Abstract
Urban pavements, which help to maintain streets clean and secure, generate large amounts of runoff that aggravate flooding and degrade the quality of surface water. In the context of ecological and climatic crisis, they also contribute to creating heat islands in cities-as well as hindering biodiversity. So greening cities must be encouraged. Our article evokes the situation of Montpellier-Méditerranée Metropolis (Montpellier 3M, Southern France) which is experiencing adapted to local contexts, so that they are both efficient and judged as legitimate solutions (O'Donnel et al. 2021). Our reflection suggests ways to democratically think about the dismantling of modern coating infrastructures, to slow down urban water flows, and thus improve the habitability of Southern European cities in a context of climate and ecological crisis.