Val d'Europe: A pioneering turn to 'experience' planning?

Abstract

French state planning grabbed the investment opportunity the Walt Disney Company offered in the 1980s when it was searching for a site for a European Disneyland. The French state needed to revive the development of the eastern Paris Basin towards the expanded European Union. Embracing the ‘experience’ know-how of the company, it pioneered the implementation of ‘experience planning’ to support the status of greater Paris as a global Metropolis. Aestheticisation, the hallmark of the experience turn of the economy was avoided for the city of Paris, yet materialities for cosmopolitan consumption were provided those willing to invest in Val d’Europe. The Walt Disney Company adapted its ‘experience’ knowledge to the urbanization of the area under the constraints of a Convention and its accompanying ‘planning project’, which determine all aspects and all phases of this land use development over 30 years. Collaboration between the experiential expertise of the Walt Disney Company and the vision and design of the French state has led to the effective and successful continuous emerging of a competitive yet liveable urban place.