Développement d'une démarche d'urbanisme expérientiel : Aide à la conception d'espaces publics plus attractifs par l'amplification de leurs dimensions sensibles

Socio-spatial segregation is increasing in cities, reducing their ability to create social cohesion. At the same time, globalization creates competition between urban entities. This phenomenon is enhanced by the boom of communication tools. Cities, to be attractive, must then create and disseminate a positive image. These two issues are crystallized in public spaces which are the fundamental places of the social interactions as well as a showcase of the city. Some spaces meet these both challenges, despite their differences of scale and focus: heritage city centers, shopping and entertainment centers, places with events, and spaces with original arrangements. Analysis of these spaces, with the study of user expectations, identified the presence of a special and highly developed atmosphere as a common attraction factor. This atmosphere gives a specific identity at the place. It uses different levels of perception and enables users to live a highly developed sensitive experience.Thus, this research aims to study and formalize elements promoting experiences, to integrate them into public-spaces design, and thereby make publics spaces more attractive locally and at an inter-city scale. To this end, it is appropriate to use the experiential concept developed in marketing. It operationalizes the subjective elements that appeal to the consumer to create a special connection with a brand or a shop. This parallel with marketing research enables us to define the theoretical objectives of an "experiential public space" and especially to build an analytical grid of the experiential potential of a space.The five modules of experience proposed by Schmitt (2000) structure this grid: sense, feel, think, act and relate. The more the modules are stimulated, the richer is the experience. The overall consistency of these various stimuli is ensured, following the principles of Greimasian semiotics, by a generation of meaning in three levels: the deep level, the narrative level and the surface level. These three levels of meaning are crossed with the five modules of experience to build the analysis grid.The grid is then applied to eight test spaces with a known and varied experiential dimension: (1) Jemaa El Fna square in Marrakech, (2) the "Promenade des Anglais" in Nice, (3) Paris-plage, (4) the temporary urban garden in Wavre, (5) the Odyseum area in Montpellier, (6) the Disney Village in Marne-la-Vallée, (7) the City Lounge in St. Gallen, and (8) the Gulliver park in Valencia. The level of adequacy found between the grid and the test spaces valid its suitability.A synthesis of results enables us to gather an inventory of the various elements favoring experiences in spaces. In addition, four major strategies of experiences are identified depending on the characteristics of the place in which they are developed. For ease of comprehension, they are materialized by four figures of experience: “immersion in image”, “communion with traditions”, “discovery of forgotten treasure” and “conquest of novelty”.In addition, to move from analysis to the creation of a space with a high experiential dimension, design approaches are studied. More specifically, a redevelopment of two public places in Liège is followed from its launch to its completion. This projet is led by AMCV, which rearranges spaces quickly and with limited budgets, while developing unique experiences. The observed elements are put into perspective with the literature and the approach of other test spaces and, in particular, the Paris-plages project about which semi-structured interviews of key players are conducted.Finally, a synthesis of information gathered during this research, factual and conceptual, enable the definition of best practices for the development and implementation of an experiential space. They are illustrated by examples from the approaches studied and are presented in accordance with the timeline of a project. At each step, guidelines are suggested with tools used to implement them, supplemented by those developed during this research (grid to analyze the experiential potential of a space and the four figures of experience). First, it's essential to start reflecting on a design based on the characteristics of the place, to develop a tailored experience. These characteristics can be enhanced by the sensitivity of artists, when they are integrated in design team. The valorization of what already exists legitimizes the intervention and links it to the area. At the same time, the experiential potential of a space grows when the reflection is based on a general theme, developed using narratives. The staged space enables immersion of users and improve their receptiveness. Finally, experiences are primarily related to users’ feelings. Therefore it is desirable that the designed space can continuously adapts to users’ feedback. Thus, experiential space can become a structural element of the city, both for local people who will find friendliness and for the city's image that will be improved.La cohésion sociale à l’échelle locale diminue dans les villes tandis que la mondialisation met en concurrence les entités urbaines. Ces deux enjeux se cristallisent dans les espaces publics qui sont autant les lieux fondamentaux des interactions sociales qu’une vitrine de la ville. Certains espaces répondent conjointement à ces deux enjeux. Leur analyse permet d’identifier comme point commun la présence d’une ambiance forte qui donne une identité spécifique au lieu. Ainsi, cette recherche s’est fixée comme objectif d’étudier et de formaliser les éléments favorisant le vécu d’expériences pour les intégrer aux démarches de conception d’espace public plus attractifs. A cette fin, un parallèle est effectué avec la notion d’expérientiel développée en marketing pour prendre en compte les éléments subjectifs séduisant les consommateurs. De plus, des démarches de conception favorisant les expériences sensibles sont étudiées par observation et entretiens semi-directifs des principaux acteurs. La synthèse de l’ensemble des éléments recueillis permet de définir des bonnes pratiques pour l’élaboration et la réalisation d’un aménagement expérientiel adapté aux spécificités du lieu. A chaque étape, des principes à suivre sont proposés et associés aux outils utilisés pour les mettre en place, complétés par ceux développés au cours de cette recherche

La participation numérique en urbanisme, une simple amplification des processus existants ?

Les données récoltées sur les plateformes numériques de participation citoyenne apportent-elles des opportunités ou des menaces en matière de participation à l’amélioration de l’aménagement de la ville ? Comment ces plateformes se situent-elles par rapport aux outils préexistants de concertation ou de co-création ? Redondance, complémentarité, remplacement ? Afin d’esquisser des pistes de réponses à ces interrogations globales qui interpellent architectes, urbanistes et responsables au sein des villes wallonnes, cette recherche étudie la mise en place et les premiers mois d’exploitation de la plateforme « Demain, Mons ». L’article passe en revue la plateforme ainsi que ses résultats et s’interroge sur la double question suivante : cette technique, qui suscite un engouement peu discuté, est-elle une simple amplification des processus existants ou nécessite-t-elle en amont un débat démocratique plus poussé sur la gouvernance urbaine ? Les mécanismes participatifs initiés dans les années 1970 (rompant la collusion entre architecture, urbanisme et pouvoirs) seront-ils maintenus, renforcés ou désagrégés par l’émergence du numérique ? Les résultats de la recherche permettent d’identifier les opportunités qui existent, de renforcer la participation par les innovations numériques, mais aussi les menaces qui augmentent le risque de voir le pouvoir citoyen se désagréger au sein d’une nouvelle gouvernance.Does digital data offering new opportunities or represent new threats concerning citizen participation in urban planning? Which place does digital platforms take regarding traditional participation tools? Redundancy, complementarity, substitution? In order to identify some possible ways to answer those global questions that challenge architects, urban planners and managers in the Walloon cities this research studies the implementation and the first months of operation of the platform “Demain, Mons”. This article analyses the platform and its results and pinpoints two fundamental questions: digital platforms, presented as such a natural way to follow, is it neutral or does it require a democratic debate upstream? Will the participatory mechanisms initiated in the 70’s (breaking down the collusion between architecture, urbanism and powers) be maintained, strengthened or broken up by the emergence of digital? The results of this research help to identify the opportunities that exist to enhance participation through digital innovations, but also the threats that increase the risk of citizen power falling apart in a new governance

Citizen Participation through Digital Platforms: the Challenging Question of Data Processing for Cities.

peer reviewedThis paper focuses on digital platforms supporting citizen participation in the era of Smart Cities. Our study presents and analyses two examples of online participation platforms, implemented by two Walloon cities: Mons and Liège (Belgium). These two cases highlight the differences and the similarities between both cities’ interpretation of digital participation, as well as the difficulties they faced, especially considering the data processing by city officials. In light of the challenges observed through those two cases, we suggest that digital platforms might potentially be misused, and somehow bias the whole digital participatory process. We therefore issue recommendations about how to design, launch and manage such platforms and, moreover, suggest that platforms should be supplemented by other digital or traditional participatory processes in order to reach higher levels of participation.FEDER Wal-E-Citie