Longuenée-en-Anjou, commune nouvelle : des villages qui doivent se penser comme une ville

Abstract

The article is based on research conducted as part of the POPSU Territories Program. The questioning here consists in articulating the upheaval of the institutional space with the lived space of the inhabitants in the context of a municipal merger. The case study focuses on the town of Longuenée-en-Anjou, north-west of Angers, in Maine-et-Loire. Elected officials, residents, associations, municipal agents and representatives of national public services (National Education, firefighters, gendarmerie, La Poste, etc.) were surveyed. The text questions: the construction process that led to the merger, its reception by the population and the impact of this change in the municipal scale on daily life, the feeling of territorial belonging, the territorialization of services. Finally, he underlines the importance of anticipating the development of the municipality in terms of development, town planning, administration and the provision of public services.

Keywords

• governance
• merger of municipalities
• territorial reform
• residents
• sense of place