Doctorat en aménagement, urbanisme et architecture

Urban guidelines to become European Capital of Culture: from the desired city to the reinvented territory

This thesis analyses the construction of French cities' bids for the European Capital of Culture title for the year 2028, up to the designation of Bourges in December 2023, after an intense national competition. These bids are studied as initiatives capable of constructing narratives that set out the guidelines for urban production, the title being a tool that exalts a city's forward-looking image. This research looks at how the preparation of a cultural project on an international scale makes it possible to reflect on the contemporary conditions of the process of making cities and their spaces, whether materially or socially designed.

In addition to urban studies looking at the post-event legacy, and through an in-depth analysis of nine candidate cities, and more specifically the finalists Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier and Rouen, we explore the strategies used to develop this supposedly unifying discourse, which nonetheless appeals to a variety of audiences with divergent expectations. In this respect, the title is an enlightening catalyst for analysis, in that we are also interested in the possible instrumentalisation of this narrative which, drawing on the symbolic power of art and culture to underpin certain political agendas, would help to pacify tensions without overcoming partisan, territorial and social divisions. Our study focuses on two subjects in particular: the territorial and symbolic construction and the urban strategy for hosting the event. 

In a context marked by the interweaving of crises - territorial, economic and environmental - we are questioning the paradigms perceptible in the submissions to the call for applications and the positioning of the candidate cities in relation to contemporary urban issues. To do this, we are focusing on the projects imagined, whether disconnected from or linked to existing public policies and the urban images and references evoked, the aim is to veify wether the concept of a “successful city”, as empahsized in European discourse, is reflected in a singular political, social, economic, and urban response.

Key words: bid, labelling, European Capital of Culture, ECoC, event, territory, city-building, image, international competition, urban planning, narrative