Pierre Veltz

Engineer and Sociologist

Pierre Veltz is an engineer and sociologist by training, but he favours interdisciplinary approaches. He is interested in the transformations of industry, technologies, cities and territories. In recent years, he has focused his work on the ecological bifurcation (see his latest book: L'économie désirable, sortir du mode thermo-fossile, Seuil, 2021). He has always intertwined research and practice. He has directed the École des ponts, contributed to the Grand Paris projects and piloted the great Paris-Saclay project. He is heavily involved in the IHEDATE (Institut des hautes études d'aménagement des territoires en Europe), of which he chairs the scientific council. He received the Grand Prix de l'urbanisme in 2017. He has five grandchildren, and hopes that the world they will live in will be habitable and peaceful.