Videos: sustainable mobilities in peri-urban areas?

The 2 ^nd meeting of the Mobile Lives Forum

Sustainable mobilities in peri-urban areas?

Which lifestyles in the alter-urbain
suburban-rural / citta diffusa / Zwischenstadt ?

Urban sprawl has been repeatedly criticized. Unlike compact cities – those hubs of European urban civilization that continue to be extolled by proponents of sustainable development, as they are allegedly more energy efficient - peri-urban areas are seemingly places of dispersion and ravenous consumers of energy, nature and farmlands. A built space lacking qualities of architecture and urban planning, bereft of veritable urbanity and amenities, the peri-urban is seen as a refuge for the modest middle classes that have been chased from the city by real estate prices, a place of weak, labile social ties where “self-segregation” thrives. It is also considered space of apolitical impotence reinforced by communal fragmentation and electoral volatility. A space created by the car, for the car, where the use of public transportation is not suited. Such arguments regarding peri-urban areas are regularly taken up by the media and certain renowned architects.

Today, researchers seem to be challenging this view by hypothesizing that this space is in fact much more complex and diverse, giving rise to a number of concepts to better grasp it: alter-urban, suburban, rings, périurbain, péri-urbain, citta diffusa, Zwischenstadt, etc. This could be another way for modern societies to spatialize themselves, not necessarily in conflict with compact cities but in coexistence and complementarity. This space would appear less harmful than they make it out to be. Maybe it could even become a place of scalability to the economic, energy and environmental crises of the 21 ^st century—in some ways a sustainable alternative to the urban.

We would like to explore this hypothesis in terms of mobilities by comparing the perspectives of researchers, artists, elected officials and transportation professionals. On what mobilities is peri-urban life today established? Can we envisage “good, sustainable lives” in these spaces, in light of energy, environmental and economic challenges? Does the notion of peri-urban will also still make sense? Should we use a different term?

This is what we intend to explore over these two days.

Peri-urban(s) / urban alternative / ville diffuse: the reality behind the stereotypes

Analysis of media discourse on the peri-urban,

Gérald Billard and Arnaud Brennetot (Université de Rouen)

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Peri-urban fantasies and realities: the example of the National Front vote,

Anaïs Lefranc-Morin (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

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Peri-urban areas in the city? Ouseburn Valley: the peri-urban defined by the creative class

James Whiting (University of Sunderland)

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Cartographic representation of statistical definitions of the peri-urban /citta diffusa / Zwischenstadt, etc.

Martin Schuler (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)

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The diversity of Europe's periurban areas. Round table discussion moderated by Lionel Rougé (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) :

• Annie Fourcaut (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
• Emmanuel Roux (Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1)
• Paola Pucci (Politecnico di Milano)
• Thomas Sieverts (Europan)
• Martin Schuler (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)

Peri-urban mobilities: a comprehensive overview

Moderator: Jean-Pierre Orfeuil (Institut d’Urbanisme de Paris)

 

Multipolarization of jobs, population dynamics and the home-work mobility of peri-urban dwellers

Benoit Conti (Université Paris-Est)

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Towards a diversification of mobility practices of peri-urban dwellers?

Claire Aragau (Université Paris Ouest) and Martine Berger (Université Paris 1 Panthéon- Sorbonne)

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A typology of peri-urban lifestyles

Rodophe Dodier (Université d'Aix-Marseille)

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Open discussion with the audience and Internet users

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Unabbreviated sequence

 Mobility in peri-urban areas at different stages of life

Moderator: Francis Beaucire (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

The unequal mastery of mobility of young peri-urban dwellers,

Alix Cariou and Jean Teiller (Institut d’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme Ile-de-France)

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The mobility of telecommuters in peri-urban areas of Toulouse,

Patricia Sajous (Université du Havre)

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The mobility of seniors in peri-urban Montreal: using the urban environment to promote more active aging,

Paula Negron-Poblete (Université de Montréal)

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Open discussion with the audience and Internet users

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Unabbreviated sequence

Peri-urban dwellers and energy issues

Moderator: Francis Beaucire (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

The tripe vise of peri-urban unsustainability: Energy use and economic constraints, social norms and environmental demands

Leslie Belton-Chevallier ( Institut français des sciences et technologies des transports, de l’aménagement et des réseaux ) and Yves Jouffe ( Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées )

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Energy vulnerability and the coping strategies of peri-urban dwellers’,

Mireille Bouleau and Lucile Mettetal ( Institut d’Aménagement et d’Urbanisme Ile-de-France )

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The resourcefulness of poor peri-urban households in Zimbabwe and their energy and transportation needs

Innocent Chirisa ( University of Zimbabwe )

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Open discussion with the audience and Internet users

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Unabbreviated sequence

Art exhibition : “The Exurban’s Vertigo and Myths”

The peri-urban as seen by one artist: Justin Bennett (United Kingdom)

Presentation of the “The Exurban’s Vertigo and Myths” exhibit

Irène Aristizabal, curator

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Extract of "Edgeland" (2013) Justin Benett

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Extract of Autotrophie (2013) - Ariane Michel

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depuischeztoi, relax - Ivan Argote

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La Transhumance fantastique - Nicolas Boone

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Presentation of the “Travellers, settlements and city fringes” exhibit

Yves Pedrazzini ( Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ) and Ferjeux Van der Stigghel

 

Good lives in peri-urban areas: a sustainable alternative to the urban?

On Suburbia (2011) - Andreas Angelidakis

Are the advantages of the compact city being undermined by leisure mobility? A comparative analysis of Paris and Rome

Hélène Nessi (Bureau de recherche 6-t)

Dispute: Can peri-urban areas withstand the energy, economic and climate crises?

• Jacques Lévy (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
• Eric Charmes (Université de Lyon)
• Yves Crozet (Université de Lyon)
• Hélène Le Teno (Carbone 4)

Open discussion with the audience and Internet users

Public policies for an alternative to solo car use in peri-urban areas

The foundations of collective mobility: new “public” mobility experiences in urban peripheries

Marc Dumont (Université de Rennes 2)

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Speed(s) War(s)

Yan le Gal (Agence d'urbanisme de Nantes)

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Open discussion with the audience and Internet users

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Unabbreviated sequence

Peri-urban areas’ potential in terms of changing ways of moving

Organizing the dispersed city around train stations: beyond the model, what development practices to employ at the local scale?,

Juliette Maulat (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

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The potential of bicycle use in peri-urban areas

Frédéric Héran (Université de Lille 1)

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Malls in urban fringes: conditions for alternative forms of mobility,

Xavier Desjardins (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

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What is the future for cars in peri-urban areas?

Jean-Pierre Orfeuil (Institut d’Urbanisme de Paris)

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Open discussion with the audience and Internet users

Conclusion: Opportunities for research and public action

The point of view of three experts :

• Jean-Marc Offner (Agence d'urbanisme Bordeaux métropole Aquitaine)
• Laurent Thévoz (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
• Marie-Flore Mattei (PUCA - Ministère de l’Ecologie, du Développement Durable et de l’Energie)

Mobility

For the Mobile Lives Forum, mobility is understood as the process of how individuals travel across distances in order to deploy through time and space the activities that make up their lifestyles. These travel practices are embedded in socio-technical systems, produced by transport and communication industries and techniques, and by normative discourses on these practices, with considerable social, environmental and spatial impacts.

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