In less than three years Les Grands Voisins in Paris became the reference and an emblematic figure of possibilities for urban vitality, generosity and creativity. What we can see from legal point of view as simple temporary occupation of a former hospital space gets transformed into social project of great value. It facilitated the calm cohabitation between groups of people from many different social backgrounds: entrepreneurs, craftsmen, people in need, migrants, neighbours, students, Parisians, artists, tourists.

This time-laps, free of any conventional administrative or financial structure, created the conditions for urban laboratory – dynamic and audacious. It allowed to make some real new notions of “urban commons”. In this free and shared space, we have seen the development of new solidarities, so vital for better cohabitation.

http://www.lesgrandsvoisins.org