Paper short abstract:

My proposal looks at the process of “urban renewal” in a marginal area of Lyon. The urban development projects are analysed as a negotiation arena around the “value” of city and the meaning of what a “desirable” city is supposed to be. Two aspects will be particularly discussed: the changes in urban space practices and the strengthening of the internal borders in this urban zone.

Paper long abstract:

One expression of the globalisation of cities is the idea (that became globalised as well) that they constitute marketing territories, international prestigious places connected to the world.

But how do their marginal areas, the ones we call "ban-lieu" participate in this general trend that heavily informs urban policy? How are they affected by an urban development approach based on image marketing and international tourism?

France adopted in 2003 a new urban policy concerning these "inner cities". The urban regeneration process became a negotiation arena around the "value" of city and the meaning of what a "desirable" city is supposed to be.

I followed the transformation of these urban zones and the competition around their symbolic construction among various actors (political, cultural, economic actors, inhabitants, etc.).

On one hand I analyzed the changes in urban space practices and symbolic construction, and on the other hand I looked at how the internal borders of the neighbourhood (physical and symbolic) are being produced and seemingly reinforced by the urban development projects.

In my presentation I will discuss two general views about the city resulting from my fieldwork data.

This presentation is based on an anthropological research in Lyon (France) in "La Duchère" district which was affected by massive demolitions, reconstructions, resettling of some inhabitants, and an influx of new inhabitants.