Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland

Plan-les-Ouates is a Swiss municipality in the canton of Geneva. She is, since December 22, 2010, The 11 th city of Canton in terms of population with 10 690 inhabitants. Plan-les-Ouates was founded in 1851 when the large municipality of Compesières was divided. Extending over 588 hectares, the municipality of Plan-les-Ouates comprises the villages of Saconnex d’Arve, Arare and Plan-les-Ouates. Its name is thought to originate from the Gothic wato or gwatt, meaning water.

Located between the Arve and Rhône rivers, the municipality history is linked to the development of the European communication network. Route de Saint-Julien, which was once a Roman road, carries the history of the convoys linking Carouge to Lyon and beyond to the south of France.

According to the cantonal statistics office, the town measures 582 hectares. 55.5% of housing and infrastructure areas, 39.2% of agricultural areas, 4.6% of wooded areas and 0.7% of unproductive areas. The town includes the towns of Plan-les-Ouates, Arare and Saconnex-d’Arve. It borders on Lancy, Veyrier, Troinex, Bardonnex, Perly-Certoux, Confignon, Onex and Carouge.

History
Plan-les-Ouates was first mentioned in 1537 as Plan-des-Vuattes. Part of the Geneva canton since 1816, the region was part of the commune of Compesières which rented the Ouates plain to the State of Geneva to establish the militia camp there. This is how the Plain received, from 1819 to 1875, the men performing their military exercises. It’s the June 16, 1851 that Plan-les-Ouates, by its desire for independence, was separated from the commune of Compesières by decision of the Council of State. The new “upper” commune included Bardonnex, Charrot, Landecy and Evordes, the “lower” commune included Arare, Saconnex-d’Arve and Plan-les-Ouates, the independent commune of Plan-les-Ouates was born on 1 st July 1851.

From the village of some 3,500 souls in 1970, Plan-les-Ouates has become a suburban municipality of more than 10,000 inhabitants. Of agricultural origin, the town has seen many industries set up in the market gardening part of its territory to give rise to an industrial zone (ZIPLO). Following the important arrival of the watch industry in recent years, the name has been humorously diverted into “Plan-les-Watch. The town celebrates the Feuillu, a spring festival.

Today Plan-les-Ouates has lost its rural character to become one of the most appealing suburbs in the canton of Geneva. Plan-les-Ouates became a town in December 2010 with more than 10,000 residents. Balanced development has enabled Plan-les-Ouates to preserve the traditional character of its villages while developing areas of beautiful detached houses and village properties, favouring a welcome mix of accommodation.

The municipality has one of the biggest industrial areas in the canton. Located at the gateways to Geneva and Switzerland, a stone’s throw from the airport and near junctions to cross-border motorways, Plan-les-Ouates is ideally located. Many internationally renowned companies, particularly in the watchmaking, pharmaceutical, electronic, microtechnology and new technology sectors are based in the municipality. A rise in its demographics and economy places the municipality at the crossroads of historic heritage and future prospects. It still, however, cares about preserving quality of life, supporting vill.

Economy
As of 2010, Plan-les-Ouates had an unemployment rate of 6.4%. As of 2008, there were 104 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 16 businesses involved in this sector. 7,209 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 154 businesses in this sector. 4,290 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 409 businesses in this sector. There were 3,395 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.5% of the workforce.

In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 10,801. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 94, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 7,043 of which 6,079 or (86.3%) were in manufacturing and 964 (13.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 3,664. In the tertiary sector; 1,217 or 33.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 235 or 6.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 156 or 4.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 392 or 10.7% were in the information industry, 81 or 2.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 613 or 16.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 233 or 6.4% were in education and 341 or 9.3% were in health care.

In 2000, there were 6,986 workers who commuted into the municipality and 2,800 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.5 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 22.9% of the workforce coming into Plan-les-Ouates are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.0% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 18.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 59.6% used a private car.

Businesses
Watchmaking, the biotech-medtech sector, information and communication technologies and construction are some of the pillars of the town’s industrial dynamism. A true cluster, the “Plan-les-Watches” watchmaking ecosystem alone has more than 50 structures (manufactures, subcontractors, independents, art workshops, training centers, start-ups, employment agencies, etc.) working exclusively or partially in the field.

In total, it is nearly 1,000 companies bringing together more than 13,000 jobs in nearly 200 different types of activities, ranging from agriculture to aeronautics and craftsmanship, which make up this dynamic group. and varied.

Education
In Plan-les-Ouates about 2,246 or (33.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 1,437 or (21.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 1,437 who completed tertiary schooling, 43.8% were Swiss men, 33.3% were Swiss women, 14.0% were non-Swiss men and 9.0% were non-Swiss women.

During the 2009-2010 school year there were a total of 2,716 students in the Plan-les-Ouates school system. The education system in the Canton of Geneva allows young children to attend two years of non-obligatory Kindergarten. During that school year, there were 272 children who were in a pre-kindergarten class. The canton’s school system provides two years of non-mandatory kindergarten and requires students to attend six years of primary school, with some of the children attending smaller, specialized classes. In Plan-les-Ouates there were 428 students in kindergarten or primary school and 48 students were in the special, smaller classes. The secondary school program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 428 lower secondary students who attended school in Plan-les-Ouates. There were 561 upper secondary students from the municipality along with 100 students who were in a professional, non-university track program. An additional 154 students attended a private school.

As of 2000, there were 151 students in Plan-les-Ouates who came from another municipality, while 814 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Culture
With concerts, theatre, dance, performances for young people, La Cour des Contes Festival, Culture Season, Music Festival, Le Petit Festival, La Rue du Jeu, Musical weekend, Wednesday Films and open-air cinema/theatre, artworks in the public space, exhibitions, management of decoration fund, there are many and diverse cultural activities going on in Plan-les-Ouates, even in summer.

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There’s also La Julienne, a space for arts and culture located at route de Saint-Julien, 116. It has a café, exhibition space, performance room, library and activity rooms.

Events and festivals

La Cour des Contes Festival
The storytelling festival not to be missed in French-speaking Switzerland, at the gates of Geneva, Les Jobelins – Festival des arts de la parole de Neuchâtel, wishes to offer a place to the next generation and organizes a springboard: 3 people planning to professionalize in the art of tale will have the opportunity to confront the public, the programmers.

The festival of Music
The meeting place for music lovers

The Street of the Game
The game in all its forms. This event is organized every other year, alternating with Le Petit Festival.

Cinema Wednesdays
Swiss films are in the spotlight. Each year, it is important to us to make you discover not only Swiss cinematographic works, but also to highlight the professions of the seventh art through meetings with the public at the end of the screenings.

La Brisolée
A festival of lights by the fireside. Unmissable moment in the life of the House, La julienne invites its audience to meet on the last Thursday of November to celebrate Brisolée. Festival borrowed from the Valais tradition which invites to meet around chestnuts, a good soup and braziers in the winter sweetness or with your feet in the snow. It is a moment of sharing between the public, students and partners to consume without moderation.

The Musical Weekend
Young musicians, play together. The Plan-les-Ouates Musical Weekend is aimed at young musicians aged 7 to 16 practicing different instruments and offers them to play together for a whole weekend. Small groups of 3 to 8 musicians are formed as soon as registrations close according to the age, instrument and musical level of each. Each ensemble is conducted over the weekend by a qualified music teacher. Each participant receives the scores of the pieces he will play during the weekend a few weeks in advance. It is strongly recommended that everyone prepare their scores well in order to guarantee the quality of the group work. A choir is planned alternately with music lessons and participants will also receive a score on this subject.

Spotlight
Stage open to the partners of La julienne. More than a month of stage open to partners of the Maison des arts et de la culture de Plan-les-Ouates. The students of La julienne, under the spotlight, present the fruit of their work to you through exhibitions, shows, concerts and auditions.

Sport
The municipality promotes sports activities in the area and helps associations develop their activities to benefit the population, particularly young people. The municipality coordinates initiatives connected to sports and has set up a development programme for sports activities.

Environment
The municipality works to safeguard and respect the environment. Its values are:

Sustainable development: taking actions that respect the principles of sustainable development in three areas (economic, social and environmental)
Respect: maintain and develop the values of fairness and exemplarity
Resources: optimise the use of resources, increase efficiency and preserve the municipality’s development capacity
Quality of life: preserve and increase quality of life in our area through planning, sports, cultural, social, environmental, transport and construction policies.
Participative approach: taking the population’s opinion into account

Activities
Whether with a qualified guide or an app, the cultural service invites you to discover Plan-les-Ouates in a different way. Guided tours in collaboration with Gaëtane Chacon (Geneva guide diploma and Certificate in heritage and tourism from the University of Geneva)

“Nature apps” guided tour
As part of the “Animalière” group exhibition at La julienne, NARIES offers an outing on the natural territory of the Municipality. This outing will certainly take you into Nature, but instead of being disconnected, you will use applications on your smartphone to recognize plants, insects and go on treasure hunts…

Saconnex d’Arve, by mounts and by vaulx
A bucolic stroll between ancestral homes and revitalized orchards to discover the history of hamlet, its fauna and flora, and its panoramas not to be missed.

Visit of Plan-les-Ouates by bike
Active for health and for the planet is good, and still is better when you do it on your bike, while discovering the history and anecdotes of Plan-les-Ouates.

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