The population of large housing estates facing the renovation of their neighborhood. The case of Malakoff housing estate in Nantes (France)

French large housing estates, which have been the main targets of urban regeneration policies over the last thirty years or so, exhibit a great social and spatial diversity. They are constantly confronted with change in the city fabric and the living environment of their inhabitants as a result of an extensive urban renewal including the demolition and reconstruction of housings and various urban redevelopment plans. This in-depth remodeling process impacts daily practices, raising questions about the way inhabitants negotiate and shape their living in a changing, profoundly rearranged neighborhood. This article examines how they react to these changes by showing the various occupancy of public spaces newly designed but frequented for a long time and highly symbolic. The study is based on a qualitative survey carried out in 2018 in Malakoff (Nantes), a district iconic of the urban renewal policy implemented in France, addressing its impact from the point of view of the inhabitants. Focusing on practices, particularly spatial ones, the study tries to understand how the people reinvest their living spaces and (re)take their place in their renovated neighborhood.