Mixité sociale et développement de quartier : une planification à l'épreuve du vécu Production de l'espace et rôle du Travail social à l'écoquartier des Plaines-du-Loup

This Master’s thesis explores how social mix policy is conceived, implemented and experienced in the Plaines-du-Loup ecological neighborhood in Lausanne, as well as the role that social work can play in this process. Adopting a critical stance, it questions the concrete effects of this policy on residents’s dynamics and highlights the gaps between conceived, perceived and lived space (Lefebvre, 1974). While often presented as a lever for inclusion, social mix does not necessarily guarantee cohesion or collective belonging. How does it manifest in residents’s daily practices? And what kind of room for action exists for social workers in this urban context? The research is based on a qualitative methodology, combining commented walks, interviews with residents and professionals in social work and urban planning, and in situ observations. The analysis draws on Lefebvre’s spatial triad, theoretical insights on “habiter” (Stock) and spatial appropriation (De Certeau ; Chambart de Lauwe ; Lefebvre), as well as Nägeli’s framework on the role of social work in urban projects. The analysis reveals that while urban planning envisioned social mix policy through regulatory instruments and ambitious spatial programming, actual practices, social representations and processes of appropriation reflect a more contrasted reality, depending on the Housing type (subsidized, affordable, market-rate). Social work thus emerges as a key lever for mediation, participation and spatial justice, one that should be mobilized from the earliest stages of urban development.