MESOPOLHIS is delighted to welcome Pietro Battaglini from 16 March to 30 September 2026.

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Pietro Battaglini is a doctoral student in urban studies at the Inter-University Department of Regional and Urban Studies (DIST) at the Politecnico di Torino.

Her stay at MESOPOLHIS is part of her thesis project.

His work is linked to the Axis 4 «Socio-spatial dynamics and political mobilisation».» and the «Urban Studies» cross-cutting theme». Her project is supported within the laboratory by Cesare Mattina, a lecturer in sociology at Aix-Marseille University, and Claire Bénit, a senior lecturer in urban planning at Aix-Marseille University.

🔎 Title and summary of research project :

The use of the Bail Réel Solidaire (BRS) in France: between demarketing and municipal compliance

This research project analyses the use of the Organismes de Foncier Solidaire (OFS) and the Bail Réel Solidaire (BRS) as levers for the demarketing of housing in France. Inspired by the Community Land Trusts model, these arrangements are based on the dissociation between ownership of the land and the buildings in order to protect housing from speculation.

Adopting a qualitative approach focused on the PACA region, the study is based on interviews with elected representatives and residents to examine the residential trajectories of beneficiaries and municipal practices in the face of the obligations of the SRU law. The study field will enable us to observe local trade-offs between legal imperatives and property development strategies. Through the study, the research analyses the way in which the OFS-BRS participates in the transformation of social housing, between an instrument of demarketing and a tool for compliance with legal quotas.

📨 Contact : pietro.battaglini[at]polito.it

📍 Locations : Espace Philippe Séguin and Maison méditerranéenne des sciences humaines et sociales

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