Agnès Deboulet is Professor of Sociology at the University of Paris and researcher at LAVUE (CNRS). Her research interests focus on globalization issues, capabilities and urban related conflicts in popular districts in the Middle East and Paris region. She is involved in various research about urban renewal processes, inequalities and citizenship issues as well as on a continuous research activity on precarious neighborhoods. In 2016 she has been directing a report for United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in preparation for the Habitat III conference, which is discussing the contradictions between competitive growth and metropolitan governance on the one hand, and social justice and environmental challenges on the other.