During a one-year stay in Marseille (2006/7), I observed the changes in urban everyday life that came about as a consequence of the massive redevelopment and construction measures that were taken in the context of the ‘Marseille Euroméditerranée 2010’ project. Taking Marseille as an example, Cornerville shows an urban area whose ‘common’ architecture is being changed permanently, both by economic interest groups and individual inhabitants; it is deformed, destroyed or reproduced from scratch.