Vaulx-en-Velin () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is the third-largest

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of the city of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, and is located to its northeast, on the river

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

History

The rivers, including the

, regularly overflowed their banks, leaving behind a swampy area. The first verifiable mention of the village of Vaulx-en-Velin comes from the year 1225. The place was not spared from wars either. In 1628 the plague raged in the village. Many people suffered from malaria - the field name "En Palud" testifies to this. A dike was built between 1863 and 1879 to dry out around 9,000 hectares of land. The Saint Jean Villeurbanne dam, built between 1879 and 1882, protects Vaulx-en-Velin from flooding. In September 1979 the first

Banlieue In France, the term banlieue (; ) refers to a suburb of a large city. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris Metropolitan Are ...

suburban youth riots in France broke out in the Cité Olivier-de-Serres in Vaulx-en-Velin. One third of the population lives below the poverty line. On 16 December 2022, a large fire broke out in a seven-storey apartment building, killing ten people, including five children, and injuring 14.

Population

Transport

* Metro line A * Tram T3 * Several buses lines from Transports en commun lyonnais * Rhônexpress

Personalities

* Mohamed Aggoun (born 2002), footballer *

Nathalie Arthaud Nathalie Yvonne Thérèse Arthaud (; born 23 February 1970) is a French secondary school (lycée) economics teacher and politician. Since 2008, she has served as the spokesperson for the Lutte Ouvrière (Workers' Struggle), a communist party, and ...

(born 1970), candidate for the 2012 presidential election, was one of the municipal councillors * Marie-Frédérique Ayissi (born 1982), basketball player * Junior Sambia (born 1996), footballer *

Khal Torabully Khal Torabully is a Mauritian poet. Born in Mauritius in 1956, in the capital city Port Louis, his father was a Trinidadian sailor and his mother was a descendant of migrants from India and Malaya. Work Khal Torabully left for Lyon in 1976, t ...

(born 1956), writer and director *

Corinne Vigreux Corinne Danièle Goddijn-Vigreux, commonly known as Corinne Vigreux (born 9 December 1964), is a French business executive and entrepreneur. She is a co-founder of the Dutch consumer electronics company TomTom where she has been Managing Director ...

(born 1964), business executive and co-founder of

TomTom TomTom N.V. is a Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom released its first generation of satellite navigation devices to market in 2004. ...

References

External links