{"id":3166,"date":"2020-07-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/?p=3166"},"modified":"2020-07-19T09:43:49","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T09:43:49","slug":"re-imagining-our-interactions-in-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/2020\/07\/19\/re-imagining-our-interactions-in-the-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Re-imagining our interactions in the city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Amelle Meliani and Alexis Zouechtiagh<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Re-imagining our interactions in the city<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As individualism increasingly shapes our contemporary societies, and has even become ingrained in city planning (e.g. anti-homeless spikes), we have taken some time to ponder the significance of emerging spaces of encounter and exchange, which foster the cooperation of different actors in order to rethink interaction within our cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab\u00a0The metropolis of the 21st century must be plural in its identity without ever allowing urbanism or geography to create the feeling of a divided, fragmented or unequal society: a city must be the place of sharing and encounter between all those who live there.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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This quote is credited to the former socialist mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delano\u00eb. It resonated with us because it sums up perfectly the major challenge our urban centres are facing today: the widening gap dividing individuals, and our various uses of space. We thus thought it would be interesting to look at what could be done to recreate collective dynamics and revive social life in our cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Places that promote mingling and collaboration in the city, or how to bring together actors with heterogeneous profiles.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to push people to break away from their daily routine, some places that promote mingling and collaboration in the city have been slowly developing. Their aspiration is to allow people with diverse profiles, whom otherwise might have ignored each other\u2019s existence, to meet. These places are thus designed in such a way that reimagines the very nature of interaction, and with the aim of sowing new relationships and networks. Most importantly they allow us to question the relevance and suitability of current urban planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thus decided to observe and analyse how these notions have been effectively put into practice by reaching out to two citizen projects:\u00a0\u00a0ADN Textile<\/em>in Tournai and\u00a0La Grande Maison<\/em>in Villeneuve d’Ascq. From these meetings we were able to question the relevance of these projects with a more general outlook. The recent exponential growth of these type of ventures allows us to highlight the changes that are currently taking place in how we build relations and exchange, a direct result of societal mutations, where \u00ab\u00a0city dwellers express a profound need to recreate links and re-humanise cities\u00a0\u00bb[1]<\/sup><\/a>. Questions which revolve around the notions of occupying and reinvesting space, creating common interest and sharing, are central to appreciating the real impact of these emerging collaborations.
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[1]<\/sup><\/a>C\u00e9line Beaufils, author of the article \u201cQuand les lieux r\u00e9inventent la ville\u201d on the Webzine WeLab – Vers un futur collaboratif.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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How do we reinvest space and create interaction?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration can be experienced through artistic or practical creation, but also through a cultural or historical vector, or simply through the development of places designed for everyday socialisation. Indeed, traditional places of socialization, such as\u00a0bistros[1]<\/strong><\/sup><\/a><\/em>, are deserted as individuals choose to stay at home instead, encouraged by some sort of comfortable individualism. This has been partly reinforced with the development of instantaneous methods of communication, which strengthen the dematerialiation of the encounter (e.g. Deliveroo), and are having real consequences on public health. Indeed, several studies describe a phenomenon of solitude that has been clearly increasing and which is endangering our contemporary cities and societies[2]<\/sup><\/a>. Thus, it has become urgent to develop new incentives for people to meet beyond their immediate social circles. The resources of public policy design constitute a genuine and much needed toolbox to assist the development of these projects. Public policy design differentiates itself by its willingness to involve all concerned parties and operate horizontally. Indeed, design is an innovative way of conceiving public action, seeking above all to involve everyone in the process of elaborating projects and public policies. This can for example take the form of a one-time cooperation between diverse individuals, as is the case of the\u00a0ADN Textile<\/em> project.
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It will consist in occupying empty premises in the city centre of Tournai in the beginning of September 2020 in order to install old looms, which are a legacy of the city’s cultural and historical heritage. It is therefore in workshops that students of the Fine Arts institute, former textile workers and citizens will come together to collaborate. By expressing themselves around the use of these machines, they will exchange and create around what they have in common : their interest in the world of textile, but also their belonging and contribution towards the history of the city. This example is a good illustration of an attempt to mix populations separated by intergenerational, vocational and cultural gaps.
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[1]<\/sup><\/a>https:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/vox\/societe\/2018\/02\/15\/31003-20180215ARTFIG00228-7-000-cafes-ferment-chaque-annee-ca-suffit.php<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a>https:\/\/www.demainlaville.com\/ville-lutte-efficacement-contre-solitude\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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La Grande Maison<\/em>\u2013 the Third Place of \u2018doing together\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On the bottom left of this image we can see the premises of the project\u00a0La Grande Maison<\/em>, and on the bottom right we can see the handicapped youth and their educators, and finally on the top we have the name of all the institutions sponsoring it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Exploiting the potential of everyday life places<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some actors also try to foster interaction by designing areas with the specific aim to enhance the spontaneous encounter of individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate this concept, we can look at the project of La Grande Maison<\/em>of the Institut d\u2019Education Motrice (IEM) Christian Dabbadie<\/em>. Marion Tocci, who is in charge of the project, explains that she wants to help create \u00ab\u00a0a place where we can live together and where we realise that we can live together and that there are not so many differences.\u201d She explains that they hope people from the professional world, young people with disabilities and neighbours to the institute will choose to \u201cdo together\u201d, in the areas of La Grande Maison<\/em>designed for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, the idea is to overcome the barrier between these populations, for example through activities in the fablab or in the caf\u00e9 of La Grande Maison<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this way, individuals enter into what can be called an \u00ab\u00a0urban flat share\u00a0\u00bb[1]<\/sup><\/a>. As we see in La Grande Maison<\/em>, the participative caf\u00e9s, parks and playgrounds can also be an excuse for people of all ages and social categories to meet. In their particular case, the large park behind the IEM<\/em>is clearly one of the main gateways they hope will attract people, bringing them to this particular place.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this is in obvious contrast with the heritage of the modern city, a sanctuary of individual needs and efficiency. The latter unfortunately having the tendency to compartmentalise and individualise the paths everyone take.
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[1]<\/sup><\/a>C\u00e9line Beaufils, authoress of the article \u201cQuand les lieux r\u00e9inventent la ville\u201d on the Webzine WeLab – Vers un futur collaboratif.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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However, the practice is not always without obstacles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is always necessary to anticipate the difficulties that we can potentially encounter while setting up these types of projects. For example we see that funding often remains a subject of tension. Indeed, the will to rekindle social interaction is necessary, and undoubtedly produces positive effects on our populations. However these activities are not necessarily profitable and yet they demand considerable means (human, material, …). If we take the ADN Textile <\/em>project, it would be inconceivable to charge participants. Nevertheless, it is essential to pay rent for the empty premises that will be occupied… Thus it comes with no surprise that for Olivia, the project manager, the  search for financing has become the central issue on which depends the success of the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, there are several ways to finance this type of project. It is conceivable, for example, to develop self-financing strategies. However, great care should be taken to avoid crossing the line after which the initial objective becomes distorted, that is to say, altering the voluntary and uninterested nature of the participant\u2019s involvement. Thus, when Marion Tocci voices her ambition to participate in the objective of making La Grande Maison<\/em>an \u00ab\u00a0economically autonomous place\u00a0\u00bb, one can only welcome an initiative that integrates this type of structure into the local economy and frees it from financial constraints. However, we must remain aware of the difficulties that may rise from this situation. For example, it could undermine the potential for interaction between the children with disabilities and the employees of a company who would only be there with the purpose of attending a paid-for seminar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A path worth exploring could be the one of public investment. Indeed, this process of renewing links between individuals requires a complete renewal of perspective regarding the development of public space. The proactive approaches that we have observed so far already come stem from public bodies. Indeed, the\u00a0IEM<\/em>is financed by the French Social Security, and\u00a0l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Beaux Arts<\/em>of Tournai, which is a public higher education institution. This falls perfectly within the scope and in the logic of public policy design. We can thus easily imagine a future in which the approach to design would supply part of the reflection around the notion of public service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Weaving Room in\u00a0l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Beaux-Arts<\/em>of Tournai<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A room among so many at the Acad\u00e9mie des Beaux Arts, yet Olivia and Florette know it particularly well, considering this is where they intervene to pass on their knowledge of the vocations and the art surrounding textile. We see here some of their students, whom will surely be taking part in the\u00a0ADN Textile<\/em>project starting in September 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A beautiful enthusiasm<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need to mix populations seems even more undeniable for us. Our societies are becoming more individualised, our needs more heterogeneous, whereas together, we are still capable to create, exchange and find our own solutions. There exists numerous initiatives, different to the ones we studied, which all have a similar purpose: to better manage the \u00ab\u00a0doing together\u00a0\u00bb.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This problem goes beyond a simple issue with our attitudes. It is a social phenomenon dictated by market logic, and it must be fought vehemently. We therefore believe it wouldn\u2019t be devoid of common sense if our governments adapted a more empathic approach to these kinds of projects, so as to fully support them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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An article written by Amelle Meliani et Alexis Zouechtiagh<\/strong>, two students of the public\/private relations major at Sciences Po Lille.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amelle Meliani and Alexis Zouechtiagh Re-imagining our interactions in the city As individualism increasingly shapes our contemporary societies, and has even become ingrained in city planning (e.g. anti-homeless spikes), we have taken some time to ponder the significance of emerging spaces of encounter and exchange, which foster the cooperation of different actors in order to Read more about Re-imagining our interactions in the city<\/span>[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reading-corner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3169,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166\/revisions\/3169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}