Artelia is proud to announce that it has been awarded the 13^th European Urban and Regional Planning Award 2025 for the project “Plan Pluie – Greater Reims: a co-created and data-informed water urbanism.”

This award recognises a pioneering approach led by Artelia in partnership with the Greater Reims Urban Community, placing water at the heart of the urban project. In the face of climate challenges, the Plan Pluie project redefines the way cities are designed, planned and managed, combining data, engineering, innovation and co-creation to build a more resilient, sustainable and liveable territory.

This European recognition highlights Artelia’s unique value:

• a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together urban planners, hydrologists, data scientists, landscape architects and engineers;
• an integrated vision of environmental and urban challenges;
• a strong capacity for innovation serving more adaptive and inclusive territories.

Since 2019, Artelia’s teams have supported Greater Reims in implementing this strategy, turning the challenge of water management into a genuine opportunity for urban transformation and ecological transition.

The award ceremony took place on 7 November 2025 in Brussels.
The ECTP-CEU (European Council of Spatial Planners) brings together over 40,000 urban planners from 28 countries, represented by national associations, including the Société Française des Urbanistes (SFU) and the Office Professionnel de Qualification des Urbanistes (OPQU) in France.

What the Jury Highlighted

Beyond the technical excellence of the project, the jury praised its innovative approach to urban planning, noting that the Greater Reims “Rain Plan” is not only a tool for stormwater management but also a fully integrated planning framework combining regulations, zoning maps, and atlases of potential runoff paths.

They also recognised the project’s ability to give public spaces a dual function, to provide precise measures for infiltration, reuse, and evapotranspiration, and to limit the impact of urbanisation on the water cycle.

The evaluation panel was further impressed by the seamless integration of the plan into the Local Urban Master Plan, describing it as “a new planning paradigm in which rainwater is considered a shared resource and a key driver of spatial transformation.”

Finally, the experts commended the successful combination of data-driven modelling, innovative techniques, and strong co-creation with local communities, demonstrating how technological innovation and democratic participation can reinforce one another. They also highlighted the Méthod’O methodology, a reproducible and universally applicable approach that links stormwater management with biodiversity, flood mitigation, environmental resilience, and improved quality of life.

Testimonials

From the Jury President

Ignacio Pemán Gavin, President of the Jury, highlighted why our project stood out among 30 outstanding entries: “A wealth of innovations, a strong commitment to involving stakeholders and residents, and a new form of urbanism that anticipates future climate conditions. The project integrates numerous public and private developments within powerful open-source tools and a comprehensive, replicable methodology.”

From Artelia

Laurent Vigneau, Urban Engineer and Director of Research & Innovation – Artelia Group: “This award recognizes the invention of a new Water Urbanism, leveraging Artelia’s expertise and research to make water a powerful tool for planning and development. The main innovation lies in modelling the cumulative effects of numerous interventions to enhance the objective anti-fragility of the territory. This prize also honours our client, Greater Reims, who has always supported and facilitated our proposals to progressively shape a new Water Urbanism.”