Source: the organizers
Since more than a decade, thesouthern district of Grenoble are at the heart of a broad urban change. The
cours de l’Europe is getting densifying, a new Flaubert neighborhood is being
built up while the emblematic Villeneuve popular district is under a urban
renewal. This projects have been limited by the Great Recession (2007-2010) and
also the inhabitants in Villeneuve have struggled against urban project imposed
on them. Amid the Popular Urbanism Workshop (APU) they have stated:
«what is done for the inhabitants without them is actually done against
them». They have set up a project for social, ecological and economical
change. And the struggle goes on whereas various buildings and facilities are
threaten with destruction…
Grenoble municipality
organizes a Cities in Transition Biennale from the 7th to 12th of
March. It is an opportunity to make together our decisions for our districts.
Transition can’t be under taken without us. Villeneuve has already started
change, as many social and political experimentations have since forty years
gradually spread collective agency and social learnings laying at the basis of
transition. Today this experimentations take shape in workshops, assemblies,
gardening, social pedagogy, local independent media, university local involvement
and so on…
Of course, broader phenomena
also impact our neighborhood transformation, such as financialization, the
«smart city» in Grenoble, gentrification and metropolization
defining the neoliberal city paradigma. Real estate company strongly invest in
house building and share in a global speculation, ending up in social housing
demolition and inhabitants eviction. This goes along with urban facilities
privatization through the smart city lobbyingas shown by the Linky
electricity counters providing data to the private sector. Regarding
metropolization, one can wonder if it is compatible with transition principles,
since the way it develops today shows a lack of democracy.
Struggling against neoliberal
city is not enough, we have to voice new claimings and set up alternatives
based on our daily practices. Fighting against evictions means claiming the
right to housing. Fighting against urban segregation means claiming the right to the city. Against privatization
and austerity means claiming for the commons. Fighting against top down urban
project means proposing alternatives project for education, housing, social and
cultural facilities and public spaces. Inhabitants have organized themselves to
get involved into transition through campaigns and advocacy planning.
It is time to gather our
forces throughout our various networks!
A «week of transition in
Villeneuve» is being organized off the «Cities in Transition
Biennale» and the«Right to the City Encounters» are
being organized off the «Geopolitics festival in Grenoble School of
Management» focused this year on the «power of the cities».
Both events will take place
from the the 7th to the 12th of March and you are most
welcome to join us.
Our guidelines will be discuss
the right to housing and the right to the city and the resistances and
alternatives to financialization, the «Smart City» and
metropolization. We intend to enhancenational citizen campaigns (Pas Sans
Nous, Appui, DAL…), alliances and coalitions between movements and cities at
the european scales (European coalition for the right to housing and the city,
new municipalism & european Alternatives…) and the debate around the implementation
of the New Urban Agenda with the Global Plataform for the Right to the City.
If you want to attend this week or share in a way or
another, please contact us: asso.planning@gresille.org