This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/26/ring-road-paris-peripherique-suburbs-banlieue
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Dirty boulevard: why Paris's ring road is a major block on the city's grand plans | Dirty boulevard: why Paris's ring road is a major block on the city's grand plans |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| With 1.1m cars a day, the 35 kilometres of the Boulevard Périphérique are the busiest in Europe. Paris’s inner ring road runs around the French capital, following the city’s administrative boundaries almost perfectly and connecting the city proper and its banlieues, or suburbs. | With 1.1m cars a day, the 35 kilometres of the Boulevard Périphérique are the busiest in Europe. Paris’s inner ring road runs around the French capital, following the city’s administrative boundaries almost perfectly and connecting the city proper and its banlieues, or suburbs. |
| Since its inauguration in 1973, the périphérique – measuring 40 to 60 metres wide and composed of up to six lanes – has been a concrete belt around Paris, making all too real what should have remained an invisible administrative boundary. This has reinforced the insurmountable contrast between Paris and the city’s adjacent municipalities, adding a physical dimension to political borders and separating the Parisiens from the rest of France. | Since its inauguration in 1973, the périphérique – measuring 40 to 60 metres wide and composed of up to six lanes – has been a concrete belt around Paris, making all too real what should have remained an invisible administrative boundary. This has reinforced the insurmountable contrast between Paris and the city’s adjacent municipalities, adding a physical dimension to political borders and separating the Parisiens from the rest of France. |
| Architect Richard Rogers, who designed a strategic plan for the city, said: “I don’t know of any other city where the heart is as detached from its limbs.” A number of studies published this year by Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme, the public agency in charge of urban studies, qualify almost the whole périphérique as a “challenge for urban integration”. | |
| As a result, on the first day of 2016, the Métropole du Grand Paris will come to life. The MGP aims to deliver a “more integrated development” to Paris and its suburbs, by creating a new metropolitan governance. | As a result, on the first day of 2016, the Métropole du Grand Paris will come to life. The MGP aims to deliver a “more integrated development” to Paris and its suburbs, by creating a new metropolitan governance. |
| Paris’s boundaries are defined by its fortifications – displaying a rather medieval approach to city planning | Paris’s boundaries are defined by its fortifications – displaying a rather medieval approach to city planning |
| The City of Paris and its 2.3 million inhabitants will be merged with its petite couronne (“small crown”, or inner suburbs), adding about 4.6 million residents and an extra 128 local authorities to form a new metropolitan institution: the Grand Paris. | The City of Paris and its 2.3 million inhabitants will be merged with its petite couronne (“small crown”, or inner suburbs), adding about 4.6 million residents and an extra 128 local authorities to form a new metropolitan institution: the Grand Paris. |
| Where New York, Berlin and London have successfully created metropolitan governments, can Paris overcome its inner boundary, and convince inhabitants of Paris proper and the suburbs that they are all Parisiens? And to achieve this, should it sacrifice the périphérique, the city’s most prominent physical and symbolic boundary? | Where New York, Berlin and London have successfully created metropolitan governments, can Paris overcome its inner boundary, and convince inhabitants of Paris proper and the suburbs that they are all Parisiens? And to achieve this, should it sacrifice the périphérique, the city’s most prominent physical and symbolic boundary? |
| The roots of the division between Paris and its suburbs run much deeper than the building of the road in the 1970s. To understand the significance, we need to go back to the fall of Napoleon. In March 1814, the Battle of Paris saw the defeat of the Napoleonic troops and Prussian forces storming the capital city. | The roots of the division between Paris and its suburbs run much deeper than the building of the road in the 1970s. To understand the significance, we need to go back to the fall of Napoleon. In March 1814, the Battle of Paris saw the defeat of the Napoleonic troops and Prussian forces storming the capital city. |
| Consequently, King Louis-Philippe and French prime minister Adolphe Thiers decided to transform Paris into a fortress and protect the city from any further intrusion, ordering construction of city fortifications in the 1840s. Completed in 1844, the message was clear: Paris’s boundaries were to be defined by its fortifications – displaying a rather medieval approach to city planning. | Consequently, King Louis-Philippe and French prime minister Adolphe Thiers decided to transform Paris into a fortress and protect the city from any further intrusion, ordering construction of city fortifications in the 1840s. Completed in 1844, the message was clear: Paris’s boundaries were to be defined by its fortifications – displaying a rather medieval approach to city planning. |
| Consisting of a thick wall, 10 metres high and protected by a wide ditch, the ramparts were also granted a 250-metre wide non-building zone. Yet, as the fortifications lost military relevance and became obsolete only decades after their completion, informal settlements mushroomed within the “Zone”, housing the Parisian proletariat. | Consisting of a thick wall, 10 metres high and protected by a wide ditch, the ramparts were also granted a 250-metre wide non-building zone. Yet, as the fortifications lost military relevance and became obsolete only decades after their completion, informal settlements mushroomed within the “Zone”, housing the Parisian proletariat. |
| The destruction of the fortifications was in the pipeline as early as 1882, but only started in 1919 and was completed in 1929. To put this into perspective, Berlin destroyed its last fortifications in 1740; London in 1760. | The destruction of the fortifications was in the pipeline as early as 1882, but only started in 1919 and was completed in 1929. To put this into perspective, Berlin destroyed its last fortifications in 1740; London in 1760. |
| In Paris, the defunct fortifications were replaced at the beginning of the 1930s by a grand scheme of social housing. Yet the Zone remained untouched, full of zonards (still a deprecating term for someone from a deprived area who loiters suspiciously) and their insalubrious housing. | In Paris, the defunct fortifications were replaced at the beginning of the 1930s by a grand scheme of social housing. Yet the Zone remained untouched, full of zonards (still a deprecating term for someone from a deprived area who loiters suspiciously) and their insalubrious housing. |
| While the idea of an orbital road around Paris emerged in the 1920s, it was only in 1956 that the construction of the périphérique started. It addressed the increase in inner-city car use, and similar schemes were designed in cities around the world. The zone was cleared, its inhabitants evicted and the périphérique was inaugurated in 1973, after 17 years of building work. | While the idea of an orbital road around Paris emerged in the 1920s, it was only in 1956 that the construction of the périphérique started. It addressed the increase in inner-city car use, and similar schemes were designed in cities around the world. The zone was cleared, its inhabitants evicted and the périphérique was inaugurated in 1973, after 17 years of building work. |
| Cutting across the city, the périphérique’s viaduct structure is omnipresent in the working-class neighbourhoods of north-east Paris, but in well-off areas – such as Vincennes in the east, and Boulogne in the west – it discreetly passes underground as a tunnel. In the main, though, a formidable ring of concrete now stands where fortifications once did. London has its green belt, Paris its concrete one. | Cutting across the city, the périphérique’s viaduct structure is omnipresent in the working-class neighbourhoods of north-east Paris, but in well-off areas – such as Vincennes in the east, and Boulogne in the west – it discreetly passes underground as a tunnel. In the main, though, a formidable ring of concrete now stands where fortifications once did. London has its green belt, Paris its concrete one. |
| A formidable ring of concrete stands where fortifications once did. London has its green belt, Paris its concrete one | A formidable ring of concrete stands where fortifications once did. London has its green belt, Paris its concrete one |
| To explore the physical boundary created by the road, we must meet the people who have a direct relationship with it. All along the périphérique, the entrances to Paris are still named portes, as they are located where the fortifications’ gates used to stand. Walking from Porte Dorée to Porte de la Chapelle, I encounter various types of transition between Paris and its banlieues. In some places, the transition is smooth and painless: the tunnel of the périphérique allows Parisians to easily access the Bois de Vincennes – one of Paris’s “green lungs”, which sits outside the boundary but is under Paris’s jurisdiction. Where Paris connects with the well-off cities of Saint-Mandé and Vincennes, several effortless transitions are in place, allowing residents to move easily from one area to another, as resident Dorothée confirms. | To explore the physical boundary created by the road, we must meet the people who have a direct relationship with it. All along the périphérique, the entrances to Paris are still named portes, as they are located where the fortifications’ gates used to stand. Walking from Porte Dorée to Porte de la Chapelle, I encounter various types of transition between Paris and its banlieues. In some places, the transition is smooth and painless: the tunnel of the périphérique allows Parisians to easily access the Bois de Vincennes – one of Paris’s “green lungs”, which sits outside the boundary but is under Paris’s jurisdiction. Where Paris connects with the well-off cities of Saint-Mandé and Vincennes, several effortless transitions are in place, allowing residents to move easily from one area to another, as resident Dorothée confirms. |
| In 1932, Dorothée’s in-laws moved into a housing block built in the place of the fortifications; she moved into the flat herself in 1969, as the périphérique was being completed. Living on the edge of the 12th arrondissement, she is within walking distance of Saint-Mandé and Vincennes. “In other spots, such as Porte de Montreuil, it’s really different – there is a real break between Paris and [those suburbs]. But here, we are well connected. There’s a real continuity.” | In 1932, Dorothée’s in-laws moved into a housing block built in the place of the fortifications; she moved into the flat herself in 1969, as the périphérique was being completed. Living on the edge of the 12th arrondissement, she is within walking distance of Saint-Mandé and Vincennes. “In other spots, such as Porte de Montreuil, it’s really different – there is a real break between Paris and [those suburbs]. But here, we are well connected. There’s a real continuity.” |
| The Porte de Montreuil, a few kilometres up the périphérique, offers a starker contrast between Paris and the adjacent environs of Montreuil and Bagnolet. The roundabout, which connects the area with the périphérique by means of four access roads, is empty of almost any pedestrian or bicycle – and, although the Rue d’Avron on the Paris side and the Rue de Paris on Montreuil’s side are very busy thoroughfares, they do not connect. | The Porte de Montreuil, a few kilometres up the périphérique, offers a starker contrast between Paris and the adjacent environs of Montreuil and Bagnolet. The roundabout, which connects the area with the périphérique by means of four access roads, is empty of almost any pedestrian or bicycle – and, although the Rue d’Avron on the Paris side and the Rue de Paris on Montreuil’s side are very busy thoroughfares, they do not connect. |
| Bénédicte, a Montreuil resident, describes the périphérique as a “ditch between Montreuil and Paris”. While the périphérique running below the roundabout leaves a wide void between the two areas, how it is built – its height, architectural style and condition – on each side of the road reveals another level of divide. | Bénédicte, a Montreuil resident, describes the périphérique as a “ditch between Montreuil and Paris”. While the périphérique running below the roundabout leaves a wide void between the two areas, how it is built – its height, architectural style and condition – on each side of the road reveals another level of divide. |
| In Montreuil and Bagnolet, alongside glossy new office buildings sits the traditional suburban housing stock: 19th-century houses that are one or two storeys high. With its compact and humble houses, sometimes left in ruins, the streetscape evokes rural France, not the core of the wealthiest region in Europe. An unlikely vision when you consider that Paris is among the biggest property markets in the world. | In Montreuil and Bagnolet, alongside glossy new office buildings sits the traditional suburban housing stock: 19th-century houses that are one or two storeys high. With its compact and humble houses, sometimes left in ruins, the streetscape evokes rural France, not the core of the wealthiest region in Europe. An unlikely vision when you consider that Paris is among the biggest property markets in the world. |
| Here you might be only 60 metres away from the capital, but you are not in Paris any more. Cross the périphérique and the value of properties drops by half, from €6,300 per sq metre in the 20th arrondissement to €3,800 per sq metre in Bagnolet. Yet it has good transport connections, with line 3 of the Métro stopping here, plenty of buses to Paris, and docking stations for both Autolib’ and Vélib’: the self-service car- and bicycle-sharing systems launched by the City of Paris. | Here you might be only 60 metres away from the capital, but you are not in Paris any more. Cross the périphérique and the value of properties drops by half, from €6,300 per sq metre in the 20th arrondissement to €3,800 per sq metre in Bagnolet. Yet it has good transport connections, with line 3 of the Métro stopping here, plenty of buses to Paris, and docking stations for both Autolib’ and Vélib’: the self-service car- and bicycle-sharing systems launched by the City of Paris. |
| As I continue my orbital journey along the périphérique, the divide between Paris and its banlieues changes many times. A few hundred metres further, I have to face the Bagnolet Interchange – Paris’s very own spaghetti junction. A few kilometres later sits the Porte des Lilas: here the road has recently been covered, creating a whole new district and a new way to move between Paris and the adjacent town. A couple of kilometres later, arriving at Porte de la Chapelle, the contrast is even more pronounced. | As I continue my orbital journey along the périphérique, the divide between Paris and its banlieues changes many times. A few hundred metres further, I have to face the Bagnolet Interchange – Paris’s very own spaghetti junction. A few kilometres later sits the Porte des Lilas: here the road has recently been covered, creating a whole new district and a new way to move between Paris and the adjacent town. A couple of kilometres later, arriving at Porte de la Chapelle, the contrast is even more pronounced. |
| But there is not only negative feeling for the périphérique. Carla, a resident of the 19th arrondissement of Paris who works in the nearby town of Colombes, and her colleague Aude, who lives in Saint-Ouen right outside the périphérique, explain that “not all the points of passage on the périphérique are the same. For instance, at the Porte Montmartre there are always people, even in the middle of the night. It is always full.” | But there is not only negative feeling for the périphérique. Carla, a resident of the 19th arrondissement of Paris who works in the nearby town of Colombes, and her colleague Aude, who lives in Saint-Ouen right outside the périphérique, explain that “not all the points of passage on the périphérique are the same. For instance, at the Porte Montmartre there are always people, even in the middle of the night. It is always full.” |
| I am very aware of the Paris-banlieue divide, probably because I grew up here: that’s a very Parisian attitude | I am very aware of the Paris-banlieue divide, probably because I grew up here: that’s a very Parisian attitude |
| While some parts of the périphérique remain a hostile environment for pedestrians, it seems the residents close to the road have found ways to cope with the concrete beast. Sophie, who lives on the edge of Paris’s 18th arrondissement, says “the break between Paris and the banlieue is visible. It’s physical. For instance, the cycle path between Paris and Saint-Ouen stops at the Porte Montmatre, where the périphérique starts.” Yet, Anis, from the 17th arrondissement, says: “The périphérique, it’s like a rampart, like a wall – but more or less invisible.” Bénédicte from Montreuil adds: “The périphérique is both a connector and the separation between Paris and its suburbs.” | While some parts of the périphérique remain a hostile environment for pedestrians, it seems the residents close to the road have found ways to cope with the concrete beast. Sophie, who lives on the edge of Paris’s 18th arrondissement, says “the break between Paris and the banlieue is visible. It’s physical. For instance, the cycle path between Paris and Saint-Ouen stops at the Porte Montmatre, where the périphérique starts.” Yet, Anis, from the 17th arrondissement, says: “The périphérique, it’s like a rampart, like a wall – but more or less invisible.” Bénédicte from Montreuil adds: “The périphérique is both a connector and the separation between Paris and its suburbs.” |
| Talking with the residents, I realise there is much more to this than just an urban design issue. While the road and its 1.1m daily cars does not help, the reconnection between the city’s heart and its limbs might require more subtle intervention. Perhaps the last wall that will bring down the “invisible rampart” is in fact a psychological one. | Talking with the residents, I realise there is much more to this than just an urban design issue. While the road and its 1.1m daily cars does not help, the reconnection between the city’s heart and its limbs might require more subtle intervention. Perhaps the last wall that will bring down the “invisible rampart” is in fact a psychological one. |
| Marko, from Clichy, and Bénédicte believe the banlieue is a myth. Bénédicte, who moved to Montreuil in the 1990s after a lifetime in central Paris, adds that Montreuil was a “compromise”: “My husband [who did not grow up in Paris] had no prejudice about the suburbs. Meanwhile, I am very aware of the Paris/banlieue divide, probably because I grew up here: that’s a very Parisian attitude.” | Marko, from Clichy, and Bénédicte believe the banlieue is a myth. Bénédicte, who moved to Montreuil in the 1990s after a lifetime in central Paris, adds that Montreuil was a “compromise”: “My husband [who did not grow up in Paris] had no prejudice about the suburbs. Meanwhile, I am very aware of the Paris/banlieue divide, probably because I grew up here: that’s a very Parisian attitude.” |
| Marko and Anis were interviewed in 2013 by citizen collective and NGO Métropop’ for its project titled My Neighbourhood, My Heritage. Antoine Le Pessec, its president, tells me Métropop’s objective is to question representations of the banlieues, to work on social prejudice, and to accompany Parisians and suburbanites towards founding a genuine Grand Paris. Beyond redesigning political institutions or the périphérique, the real challenge is in people’s heads. | Marko and Anis were interviewed in 2013 by citizen collective and NGO Métropop’ for its project titled My Neighbourhood, My Heritage. Antoine Le Pessec, its president, tells me Métropop’s objective is to question representations of the banlieues, to work on social prejudice, and to accompany Parisians and suburbanites towards founding a genuine Grand Paris. Beyond redesigning political institutions or the périphérique, the real challenge is in people’s heads. |
| From 1 January 2016, Bagnolet, Montreuil, Vincennes, Saint-Ouen, Colombes, Paris and more than 100 other municipalities will form the Métropole du Grand Paris. For the first time since 1860, we will witness an institutional attempt to move Paris beyond its own boundaries, beyond the périphérique. Yet, in six months’ time, the road will still be standing, untouched and unchallenged. | From 1 January 2016, Bagnolet, Montreuil, Vincennes, Saint-Ouen, Colombes, Paris and more than 100 other municipalities will form the Métropole du Grand Paris. For the first time since 1860, we will witness an institutional attempt to move Paris beyond its own boundaries, beyond the périphérique. Yet, in six months’ time, the road will still be standing, untouched and unchallenged. |
| Projects – of uneven quality and relevance – to get rid of the périphérique have regularly appeared in the media since the 1990s. Some parts have been covered, making the transition between Paris and the adjacent municipalities smoother. Yet a total coverage of the périphérique has never been seriously contemplated – it would be immensely costly – and nor has its destruction, as the city struggles with managing its car traffic. | Projects – of uneven quality and relevance – to get rid of the périphérique have regularly appeared in the media since the 1990s. Some parts have been covered, making the transition between Paris and the adjacent municipalities smoother. Yet a total coverage of the périphérique has never been seriously contemplated – it would be immensely costly – and nor has its destruction, as the city struggles with managing its car traffic. |
| Related: America wakes up to walking: 'Think of it as a patriotic duty' | Related: America wakes up to walking: 'Think of it as a patriotic duty' |
| Yet plans announced in May by Mayor Hidalgo to pedestrianise inner-city urban motorways along the Seine were, until recently, seen as ludicrous and unrealistic. They follow up on a similar successful scheme implemented by former Mayor Bertrand Delanoë in 2013, which was met at the time with fierce opposition from pro-car lobbies. Why can’t the challenges of the périphérique be met with similar panache? | Yet plans announced in May by Mayor Hidalgo to pedestrianise inner-city urban motorways along the Seine were, until recently, seen as ludicrous and unrealistic. They follow up on a similar successful scheme implemented by former Mayor Bertrand Delanoë in 2013, which was met at the time with fierce opposition from pro-car lobbies. Why can’t the challenges of the périphérique be met with similar panache? |
| This iconic road remains an eyesore, as well as a major health hazard for the hundreds of thousands who live close to it. And, surely, dedicating hundreds of hectares in a central location to a single road is a lost opportunity in a city where land is scarce. | This iconic road remains an eyesore, as well as a major health hazard for the hundreds of thousands who live close to it. And, surely, dedicating hundreds of hectares in a central location to a single road is a lost opportunity in a city where land is scarce. |
| The main divide between Parisiens and banlieusards, however, remains a psychological one. While redesigning and reinventing the périphérique is certainly part of the solution, it is Parisians’ perceptions that must change if the ghosts of Paris’s historic fortifications are to be eradicated for good. | The main divide between Parisiens and banlieusards, however, remains a psychological one. While redesigning and reinventing the périphérique is certainly part of the solution, it is Parisians’ perceptions that must change if the ghosts of Paris’s historic fortifications are to be eradicated for good. |
Previous version
1
Next version