URBOPP

The project “Urban Neighborhoods and Economic Opportunities” (or URBOPP), piloted by Gabrielle Fack (LEDa-Université Paris-Dauphine-PSL, Principal Investigator) and Miren Lafourcade (RITM-Université Paris-Saclay, co-PI), is the laureate of a €339,578 research grant awarded by the French National Agency for Research (ANR) over 2023-2027.

Summary: This project aims to analyze the drivers of urban segregation in France over the past 50 years and its long-term consequences on the different generations of individuals settling in or transiting through low-income neighborhoods. France is particularly suited to study these questions, as it is a frontrunner country both in experiencing neighborhood dynamics induced by large population flows and in implementing place-based policies to mitigate the effects of such dynamics. Furthermore, the post-1960 period covers defining historical moments that led to a subsequent transformation of French cities: the large (im)migration waves triggered by French decolonization, the construction of unprecedented suburban housing compounds commonly known as “Grands ensembles,” and the strong de-industrialization and globalization processes in the aftermath of oil crises. These historical shocks offer a unique opportunity to leverage exogenous drivers of residential choices or neighborhood composition and to provide a causal assessment of the impact of neighborhoods on individuals’ opportunities. The “URBOPP” project will give new insights into the effects of neighborhoods on individuals’ life chances and analyze public policies likely to help low-income residents step out of spatial poverty traps.