Technical changes in stormwater management: the case of SUDS in Lyon’s area (1990-2010)

Technical changes are analysed through the case of SUDS. This analysis is based on two case studies in the Lyon metropolitan area: Technology park (Saint-Priest) and Jacob Kaplan park (Lyon). The survey includes interviews with stakeholders involved in these urban projects and an analysis of the documentation produced during these projects. SUDS are implemented since 1970’s and are effective for the storm-water management. Despite this, their implementation raises problems. In order to better understand the processes of trivialization and the difficulties they raise; we consider the role of the social morphology in this process. The case studies show that SUDS use for their development not only the organisations, but also the rules of usage and technical items of the public spaces and the sewer system. This is how, the current social morphology contributes to the development of SUDS. Despite of a certain development, these objects and their promoters do not find an appropriate organization in this social morphology; and they are not able to make it change to constitute one. In fact, the SUDS do not have a stable organization; this organization is negotiated in each urban project. The use of the social morphology in our analysis opens up avenues for thinking about projects and policies, which consider together new objects and the means necessary for their existence and which could thus be better able to respond to current crises, especially environmental ones.