Urbanism and the Youth Question: The Welfare Politics of Public Space in Paris

Has the welfare state become the welfare city? Although neoliberal ideology has primarily influenced industrial (and not social) policy in France, it is nonetheless possible to observe a slow transition towards more selective welfare in the country. This move accompanies the well documented shift from social to spatial policies that began in the 1980s and crystallized in the 1990s with the emergence of la politique de la ville. The growth of spatial responses to social problems has established urban place-making as a prominent tool of social policy. Looking specifically at the impact of economic transformation and social policy on low-income urban youth living in Paris, this paper will discuss the role of urban policy and design in protecting vulnerable youth populations from exclusion and disadvantage. Drawing on field research, qualitative interviews and policy analysis, the paper argues that under Mayor Delanoë, the City of Paris has used urban interventions to promote a liberal youth agenda through a) the provision of space for young people and b) a tolerant spatial governance approach to youth space. Urban policies like la médiation and la proximité, and urban projects such as the Hip Hop Center in Les Halles, contribute to building an urban environment that is responsive to youth wellbeing and youth culture. As such, they counter some of the social and geographic exclusions that are wrought by a competitive market by securing youth’s ‘right to the city.’