How can one recall lost places? At the meeting point of memory and urban ethnographies, this paper intends to rethink memorial dynamics concerning popular living places that suffered the negative effects of the passage of time more than others. Far removed from the idea of a generalized oblivion, a survey among people who used to live in “bidonvilles” and “cités de transit” in Nanterre, in the periphery of Paris, illustrates the various means of construction and reconstruction of people’s narratives. Local environment appears to be a privileged place for understanding the ways in which the past is accessed and recalled. Moreover, it allows us to better understand what these peculiar memories can tell about the city, in terms of social ties, feelings of common belonging, but also in terms of tensions.