Small Peripheral Cities and Local Rootedness. The Examples of Méru and Senlis in the French Département (County) of Oise

Metropolitan areas are increasingly polycentric and tend to integrate small towns located in their periphery. The focus is on the position of small towns in the metropolitan structure and on their importance in inhabitants’ living spaces. Through interviews carried out in Meru and Senlis in the North of Paris metropolitan area, small towns are found to provide effective resources to their inhabitants and to promote their local attachment, despite differences according to their social profile and residential context. Investigating both inhabitants’ mobility practices and their spatial representations, this research contributes to a better understanding of the social diversity of local attachment processes within small cities located at the periphery of metropolitan areas.