Thesis supervisor
: Jean-Pierre LEVY Sustainable
development is becoming a tool for urban planning, leading in particular to the creation of "eco-neighborhoods" in many European cities. The objective of our thesis is to analyze the establishment of eco-neighborhoods in the Paris region based on two case studies (the Clichy Batignolles ZAC and the Place de Rungis ZAC). The aim is to show, on the one hand, how the concept of the sustainable city is emerging and, on the other hand, how it is producing architectural standards.
We hypothesize that eco-neighborhoods are part of a broader concept of the sustainable city, based on their production processes, and that the development of these neighborhoods serves to legitimize urban policies rather than an ecological transition in city management.
To understand the process of producing eco-neighborhoods, their appropriation by users, and their integration into the city, our research is based on theoretical analyses aimed at deconstructing the central concepts of the "sustainable city" and determining the system of actors involved in the production of eco-neighborhoods. We also conduct observations and semi-structured interviews with developers, architects, and residents of the two study sites.
Based on our two case studies, we will explain how, due to normative local policies, eco-neighborhoods contribute to the production of a homogenized city. The latter is standardized by the architectural and urban form of these neighborhoods.
Keywords:
sustainable development, eco-neighborhood, sustainable city, ecotechnique, production and appropriation processes.
Doctoral school:
City, Transportation, and Territories