Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Coat of arms

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Location within Hauts-de-France region

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Country

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Lille Métropole

Government

• Mayor (2008–14)

Gérard Caudron

Area¹

22.66 km² (8.75 sq mi)

Population (2010)²

63,572

• Density

2,800/km² (7,300/sq mi)

• Summer (DST)

INSEE/Postal code

59009 / 59491, 59493, 59650

Elevation

19–46 m (62–151 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq (pronounced: [vil.nœv.dask]) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole and the largest in area (27.46 km²) after Lille; it is also one of the main cities of the Hauts-de-France region.

Built up owing to the merger between Ascq, Annappes and Flers-lez-Lille communes, the new town is the cradle of the first automatic metro system of the world (VAL).

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is nicknamed the 'green technopole' thanks to the implantation of many researchers - the campus of Lille University of Science and Technology, Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III and many graduate engineering school - and companies in a pleasant living environment. Owing to its activity centres, its Haute Borne European scientific park and two shopping malls, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is one of the main economic spots of the Hauts-de-France region; multinational corporations such as Bonduelle, Cofidis and Decathlon have their head office there.