1. Phases in the implementation of UHI monitoring in Rennes

1.1 A tale of birds and heatwaves

At the beginning of the 2000s, in Rennes as elsewhere, social demand for local nature, the possibility of getting around by bike and pedestrian, the search for images of quality of life for the city and the legibility of new urban planning projects, all pleaded for the development of green links but also for the maintenance of a certain biodiversity. However, biological knowledge of urbanized environments is still very limited, even if some taxa have been the subject of surveys and comparisons between town and country. However, social demands, the geographical extension of urban environments and their possible role in nature conservation mean that the types of animal and plant species, their behaviours and potential impacts need to be taken into account....