Beyond Borders and Boundaries
“The imagination must take too much for thought to have enough.“ By bringing together every year since 2008 people who think, design, direct, build, run, nance and love… the city, La Fabrique de la Cité aims, as Bachelard recommends, to stimulate multidisciplinary, innovative and prospective reflection about the future of our cities and metropolises.
This is the first time that the urban transitions think tank, created by VINCI, its patron, has organized an international seminar in France. Lyon is the obvious choice: for anyone wanting to work on building a durable, inclusive and owing metropolis, we must think beyond borders and boundaries. First, beyond territorial borders by creating new alliances with the surrounding areas, but also international borders. Next, cultural borders: in the digital era, building no longer means imposing top-down solutions, but rather co-building with civil society, whether for the people or companies. And lastly, economic and nancial boundaries: as under the New Deal in the 1930s, the people involved must invest in innovation and growth, and, in turn, invent new room to manoeuvre economically and financially.
A European metropolis, a city of flows, and an innovation hub, Lyon is itself a manifesto for thinking and moving beyond boundaries. These three days will undoubtedly fuel our imagination and direct our action.
