HOUSEBOAT LIVING ON THE SEINE Lonely pénichards or strong communities? Sciences Po Master students – Urban School, program “Governing the Large Metropolis”: Paola Chapdelaine:
[email protected] Emeline Dutheil:
[email protected] Lorena Figueiredo:
[email protected] Marissa Potasiak:
[email protected] Paul Tristan Victor:
[email protected] Working papers du Programme Cities are Back in Town
[email protected] http://blogs.sciences-po.fr/recherche-villes/ Cahiers de recherche du Programme Cities are Back in Town n° 2015-1 Chapdelaine P., Dutheil E., Figueiredo L., Potasiak M. and Victor, P.T., « Houseboat living on the Seine ». Abstract: A stroll along the Seine will alert even the most casual observer to the unique presence of houseboats moored along the river’s banks, many of them clustered in small ports and canals. Examining closer, one might even feel a twinge of jealousy at the sight of normally hurried Parisians using the Seine as their own personal backyard — hosting family barbecues, making quick excursions down the river, or simply enjoying long, carefree conversations with their neighbors. However, a real understanding of the linkages between these houseboats — and the people who make their life on them, the houseboaters — requires a more structured process of investigation. We ask ourselves, then, the following research question: How might the conditions of houseboat living on the Seine shape relations between houseboat owners? We hypothesize that houseboaters share practices, produce a specific body of knowledge, and form a sense of common identity in a manner that creates houseboat communities on the Seine. Our paper is organized as follows.