J’ai le plaisir d’annoncer la parution du numéro de la revue Built Environment reprenant une partie des actes du colloque du Caire : “Revolts and Transitions in the Arab World: Towards a New Urban Agenda”. Coordonné par Roman Stadnicki avec Leila Vignal et Pierre-Arnaud Barthel, il comporte neuf contributions (voir ci-dessous).  Voici un résumé du texte introductif

This article puts the contributions in this special issue of Built Environment into the perspective of the massive transformations that have taken place in the cities of the Arab world over the last thirty years. It analyses the specifi cities of the modes of production of the urban fabric and identifi es the spatial, social, economic and political disjunctions that developed within the Arab cities – and led, with other factors, to the ‘Arab Spring’. The perceptions of the city and the claims on the urban environment have been transformed. The article demonstrates that the impacts of ‘Arab Spring’ on the production and the politics of the Arab cities remain to be seen. However, temporalities of change refl ect gaps and iterations. Change faces resistance, drawbacks, and uncertainties. In-depth reshuffling of the hierarchy of powers, shifts in the mindset of the decision-makers, and transformation of the administrative and political bodies are long-term processes. In the meantime, the urban mobilizations, activism, as well as the stakes embedded in the urban fabric and materiality, are back on the agenda of research.

Je suis particulièrement heureux d’extraire les quelques lignes qui suivent de la conclusion de ce texte, qui met en avant la page Cities de Jadaliyya à laquelle je contribue depuis son lancement au mois de septembre 2013.

Collaborations through alternative platforms accompany these new discussions. Two of the contributors, Farah al-Nakib and Eric Verdeil, participated in the launch in the Autumn 2013 of the ‘cities’ page of Jadaliyya, a leading website of critical information and debates on and in the Arab world. The launch of this page is a stepping-stone towards the much needed ‘de-Westernization of urban studies’ (Choplin, 2013). It is a welcome indication that the revolutions of the Arab peoples have also an impact on the intellectual and academic milieu.

Table des matières

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Eric Verdeil

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