Sylvette Puissant

Re-urbanity: urbanising the rural and ruralising the urban

In recent years, increased attention has been paid to intermediate zones, especially medium-sized and small-sized areas, which have witnessed new sociospatial dynamics. We discuss a theoretical approach for updating the analysis of the structuring and the functioning of these areas which are searching for an identity. We assume, in particular, that they would express a new spatial model, which is qualified as re-urbanity. We present our arguments by combining rural and urban features and values, enabling us to constitute a comprehensive framework for these emergent sociospatial dynamics.

Metropolitanization and territorial scales

Abstract The process of metropolitanization does not conform to the predominant view of urban growth. It is closely related to selective concentrations of activities and jobs and to social polarization and spatial fragmentation. It is primarily associated with very large cities. In this paper, we suggest that the process may exist according to various territorial scales: worldwide, local and regional scales. We provide an analytical framework for regional metropolitanization applied to Bordeaux city and its labor market. We examine where the process of metropolitanization operates by using an approach based on the major components of the labor market (supply and demand). The results indicate that the metropolitanization process generates centrality effects, a specific density distribution of advertised jobs and of job seekers. The process also leads to rigidity in the labor market that varies according to time and distance from the city-center and the qualifications of the labor force. The existence of segmented markets enlightens the territorial benchmarks of the process of metropolitanization.