How to Regulate the Peri-urban Town: Local Political Decisions and Styles of Justification

Sociological work in the field of sociology of law sees regulatory instruments as being capable of permanent redefinition and renegotiation beyond their apparent rigidity. Following this approach the present study proposes to reinterpret the development choices of peri-urban municipalities (communes) as applied to urban planning. Based on an empirical study of a sample of communes in the Paris region, we analyse the land-use planning or zoning practices implemented locally. We extend this study through statistical analysis of the regularities of the rule, by highlighting the pervasiveness of political decisions favouring the maintenance of existing urban forms through the styles of justification they involve. This perspective makes it clear that “regulatory protectionism” is a leitmotif of many urban development projects by peri-urban municipalities.