Cartographie participative sur l’avenir de la maison d’arrêt de Caen
Participatory mapping on the future of the Caen prison
2026
Intensive week of the ADURA (Sciences Po Rennes, Caen campus) and Design and Transitions (ésam Caen/Cherbourg) Master’s programmes
Collective project
- Participatory mapping
- Action research
- Intensive workshop week
A map made during an intensive week in which students from the ADURA Master’s (Sustainable Development and Reasoned Urbanism) and the Design and Transitions Master’s (Sciences Po Rennes, Caen campus / ésam) joined forces to explore the future of Caen’s former prison. Closed for more than two years, this urban enclave is about to begin a new life. Between the sale procedures and the building works to come, what room is left for collective, citizen-led invention?
Through an immersion in the heart of the neighbourhood and among its residents, five student groups walked the streets, questioned memories and imagined possible futures. The work was presented at a public showing along a walk around the prison: more than an academic presentation, a space for dialogue on citizen participation and Caen’s urban dynamics, with Brice Giacalone, teacher and researcher at ésam, anthropologist and sociologist, and the M2 Design and Transitions (ésam) and ADURA cohorts.
Five lines of inquiry
New paths: if the walls come down, how does the neighbourhood breathe again?
Living memory: what links can be woven between former users (inmates, staff) and memory associations?
Transitional urbanism: what can happen on the site while waiting for the major works?
Territorial narratives: what shared imaginary can be built with residents to move beyond the stigma of the prison?
Collective publishing: how can this week of action research be told?
