heat events: 37,7ºC 

Solutions to address heat waves:

• Nature-based solutions
• Water features
• Maps of cool areas
• Urban Design
• Citizen Participation

Expected results with the solutions implemented:  

• Resilient public spaces, cool paths, vegetation, less cars.

Covenant Figures 

Signatory to the Covenant of Mayors since: 2021

Emission reduction ambitions:  

• % GHG emissions reductions by 2030:  55%
• % GHG emissions reductions by 2050: 80%  

City Awards

• Cities Mission

Related links 

• Marseille in Transition Report:  marseilleentransition-rdd-2024.pdf
• Marseille's Climate City Contract: https://www.marseille.fr/marseille-2030-objectif-climat-et-le-programme-100-villes