parisianization?

[monsoon]

Admin's note: I've cleaned up the more insulting posts that have appeared in this thread. Everyone please try not to take these things personally or if you can't deal with it, go somewhere else to fight.

[tsoutside]

...The center of Paris (city limits) came about not because of gentrification, but more or less from its history...Strict building codes in the center of the city prevented large scale development, and preserved the grand architecture we see today...

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Also, part of Paris' history is that a lot of the truly old medieval city was destroyed by Baron Haussmann's version of urban renewal in the 1860s. I believe one of the few neighborhoods that was left intact was the Marais and up to 60 percent of Paris' buildings were destroyed or altered under Haussmann's watch! I'm probably in a very small minority but I've always felt that large parts of Paris' Haussmann-ified city center are kind of sterile...

[LeTaureau]

Also, part of Paris' history is that a lot of the truly old medieval city was destroyed by Baron Haussmann's version of urban renewal in the 1860s. I believe one of the few neighborhoods that was left intact was the Marais and up to 60 percent of Paris' buildings were destroyed or altered under Haussmann's watch! I'm probably in a very small minority but I've always felt that large parts of Paris' Haussmann-ified city center are kind of sterile...

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Actually, I think Montmartre was one of the only neighborhoods untouched by Baron Von Haussmann's far reaching arm. The streets of this neighborhood perched on a hill are windy and narrow, like medieval Paris would have been. However, there is a square in the Marais called Place des Vosges that is quite a remarkable place, that remained intact despite the changed neighborhood surrounding the area under Von Haussmann's plan. The square was built in the early 1600's (laid out by Henri IV himself), and has been left virtually untouched since then. Walking through its arcades and across the green in the center is a marvelous voyage through old Paris. Its almost as if the noise and bustle of the surrounding city vanishes in the tranquility of this perfectly symmetrical square.

For Me Baron Von Haussmann's legacy was a good one. The grand boulevards and stunning view corridors created by his "urban renewal" created the Paris that we know today. Medieval Paris was cramped, fetid and dilapidated. Von Haussmann preserved most of the historical outstanding architecture from the Age of Enlightenment, Rennaissance and earlier time periods and managed to fit this into a grand new vision. His ideas for "urban renewal" were brilliant. Preservation and restoration, coupled with selective razing for new growth and more efficient infrastructure. His visions eventually served as models for our nations capitol.

If Von Haussmann didint change the face of Paris, somebody else probably would have. And if this were to have happened during the 60's like it did here in the states, then who knows what the consequences would have been. Probably bland architecture set in pedestrian unfriendly moonscapes like we see here.

[kurtosis]

If Von Haussmann didint change the face of Paris, somebody else probably would have.  And if this were to have happened during the 60's like it did here in the states, then who knows what the consequences would have been.  Probably bland architecture set in pedestrian unfriendly moonscapes like we see here.

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Agreed! I lived in Lyon (France's 2nd city) the past 2 years and a large portion of the city is bland, 60's style. Nobody likes it. Paris was very fortunate to have Von Haussmann.

About the term "parisianization" - the idea of poor inner cities surrounded by rich suburbs is due to the events of the last 50 or so years in the US (suburbanization, etc). It is in no way the norm for cities in general, it's just a product of a certain time and place. I'd bet that 100 years ago American cities were much more similar to their european counterparts than they are today. European urban development has followed a relatively consistent pattern since then, compared to the US, so vibrant, wealthy city centers are just the way things have been for centuries.

What is particular in French cities is how they have handled immigrants and the poor recently. They threw up a bunch of high rise projects where the land was cheaper, outside the city centers. I wouldn't compare these "banlieux" to american suburbs. They are more like the projects in the Bronx or the south side of chicago, both areas far from downtown. It is unlikely that american cities will follow this model. As working class people are priced out of cities the result will likely be very different from Paris.

[kurtosis]

This became a very famous photo.  A white man beating a black man with the American flag because he did not want the black man's kids to attend the same school as his in Boston. 

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To Boston's credit the black man in the photo is quite prominent, for unrelated reasons, today. He's still in Boston and is the president of some sort of architectural center (I believe his name is, no joke, Landmark)