France - Grenoble

Grenoble (Arpitan: Grasanòbol) is a city and commune in south-east France situated at the foot of the Alps where the Drac joins the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes région, Grenoble is the préfecture (capital) of the département of Isère. The population of the city (commune) of Grenoble at the 1999 census was 153,317 inhabitants (157,900 inhabitants estimated as of February 2004 ). The population of the whole metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 514,559 inhabitants and 552,547 inhabitants at the 2007 estimate. Among the numerous communes included are the city's largest suburbs, Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Échirolles, and Fontaine, each with a population exceeding 20,000 inhabitants.

Geography

Grenoble is surrounded by mountains: to the north are the Chartreuse, to the west are the Vercors, and to the east are the Belledonne range. As such, it is often visited by the Tour de France and has been called the "capital of the Alps".

The city is mainly built on the alluvial plain of the River Isere at an altitude of around 214 meters. Mountain sports are an important tourist draw for the city. Twenty ski stations surround the city, the nearest being Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse, which is about 15 minutes' drive away.

Because the city sits in a valley bottom, it has serious issues of air quality due to the mountains trapping the pollution from a large number of cars, garbage burning plants, chemical plants, paper mills and even nuclear test labs. Radiation detectors can be observed at regular intervals along the Drac river[citation needed]. The trash burning plant in Meylan, one of the city's most prosperous suburbs, is currently being investigated for polluting the environment with Dioxin. A similar plant in Savoie was found to have been doing the same[citation needed].

Historically both Grenoble and the surrounding areas were the site of mining and heavy industry. Abandoned mills and factories can be found in small villages like La Mure (carbon mine)