Release of The Collective Publication

In the midst of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis and the Black Lives Matter Movement, urban and social issues are exacerbated. Already engaged in the transformation of their cities, a group of artists, urban planners, entrepreneurs, elected officials and researchers embarked on a journey to examine the process of city-making in France and California. The Oakland/Saint-Denis project was born under a common conviction : our cities must be built collectively.

Cultural, social, and urban innovations thrive on the outskirts of metropolises. Stirring up fresh ideas, creating links, amplifying underrepresented voices, and pioneering new models, cultural players nourish the city in progress. Learning from each other, exchanging ideas from one culture and practice to another, playing openly with cross-cultural translations, and sharing concrete solutions : this is the very purpose of this publication.

Based on two learning expeditions in 2019, this book advocates two ideas : first
to reaffirm the central role of culture in the making of our cities (to better meet the community needs, and create a city narrative) and second, to resist real estate pressure through joint public and private forces that will protect and reclaim cultural places.

It is an enthusiast call on both public and private players of the city to embrace the best practices presented in this book and scale them up.

Thank you to all the contributors and happy reading !

Juliette Donadieu (Cultural Attaché/San Francisco) and Laure Gayet (Founder/Légendes Urbaines)

Oakland/Saint-Denis: Translating Cities and Cultures, 72p.
Languages: English, French
Graphic design by Claire Espinosa, Studio w+e

Read the publication online for free in its PDF version:

Or order it with a donation of 16euros/18dollars to the French American Cultural Society: