Experimenting intermediate lived spaces in residential subdivisions: Action, interaction and storytelling

Abstract

Suburbanization and more precisely the development of residential subdivisions in Europe are at the core of many current debates. Over the years, they have been strongly criticized for the waste of land, increased infrastructure and network costs, car-dependency and the lack of urbanity. In this context, two processes are politically-driven in Europe: the densification of residential areas and the revitalization of the city centers. These political guidelines interrogate the transformation-and possible deterioration-of living environments and ambiances of residential subdivisions. Indeed, beyond the negative perspectives, other investigations have revealed the potentials of residential subdivisions from different points of view: ecology, social, architectural and urban. In order to contribute to these studies, this paper proposes to investigate the intermediate lived spaces in the specific context of residential subdivisions.