ED Sociétés, Politique, Santé Publique
Dwelling in the Big City. Well-being and Survival Strategies in Bordeaux Metropole
by Anne DEBERNARDI (Passages)
The defense will take place at 14h00 - amphithéâtre Denucé Université de Bordeaux, Campus Victoire, 3ter Pl. de la Victoire, 33000 Bordeaux
in front of the jury composed of
- Sophie CHAVE-DARTOEN - Maître de conférences - Université de Bordeaux - Directeur de these
- Emmanuelle LALLEMENT - Professeure des universités - Université Paris 8 - Rapporteur
- Maud SANTINI - Professeure - ENSA de Versailles - Rapporteur
- Eric CHAUVIER - Professeur - ENSAP de Bordeaux - CoDirecteur de these
- Sara LE MENESTREL - Directrice de recherche - CNRS - Examinateur
- Laurent DEVSIME - Professeur - ENSA de Nantes - Examinateur
- Chantal CRENN - Professeure des universités - Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 - Examinateur
- Olivier CHADOIN - Professeur - ENSAP de Bordeaux - Examinateur
Dwelling in the Metropolis: Discomforts and Survival Strategies. Portraits of Urban Inhabitants In the context of metropolitanization, urban well-being has become a key issue for both local authorities and individuals. What, then, are the mechanisms that enable people to live well in a metropolitan city? This dissertation explores the possibilities of well-being in large cities, understood as the emic counterpart of the etic concept of dwelling. Based on an ethnographic study conducted in the Bordeaux metropolitan area, this research examines the aspirations that city dwellers cultivate toward urban life, the experiences they derive from it, and the relationships they establish with their environment—relationships that play a central role in their well-being. Adopting a comprehensive and inductive approach and relying exclusively on qualitative ethnographic methods, this study pursues three objectives: to provide an anthropological portrait of the contemporary metropolis from a phenomenological perspective, based on the practices and perceptions of its inhabitants; to document urban dwelling by analyzing the ways in which certain urbanites relate to their environment; and to contribute, through an anthropological lens, to the understanding of urban well-being by questioning the values through which individuals assess their place in the urban world. The ethnographic material—gathered from the narratives and experiences of ten interlocutors with diverse backgrounds and concerns, along with autoethnographic fragments—forms a series of portraits. Their polyphony reveals both the mechanisms that foster urban well-being and the constraints that the metropolis imposes on its inhabitants. This approach also offers a reexamination of the criteria commonly used in well-being studies, emphasizing the existential dimension of dwelling. The study brings to light a set of values—freedom, equality, and social connection—through which individuals evaluate their integration into the urban environment and which they actively seek in the city. Conversely, their accounts highlight the perceived hostility of contemporary urban life, experienced as restrictive, unequal, and lacking in solidarity. In response, city dwellers develop various strategies to navigate these constraints: distancing, withdrawal, escape, or self-effacement. While these strategies help alleviate the inherent tensions of urban dwelling, they do not necessarily enable individuals to fully thrive within the metropolis.