Page - 167 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 3/2017

Urban regeneration policy is developing all over Europe. In Brussels, it has deeply been trans- forming spatiality of old neighbourhoods of the canal territory since the mid 1990s and has implied new norms of mobility. This paper first highlights the impact of these material and symbolical transformations on the relations between atmospheres and mobility experiences. Secondly, it shows how these transformations affect «felt mobility», ie the feeling of moving with ease or discomfort within the neighbourhood. This main question takes place within an ecological approach to the city that takes into account the sensitive dimension of the urban space and conceives its materiality not only as a set of signs (Goffman, 1973), but also as the sensitive condition into which individuals have social activities and social exchanges with their environment (Stavo-Debauge, 2003; Pecqueux 2012). In the first part, the paper questions the reasons why and the way in which urban regenera- tion policy conducted in the canal territory translates the contemporary ideals of mobility. The Canal Plan (2014) aims to restructure this central and strategic territory for the Brussels Region, marked by «hard urban breaks», into a more homogenous area. At a local level, the neighbour- hood contract device gives rise to new forms of public spaces characterised by material «empti- ness», transparency and interconnection. These new public spaces and their atmospheres are supposed to influence mobility practices (by encouraging pedestrian and cycling traffic, encou- raging social exchanges, bringing out residents considered as too rooted, bringing in visitors and new residents…) and to make this territory more attractive. Then the atmosphere concept (Thibaud, 2002 ; 2004 ; Chelkoff, 2004) is used as an ana- lyser of, on the one hand, the interrelations between the material, symbolic and sensitive qua- lities of new public spaces and, on the other hand, the different feelings of openness or close- ness about these spaces and the neighbourhood. The analysis is developed through two case studies (the Heyvaert neighbourhood and the Vieux Molenbeek neighbourhood). The data was collected during in situ observations, in-depth interviews and commented itineraries (parcours commentés) (Thibaud, 2001) carried out with old and new owners – distinguished by the age of their social group in the neighbourhood rather than by their personal residential trajectory. This methodological device has been framed to point out the role of the sensitive environment Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal, Vol. 3 2017, 167-170 Peer reviewed article Open Access: content is licensed under CC BY 3.0 Open Neighbourhood, Closed Neighbourhood: The ‘Felt Mobility’  as a Resource for Coexistence Extended abstract Emmanuelle Lenel