“Life in Public Housing” 

Dr. Fabrice Langrognet, a researcher in migration history at the Centre d’histoire sociale des mondes contemporains (Paris 1/CNRS) and at the University of Oxford is actively involved in the France-based Association pour un Musée du logement populaire (AMULOP). Since 2014, this organization is working towards a museum, located in the Paris suburbs, centered on the history of French working-class neighborhoods. Through the prism of housing, this original landmark will display life stories of past inhabitants. This project brings together researchers from multiple disciplines, including history, sociology, anthropology, and art history, alongside educators, archivists and museum designers. 

This approach has been tested by AMULOP in a successful exhibition, entitled ‘La Vie HLM’ (lit. ‘life in public housing’) which ran in Aubervilliers, France, from October 2021 to June 2022. Visitors of the exhibition were able to immerse themselves in the apartments, and the lives, of four families who resided in one particular public-housing unit, from the 1950s to the 2000s. Through 45-min guided tours, the exhibition provided a unique opportunity to engage with the history and foster a deeper understanding of the transformation of the Paris ‘banlieues’ in the second half of the 20th century. The participation of local stakeholders, including residents, community organizations, and local institutions, was key throughout the research and curation process. 

More about the project