Antoine Guironnet: The Financialisation of Urban Capitalism. Commercial property markets and urban development policies in Greater Paris and Greater Lyon: the Docks de Saint-Ouen and Carré de Soie projects

Many urban properties and spaces in major cities are becoming financial assets. Offices, shopping centres, student accommodation and large-scale facilities are being acquired by investment funds and listed companies that capitalise on the future revenue streams generated by the use of these buildings by businesses and residents. Urban regeneration through the development of mixed-use neighbourhoods is, via the financing channels of the property markets, linked to the financial markets. This thesis aims to analyse this financialisation of urban capitalism by examining the interplay between urban government policies and the financial strategies of property asset managers. The power relations between these two actors and their socio-spatial and material effects are examined through a comparison of two major development projects located in Greater Paris and Greater Lyon. It is from this perspective that the study focuses not only on the operational projects themselves, but also on the property fairs where they are presented, and on metropolitan strategies.

Research shows that, despite differing political orientations, the construction of standardised, polarised commercial property reserved for a handful of large companies shapes urban regeneration in both cases. These conditions align with the selective investment criteria of asset managers, which property consultants and developers convey to local authorities. They result from processes whose contentiousness varies according to local agendas. Following intense negotiations led by developers, the municipality of Saint-Ouen abandoned certain key principles of the Docks project. The development of the Carré de Soie, by contrast, resulted in a consensus between developers and Greater Lyon regarding the creation of a commercial hub. Two local configurations are put forward to interpret this comparative outcome, which is conducive to financialisation. The lack of regulation of office development at the level of the Paris metropolitan area leads to localised negotiations within the project, where municipal objectives are constrained by the prioritisation of political agendas, the financing arrangements for the development, and the nature of the land. In the Lyon metropolitan area, the institutionalisation of a property supply policy driven by the executive and the economic development departments of Greater Lyon organises the circulation of investment standards across the conurbation and reinforces their influence on urban planning.

Building on these findings, the thesis proposes an urban political economy interpretation of the financialisation of the urban environment as an alternative to Marxian theory, emphasising the role of asset managers and highlighting their mediating role. It contributes to theories of urban power by demonstrating the limited influence of local agendas on the selective effects of financialisation, and by discussing the formation, under certain conditions, of a financialised growth coalition.

Members of the jury

• Philip Ashton, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago (Rapporteur)
• Ève Chiapello, Director of Studies, EHESS (CEMS)
• Sylvie Fol, University Professor, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
• Ludovic Halbert, CNRS Research Fellow (LATTS) (Co-supervisor)
• Christian Lefèvre, University Professor, Université Paris-Est (Supervisor)
• Gilles Pinson, Professor, Sciences Po Bordeaux (Rapporteur)