Stretching the boundaries of cultural policies for inclusive and sustainable urban contexts: the case of Issy-les-Moulineaux in France

Abstract

Cultural policies can be a strategic key to shaping more inclusive and sustainable urban regeneration processes, especially exploiting the acceleration promoted through transition dynamics. The City of Issy-les-Moulineaux, for its recent and deep investment in culture, sustainability and innovation in a non-conflictual and socially homogeneous urban dense context, is a valuable demonstrator of the role and forms in which institutional cultural policies at the urban scale can produce a shift of values, acceleration or simplification of decision-making processes towards inclusive and sustainable ways of life. The presentation of examples of cultural policies and regeneration programmes aims to contribute to the identification of some innovation trajectories in this direction, looking especially at the management of cultural policies or spaces and their flexibility and openness to inhabitants. Conclusions sketch the potential of strengthening some regime-niche traits of cultural policies in Issy and creating a permanent experimental environment in the governance (and approach) to cultural policies that reshape from rigid to fluid, thus increasing the anti-fragile nature of public policies and practices.