Abstract
Drawing on a group of complementary qualitative methodologies, this article examines the collective dimensions of the design of urban development projects. It looks specifically at two waterfront reclamation projects carried out in the southern French city of Perpignan in order to analyse the roles, visions and influences of the different stakeholders (public and private, contracting authority, project management and user, planner and developer) participating in urban design in the broad sense (planning and actual design). The detailed analysis of a collective process that most often remains invisible permits an understanding of the way urban development projects are ultimately the result of multiple interventions and power plays among many actors. In addition to the role of the project management contractually responsible for elaborating the detailed design, the case studies bring out the influence of two categories of stakeholders: the public authority and the users. These findings clarify a number of issues concerning the role and methods of the public actors in fashioning the city, as well as those related to the implementation of participatory urban planning.