Metropolitics

France's Housing Projects Recounted Through Postcards

Florine Ballif & translated by Oliver Waine — 2026-04-21T05:00:00Z

The selection of postcards presented by Renaud Epstein in his book On est bien arrivés (“We've arrived safely”) invites us to look at France's large postwar social housing projects and their inhabitants from a different, more sensitive perspective, far removed from the usual stereotypes.
This original book sheds light on a forgotten—even ignored—object: postcards showcasing France's postwar social housing projects, or “grands ensembles”. In this book, political scientist Renaud Epstein

- Reviews / architecture, banlieue, grands ensembles, heritage, urban heritage, public housing, suburbs, social housing, urban planning, urbanism, photography, memory

What Has Happened in Berlin Since 1989?

Thibaut de Ruyter & Olivier Gaudin & translated by Oliver Waine — 2020-06-12T05:00:00Z

Since the fall of the Wall in November 1989, Berlin has metamorphosed into one of the world's most popular urban tourism destinations. Architect, art critic and curator Thibaut de Ruyter has witnessed these transformations firsthand and shares his impressions (originally published in French in 2019) of what has changed in the reunified German capital.
What explains Berlin's attraction as a city?
At the end of the 1980s, the city was something of an island of marginality. This is still the

- Interviews / architecture, history, urban history, memory, Germany, Berlin

When Memory is Confined: Politics of Commemoration on Avenida 26, Bogotá

Violante Torre — 2020-04-07T05:00:00Z

After more than five decades of conflict, the Colombian capital, Bogotá, is undergoing processes not just of regeneration, but also of commemoration. The decision to create spaces of memory along one particular road in the city, Avenida 26, has highlighted the stark differences between neighborhoods on either side of its congested lanes—and runs the risk of reinforcing existing segregation.
Bogotá, Colombia, is a socially divided city in a post-conflict country marked by clashing spatial and

- From the Field / Colombia, Latin America, South America, Bogotá, conflict, urban regeneration, urban renewal, memory, commemoration, institution, memory-making