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Lying at the intersection between the communes of Roubaix, Tourcoing and Wattrelos, the Union is a large scale development project that aims to make “problem areas” more attractive to high income households and “innovative businesses”. Retracing the history of this urban renewal project allows us to highlight how a coalition of experts has managed to turn the Union into an urban development issue. The socioeconomic selection in operation oscillates between the valorization of the abstract qualities of the populations and businesses that it is hoped will be attracted to the area and the rejection of inhabitants and economic activities that are deemed to be incompatible with the vision of economic and environmental excellence that has been envisaged for the site. Thus, in the name of promoting the “attractivity” of the site, an immense urban wasteland has been created.