town, industrial suburb of Nantes, Loire-Atlantique département, Pays de la Loire région, western France, on the south bank of the Loire River. Rezé occupies the site of a Gallo-Roman settlement, Ratiatum, remains of which survive. Its modern Unité d'Habitation (model housing project) was designed by Le Corbusier (Corbusier, Le). Pop. (1999) 35,478; (2005 est.) 37,300.