The local authorities have fully seized the project's potential and aim to make the Louvre-Lens a key to future economic development.
The planned Musée du Louvre-Lens has been awarded Metropolitan Project status within the metropolitan district of Lille, which groups 23 municipalities and partners representing a population of over 3.5 million inhabitants. Mission Bassin Minier, a planning agency specializing in former mining regions, has been charged with producing an urban planning study to ensure ease of accessibility to the new museum and its successful integration into the urban fabric. Lens city council is actively supporting the project, announcing in 2007 major plans to renovate the area around the train stations, following recent improvements to the boulevard Basly, the main thoroughfare through the city center.
