Who are we?

We are a group of students and professionals working on urban and architectural issues in a development context.

What do we have in common?

Our studies (architecture, urban planning, sociology…) our academic work and our professional experience have the same approach:
The search of alternatives practices in order to fight against poverty and exclusion, the same in south (third world) countries than in the north.

Our project.

Despite being related by our researches and practices, very often we don’t use the potential of our “informal net” of friends and colleagues. We consider that a very valuable capacity of exchange and communication is missing. Our researches, experiences, contacts… could be much more well-spent by others tackling the same kind of subjects in different parts of the world.

Our ambition is to “mutualise” our knowledge and to share our experiences. That is why we are developing ALTERURBANET, as an exchange network and horizontal platform.

Working levels.

We intend to work at two different scales:

Local: consolidating the existing “informal networks” of friends and colleagues.
In order to do that, we organise informal meetings and other activities ( projections, conferences, debates… ) in cities with an important concentration of ALTERURBANET members, as Paris (France) or Mumbai (India)

International: one of our main aims is to put in contact people working on similar issues in different countries. We think that the exchange between people working in development issues in different continents: Asia, Africa, South America is fundamental in order to fight against global issues and search for possible alternatives.
Because of this international level, internet becomes a fundamental instrument of our platform.

Exchange in Internet: our instruments.

Mailing list

All the people registered on the mailing list will receive ALTERURBANET newsletters and other information about our work and activities. Any of the members can use the mailing list to diffuse events of other interesting information relating to the net’s topics. The members can also write to the mailing list in order to ask for help, information, contacts.. related to their work.

If you want to receive Alterurbanet’s news and work, you can join our mailing list.It is very easy, click on “Join Alterurbanet’s list”.
Our Id is alterurbanet@coollist.com. Add your email, and you will receive an invitation.

JOIN ALTERURBANET'S LIST

The mailing list is a simple way to participate and being informed about ALTERURBANET’s activities
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Forum (soon available)

The forum has been created to be the Internet medium of our discussions. With a “question-answer” logic, the forum makes possible a simple participation, available for all. Anyone can open a discussion subject or to ask a question concerning his own work.
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Blogs (you are on them)

The blog is a kind of “simplified web” for text and images publication. We use it as the first showcase of Alterurbanet, with the presentation of topics, members and publications of related events and information.
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Virtual Library

It will serve to file our work (thesis, projects… ) on internet, in the same exchange logic. We want take profit of the interesting work done in academic context that remains too often misused and forgotten. Any person interested in collaborate with to our virtual library providing his/her own work about development issues, is almost welcome.

How can you participate?

The net can’t work without the implication of people interested on the project. The idea is that each one could participate in one or other way to the construction of this “exchange platform”.

More precise, you can participate:

- Subscribing the mailing list, in order to be informed about ALTERURBANET activities and news, and to be able to share information or put yourself in contact with the others mailing list’s members.
- Making commentaries directly on the blog (each post leave the opportunity of writing your comments on it)
- Introduce yourself and your interests in the member’s presentation blog. This presentation is important in order to know who are participating on the net, and which are their working topics. This way, anyone interesting in the same kind of work, could directly contact you.
- Prepare a small presentation of your working topics related to ALTERURBANET issues. We will publish them as small articles in our blogs.

To publish your work and presentation or to put yourself in contact with us, u can write to ALTERURBANET’s e-mail (
alterurbanet@hotmail.com) or write to the mailing list for those that are already in.