My PhD thesis explores the history of seven social housing blocks situated along the Paris ring road, from Porte Pouchet to Porte des Poissonniers. The architect Raymond Lopez designed these blocks in the 1960s as part of a joint urban development initiative, Sector 8, using the same architectural prototype for all seven buildings. However, these initial similarities are overshadowed by a striking disparity in the fate that Lopez’s towers have met over the 60 years since their construction. Some have been demolished, others converted and refurbished. Currently, the Tour Poissonniers, which was initially threatened with demolition, is undergoing renovation. The contrasting fates of the seven towers reveal the story of a remarkable paradigm shift in the field of urban regeneration, replacing the old paradigm of social housing demolition with that of transformation. This thesis explores this shift by examining how architecture, urban planning and local policy have interacted in resolving a problem with such significant social and ecological impact.

My research project will examine the correlation between the development of new social housing regeneration programmes with strong environmental ambitions and the obsolescence of various parts of the building, as well as its maintenance protocols. The study takes the seven Lopez tower blocks as its case study, in order to trace the paradigm shift from demolition to regeneration. To analyse this, the project combines a more traditional policy study of changes in the instruments used for the production and management of social housing with a micro-analysis of the various parts of these seven tower blocks in their physical dimension. This micro-analysis uses a socio-technical approach to study the interaction between the technical construction choices for the various elements of the tower and the evolution of daily life within the buildings. More specifically, the study will delve into the concept of component obsolescence and analyse the maintenance practices of the tower blocks.

The study aims to trace the role of architecture—and therefore of architects—in this shift, from the most basic cleaning practices right through to a large-scale cultural transformation in the management of 20th-century built heritage. The study approaches ecological transitions as a process that must be examined not only through a belief in innovation, but also through an analysis of the impact on everyday practices.

One chapter of this thesis will compare this change of direction regarding the Tour des Poissonniers—which was originally slated for demolition but managed to avoid it—with Corviale, a housing estate in Rome that suffered the same fate and is currently undergoing regeneration with funding from the NGEU[1]. The conclusions of this thesis aim not only to trace this change of course within the French context, but also to extend it to the European context, thereby contributing to a comparative socio-history of the historical production of social housing in Europe, the role of architecture, and a continental response to climate change. This ambition aligns with a personal journey across different countries, and with the conviction, through the combination of architecture and political science, that the intersection of disciplines opens up new avenues in the transition of our urban environments.

[1] European funding programme – Next Generations EU

By examining basic public services, this thesis explores the reorganisation of political and technical powers following the implementation of decentralisation reforms. In India, this issue has already been the subject of several case studies in rural areas and metropolitan cities. The aim of this work is to supplement this body of research by situating it within the distinct context of small Indian towns. These have so far attracted little attention from researchers and planners.

This lack of interest reflects a bias in the way Indian urbanisation is conceived, where the term ‘city’ refers primarily to metropolitan areas, regarded as the drivers of economic growth, at the expense of the rest of urban India. Yet a significant proportion of the urban population now lives in this type of town and is therefore just as affected by the changes introduced by the new urban policies resulting from decentralisation. As part of this doctoral research, a survey was conducted across four small towns of 20,000 inhabitants selected in eastern Uttar Pradesh, interviewing politicians, engineers and residents. The empirical research analysed the formation of local governments from a multi-level perspective to understand the institutional transformations since the reform. The study’s findings provide an insight into the process of municipal emergence in small towns.

Making the country’s development more environmentally sustainable without significantly altering the pace of economic and urban growth: this is the challenge the Chinese authorities have been tackling since 2006 in order to address the growing pressure on natural environments and the severe environmental degradation caused by rapid development. China is probably the only country in the world where energy and environmental efficiency in the provision of essential urban services (water, sanitation, electricity, gas, heating, solid waste management) is being pursued so vigorously through circular economy policies and the operation of eco-industrial parks and eco-cities, against a backdrop of sustained and prolonged economic and urban development.

Based on a study conducted in Shanghai, Suzhou and Tianjin—three cities at the forefront of China’s transformation—combined with an analysis of the national framework and the country’s overall situation, this thesis aims to analyse the substance and forms of the environmentalisation of essential urban services being implemented in China. Our research shows that China’s ambitious policies for the environmentalisation of essential services are resulting in cities in a partial improvement in the environmental quality of their provision, whilst the prospect of resource efficiency and the circular economy remains a distant one. The prevalence of developmentalist urban planning structurally hinders the emergence of technical systems for resource reuse that offer alternatives to conventional networks. The path towards the environmentalisation of essential services taken in Chinese cities remains too technology-centred and too detached from urban planning for environmentalisation—and in particular the pursuit of resource efficiency—to be more substantial.

From an operational perspective, these lessons suggest that, in China and beyond, greater consideration should be given to issues relating to the provision of essential services in urban planning and development.

Both public policy and academic research are showing a growing interest in the relationship between cities and energy. This thesis examines how energy network operators contribute to the development and implementation of local energy policies, and the ability of urban policy-makers to steer them in this direction. The issue is examined through the lens of alternative energy distribution actors in France: local distribution companies (LDCs). For over a century, these companies have been responsible for the distribution and supply of electricity, and in some cases gas and heat, within the municipalities that own them. Today, they are emerging as innovative levers of action available to cities for developing urban energy policies.

Focusing on urban operators, this thesis examines the cases of GEG in Grenoble and UEM in Metz. Despite their local presence, local electricity distribution companies (ELD) have only in recent years begun to give the urban level a prominent place in their business strategies. The sectoral and centralised organisation of the public electricity service has long held back the ELDs, hindering the emergence of a specific approach to their concession areas. However, the restructuring of the economic model brought about by liberalisation is leading the ELDs to seek new sources of growth. Seizing opportunities linked to the prioritisation of energy and climate policies, they are demonstrating a high degree of adaptability and developing new strategies that place greater emphasis on their urban roots.

Having long been dominated by sectoral approaches at national level, local energy companies are now increasingly involved in the development of urban energy initiatives. However, this urban focus does not automatically make local energy companies instruments of governance for urban energy policy, which would require municipal political actors to have the capacity to take the initiative and steer the process in line with their own objectives. Through an analysis of the examples of Grenoble and Metz, we demonstrate that the emergence of energy as a local political issue is both gradual and heterogeneous, challenging a previously predominantly economic and industrial approach to the management of ELDs. However, the ongoing politicisation is hampered by the municipalities’ limited expertise in energy matters; they are only able to integrate their energy and climate concerns into the strategic management of their local enterprises to a very limited extent.

The changes are, however, far more significant at the operational level, in projects involving partnerships centred on energy issues: local climate and energy plans, responses to national and European calls for tenders, coordination of distribution networks… The analysis of the alternative regional energy model for ELDs proposed in the thesis shows that the local status of operators is not sufficient for the development of urban energy governance, which also stems from the politicisation of energy issues and the development of appropriate expertise within urban political and administrative systems.

Members of the jury

• Cyria Emelianoff, Professor at the University of Maine, ESO Le Mans (rapporteur)
• Alain Faure, Research Director at the CNRS, PACTE (rapporteur)
• Sylvy Jaglin, Professor at the University of Paris-Est, LATTS (Director)
• Dominique Lorrain, Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS, LATTS
• Jochen Monstadt, Professor, Darmstadt University of Technology
• François-Mathieu Poupeau, Research Fellow at the CNRS, LATTS (co-supervisor)
• Livier Vennin, Grand Paris Project Manager, EDF

Housing provision in France lies at the heart of several academic debates: on state intervention, on private sector approaches to housing provision, and on local governance. The argument that a process of neoliberalisation has been affecting Western societies since the 1970s offers a cross-cutting perspective. However, an analysis of one instrument of national housing policy – tax relief for rental investment – reveals its many limitations, particularly in the 2000s.

Based on a methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, our research reveals the emergence of a new political economy of housing production. In connection with decentralisation, public authority has become dual in nature, with, on the one hand, a State that regulates the market through legislation and, on the other, local authorities that enter into negotiations with private actors. This duality also highlights contradictions between national issues (particularly macroeconomic ones) and local priorities.

In contrast, property development is undergoing a transformation: whilst the tax incentives introduced by the state have attracted new players and given rise to a specific development model, the new approach to public policy is prompting a shift in strategies. The physical development of the city is being affected by these changes. This is partly because national regulations have an impact on supply, but also because the unequal bargaining power of local authorities vis-à-vis private actors leaves small and medium-sized towns more vulnerable to housing production that falls short of public expectations.

This thesis analyses the development of a high-speed socio-technical system (fibre-optic network and data centres) and the urban transformations of a West African metropolis, examining the conditions and mechanisms of ‘digital urbanism’ in Dakar (Senegal).

The aim is to understand how digital infrastructure and urban spaces shape one another, and to offer an interpretation based on materiality rather than viewing it as an inert physical substrate. Drawing on research from urban studies and social approaches to technology inspired by Science and Technology Studies (STS), the study examines the socio-political, socio-technical and territorial dimensions of the roll-out of ultra-high-speed broadband infrastructure, analysing it across three scales—corresponding to distinct spheres of action and temporalities—and within different types of intra-urban spaces. Using a qualitative methodology (interviews, participant observation, mapping), the thesis demonstrates the ambivalent relationship between the privatised development of the ultra-high-speed broadband socio-technical system and socio-spatial inequalities.

At national and metropolitan levels, she highlights the links between urban planning stakeholders and powerful international telecommunications operators, as well as their respective influence on metropolitan digital development within a context shaped by neoliberal policies. At street level, it analyses the role of network engineers and technicians, highlighting, through a study of construction sites and work ‘in situ’, the role of material contingencies, informality and socio-technical ‘tinkering’, but also that of ‘street-level’ technical expertise, which is essential to the physical development of ultra-high-speed broadband infrastructure. The analysis of the governance of the roll-out, coupled with that of urban materiality and metropolitan socio-spatial developments, has made it possible to define a digital urbanism that varies according to urban profiles.

However, whilst emphasising the decisive influence of telecommunications operators and the public authorities’ limited capacity for policy-making and regulation, the thesis identifies self-regulatory mechanisms that are sometimes beneficial to the public interest, as well as mechanisms for partial catch-up in certain less ‘attractive’ neighbourhoods. These findings lead to a more nuanced understanding of the effects of the ‘privatisation’ of digital development on urban fragmentation and suggest avenues for reflection regarding the public sector’s renewed commitment to the planning and implementation of urban digital development in Dakar.

Composition of the jury:

• Olivier Coutard, Research Director, CNRS, Chair of the jury
• Sylvy Jaglin, University Professor, Université Gustave Eiffel, PhD supervisor and examiner
• Fanny Lopez, University Lecturer, ENSA Paris-Malaquais, Examiner and Rapporteur
• Armelle Choplin, University Professor, University of Geneva, Examiner and Rapporteur
• Elisabeth Peyroux, Research Director, CNRS, Examiner
• Momar Diongue, Senior Lecturer, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Examiner

This thesis examines post-socialist urban transformations in Saint Petersburg through the lens of the renovation of Soviet architectural heritage, which reveals the rise of urban authoritarianism. Using a mixed-methods approach – combining interviews, observation, mapping, statistics, network analysis and online ethnography – it explores the political, economic and social dynamics that have shaped the city since the fall of the USSR. The research highlights the gradual commodification of the ‘socialist city’, whilst challenging the dominant narratives of neoliberalisation, notably by revealing the clientelist and authoritarian dynamics of urban power at work in projects involving the demolition and reconstruction of Soviet buildings.

The Narvskaya Zastava district, a former iconic working-class area, serves as the main case study for analysing the resulting tensions between heritage preservation and urban transformation. Drawing on both fieldwork and digital research, the thesis demonstrates that heritage becomes a strategic space for challenging authoritarianism and forced politicisation. Expertise – architectural, historical and legal – is mobilised there as a political resource by residents, activists, professionals and, at times, representatives of the authorities, thereby revealing the internal flaws and tensions within the authoritarian state.

The survey, however, highlights the variety of motivations underlying residents’ reactions—whether in favour of or opposed to the regeneration projects—and reveals post-socialist social relations that are far more complex than a simple dichotomy between the winners and losers of economic liberalisation.

Composition of the jury:

• Béatrice VON HIRSCHHAUSEN, CNRS Research Director, Géographie-cités/Marc Bloch Centre (Rapporteur)
• Martin MÜLLER, Professor, University of Lausanne (Rapporteur)
• Elsa VIVANT, University Professor, Gustave Eiffel University (PhD supervisor)
• Martine DROZDZ, CNRS Research Fellow, LATTS/French House in Oxford (Joint thesis supervisor)
• Claire CARRIOU, University Professor, Université Paris-Est Créteil (Examiner)
• Lydia COUDROY DE LILLE, University Professor, Lumière Lyon 2 University (Examiner)
• Ozan KARAMAN, CNRS Research Fellow, LATTS (Examiner)
• Perrine POUPIN, CNRS Research Fellow, CRESSON (ENSA Grenoble) (Examiner)

The aim of this thesis is to understand how urban planning and aviation have mutually influenced one another, and how these constant interactions have shaped our contemporary culture. The study begins in 1909, when large-scale public spectacles introduced the invention of powered flight to the public. From this point onwards, the relationship between developments in aviation culture and the field of urban planning would continue to shape a discourse on the city of the future. From this perspective, the thesis demonstrates how concepts such as the ‘aerial city’ or the ‘airport-city’ function as a mirror for the city in the making. By tracing a history of these complex distortions, the research demonstrates that the airport is ultimately not the prototype of a non-place but a specific and concrete space, the result of a complex alchemy that qualifies the assertion that globalisation leads to the homogenisation of urban space.

Since the end of the 20th century, the Manila metropolitan area has been undergoing ‘urban transformation’. This term refers to a set of interrelated phenomena, including the consolidation of the middle classes, the establishment of service companies and the development of a consumer-oriented economy – the latter being strikingly illustrated by the proliferation of shopping centres, which are key urban features in the Philippine capital region. These factors have led not only to a transformation of the urban landscape, but also to the internationalisation of the economy and the emergence of new lifestyles.

This thesis proposes to examine this urban change in Greater Manila through the lens of the electricity sector. The phenomena described have significant implications for energy policy: a substantial increase in electricity demand, higher expectations regarding service reliability, and new approaches to infrastructure planning and deployment. However, the relationship between urban change and the electricity sector is two-way, and tensions can be observed regarding tariffs or the quality of the grid, insofar as these factors constrain the economic and social transformations taking place in the Philippine capital.

 By drawing on various strands of literature—on the middle classes, the political economy of urban production, and major technical networks—this thesis examines the socio-technical developments of the electricity supply in Greater Manila. To this end, it draws on the concept of ‘modernity’, which helps to understand the emerging norms and representations surrounding the provision of the service. Consequently, the thesis identifies the gaps between the ideals of modernity and existing practices. In doing so, it analyses the tensions generated by these misalignments and discusses the challenges of universalising the network, ensuring the homogeneity of its coverage, evolving its form (large centralised network or ‘post-reticular’ structure) and adapting to environmental constraints.

Members of the jury

• Yves Boquet, Professor at the University of Burgundy
• Kathryn Furlong, Professor at the University of Montreal (rapporteur)
• Sylvy Jaglin, Professor at the University of Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (Director)
• Loraine Kennedy, Research Director at the CNRS, UMR CEIAS
• Dominique Lorrain, Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS, UMR LATTS
• Hélène Reigner, Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille
• Éric Verdeil, Professor at the IEP in Paris (rapporteur)

In response to negative feedback regarding the operational aspects of sustainable urban projects, urban planning practitioners are increasingly incorporating operational considerations relating to energy systems into the design process. The aim of this research is to examine the effects of this integration of operational issues on the urban design process. Through a case study, we demonstrate that the integration of operational concerns leads to changes in technical choices, energy objectives and the social organisation of the design process. We are witnessing a divergence in technical choices, following a double-loop learning process among stakeholders, where objectives must be revised during the design phase in order to move forward. Indeed, thinking in terms of operation leads to different design choices that prioritise the quality of use and the services provided.

When it comes to the organisation of the design process, the integration of operational considerations does not

It does not challenge the hierarchical and linear structure of how stakeholders organise their activities. However, it does facilitate the emergence of new stakeholders, such as operators of energy and multi-service systems. More broadly, the research shows that feedback from over fifteen years of experience in the operation of sustainable neighbourhoods contributes to an inter-professional learning process, the outcomes of which generate new technical or project benchmarks and contribute to the renewal of professional cultures. In this way, the design process is transformed. The analysis places particular emphasis on the importance of technical objects in consolidating the learning of stakeholders—objects around which lessons and feedback crystallise.

Composition of the jury

• Véronique Biau, Chief State Architect and Urban Planner, École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-La Villette (Rapporteur)
• Gilles Debizet, Senior Lecturer, Université Grenoble-Alpes (Rapporteur)
• Joëlle Forest, Senior Lecturer, National Institute of Applied Sciences, Lyon (Examiner)
• Caroline Gallez, Research Director, Gustave Eiffel University (Examiner)
• Laurent Michelin, Director of Innovation, Bouygues Immobilier (Guest speaker)
• Taoufik Souami, Professor, Université Paris-Est (Supervisor)

In cities across sub-Saharan Africa, electricity grids are unreliable, inadequate and sometimes non-existent, whilst demand is rising. To meet their needs, city dwellers employ a variety of technologies, giving rise to diverse socio-technical systems. At the level of each city, this results in a unique urban electricity configuration.

Comparing a selection of neighbourhoods that reflect urban diversity in Ibadan (Nigeria) and Cotonou (Benin), the research demonstrates that urban practices regarding access to electricity fuel processes of hybridisation in which improvements in the quality and continuity of service depend on ambivalent market and social dynamics that fail to lift the most vulnerable city dwellers out of the poverty trap.

Ultimately, the urban electrification transition requires us to move beyond the framework of a single, uniform conventional grid and instead envisage the contours of a socio-technically heterogeneous urban service, tailored to the diversity of urban living conditions.

Composition of the jury

• Armelle Choplin, Associate Professor at the University of Geneva (co-director)
• Sylvy Jaglin, Professor at Gustave Eiffel University (Director)
• Franck Scherrer, Professor at the University of Montreal (rapporteur)
• Éric Verdeil, Professor at Sciences Po Paris (examiner)
• Marie-Hélène Zérah, Research Director at IRD (rapporteur)
• Guest jury member: Olivier Coutard, CNRS Research Director at Latts (guest)

This thesis adopts an interdisciplinary approach to develop a quantitative model of energy consumption based on ‘housing situations’ (household-dwelling relationships), domestic practices and residential contexts. It is divided into three parts.

Firstly, a review of the literature on the main models in engineering and the humanities helps to identify the theoretical frameworks for an approach that combines households and housing (‘housing situation’). In the second chapter, methods for modelling domestic practices are discussed, in order to determine which are most relevant for studying the links between housing situations and residential lifestyles. In the final, third chapter, drawing on a mixture model of logistic regression, a hierarchical model of domestic energy consumption based on housing situations is proposed.

Situated between typological and regression-based approaches, one of the contributions of this thesis is to propose, within a single methodology, both a typology of housing situations and a regression model. The estimation performance of the results is equivalent to that of the leading models; however, they offer greater explanatory power by linking domestic practices to energy consumption. This method also allows for the integration of a segmentation of domestic practices into a model of energy consumption at the household level. The thesis also has a heuristic dimension. It first demonstrates the links between housing situations and practices related to equipment, occupancy and regulatory actions. Furthermore, it presents ideal-typical housing situations identified on the basis of household characteristics, dwellings, behaviours and total domestic energy consumption, per person and per square metre. Finally, looking ahead, it paves the way for the development of further interdisciplinary approaches focusing on the transformation of housing situations.

Membership of the examination board:
Marjory Musy, Research Director, CEREMA, Rapporteur;
Fateh Belaïd, Researcher, KAPSARC, Rapporteur;
Faïcel Chamroukhi, University Professor, University of Caen, Examiner
Béatrice Roussillon, Senior Lecturer, University of Grenoble-Alpes, Examiner
Jean-Pierre Lévy, Research Director, CNRS, Thesis Supervisor
Latifa Oukhellou, Research Director, Gustave Eiffel University, Co-supervisor