Métropoles (Jun 2015)
Les acteurs urbains et les promesses des palmarès internationaux des villes. Lyon à la conquête du « Top 15 » européen
Abstract
Urban rankings has widely increased in recent years, however the ways in which these records are being mobilized by urban actors has not yet become a matter for comprehensive sociological research. At a time when city-competition is commonly presented as a major driving force for urban policies, this study represents a major opportunity to gain insight into the multiple forms this competition can take. This text thus presents and analyses the ways urban actors from Lyon’s metropolis have referred to, or even implemented, two city-rankings focused on policies aimed at fostering business development. The second of these rankings was more precisely set up by economic actors from this metropolitan area. This offers us a chance to underline two key issues. Firstly, that forms of economic competition among cities are socially constructed and secondly, that certain members of the urban elite play a key-role in defining the core configuration of this competition ; most notably, those whose professional career tiptoes on the border between public and business spheres.
