French Literature Reviews - 2026

A.-S. Clémençon, H. Noizet, Making the City: Between the Planned and the Unplanned, the Ordinary Production of Urban Forms
History, Politics and Society

Making the City: Between the Planned and the Unplanned, the Ordinary Production of Urban Forms

Anne-Sophie Clémençon, Hélène Noizet

Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, "Hors collection" series, 2021

*

464 p.

29 EUR

EAN13 : 9782379241345.

*

DESCRIPTION

How are urban forms "made"? Far from focusing solely on major projects, this book centers on the production processes of the ordinary city, which lie at the origin of the vast majority of historical and contemporary urban fabrics.

What is what we commonly call "the city" actually made of? How is urban space constructed over the long term? What is the relationship between urban morphology and social functioning? This book aims to answer these questions by exploring the mechanisms of urban production. Urban forms are analyzed here from a dual perspective: that of their production through constantly changing social practices, and, in turn, that of their influence on social functioning.

This work was published with the support of the Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (LaMOP, UMR 8589, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and the Laboratoire Environnement-Ville-Société (UMR 5600, Université de Lyon).

The volume examines the mechanisms behind urban production, looking beyond major projects to understand how historical and contemporary urban fabrics take shape over the long term. By investigating what the city is actually made of, the authors address fundamental questions regarding the relationship between urban morphology and social functioning. Urban forms are analyzed through a dual perspective that considers both their creation via evolving social practices and their subsequent influence on social functioning. Readers interested in urban studies and the evolution of city spaces may find the volume relevant.