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The "Cities are back in town" programme

Objective & approach

Within the Urban School, the "Cities are back in town" research programme conducts robust social science-based research on cities and regions in France, Europe and the world. Much of the research develops comparisons within and beyond Europe. The programme organises a research seminar and publications.

This programme is supported by Nexity.

Research themes

  • Government and urban governance, implementation of public policy (police, transport, housing, urban renewal, etc.)
  • Social relations, lifestyles, social and ethnic inequalities in the urban environment
  • Decentralisation, urban politics, institutions
  • Institutions and regional economic development - stakeholder networks
  • Urban social movements, riots, illegal activity
  • Urban risks
  • Environment, urban ecology
  • Cyborg cities, digital cities
  • Transnational mobility, migration, globalisation
  • Ethnic and religious diversity
  • Comparison of urban middle classes

New research perspectives are opened by studies and publications. Here are a few examples:

  • the Paris region and French cities and regions
  • European cities
  • comparison of large metropolises: Mexico, Sao Paolo, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, Milan, Delhi, Hong Kong and Istanbul.
  • African cities
  • comparative study of segregation, Paris - Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo
  • Middle classes in the city: comparison between France - Rio de Janeiro
  • Stakeholder networks, the elite and economic development, Paris, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco
  • Urban risks

True to  Sciences Po's interdisciplinary tradition, the programme brings together sociologists, political scientists, economists, urban planners and historians from different laboratories: