The Field of Possibilities: A Collective Investigation in Sevran is a print and online publication. It offers an ethnography of a 32-hectare area in Sevran, Seine-Saint-Denis. Studied from multiple disciplines and practices, this seemingly unremarkable place is presented in turn as an urban void, a land of projects, an area to be planned, a suburban field, a wasteland in the metropolis, a common space to be inhabited. ¹

This publication is the result of a field study conducted by authors Robin de Mourat, Clémence Seurat, and Thomas Tari with local residents. The project was supported by Sciences Po’s Médialab, La Pourdrerie - Théâtre des Habitants, and the Daniel & Nina Carasso Foundation.

The object of interest was a developing area coveted by developers such as Linkcity, which proposed a surfing complex. “An ecological aberration and symbol of gentrification and social exclusion, the facility was controversial from the outset and was ultimately abandoned.” The area was caught up in the phenomenon of the metropolitanization of Greater Paris. “French cities are often built according to a logic that is far removed from the concerns of their inhabitants. Highlighting a lack of transparency and democracy, the opinion of the population led to the abandonment of the project” ²

Over two years of research and discussions, this territory was mapped out, revealing different ways of seeing it. As part of this work, a participatory research protocol was established, combining methods from the social sciences, the arts, and tacit knowledge.

Workshops were organized, allowing participants to explore and practice their living environment.

Through the discussions it raises, this book opens up the field of possible perspectives on a territory. The prism through which we observe it influences our perception: is it an “urban void,” a filled space, or a biological reserve, a space to be preserved? All these perspectives open up a variety of possibilities. However, listening to the sound creation Contrevoix, we note that most residents generally tend toward a space where nature would have a place of choice.

The editorial model for this publication involved a collaborative process of content development and collection, requiring the creation of an online editorial platform. The graphic design was created in web-to-print using Paged.JS.