It's crazy to be able to witness this transformation in our lifetime. I'm watching these changes closely and how they can have a strong and lasting positive impact on people's lives.
Didn't expect to see you post here, what a great surprise! Ta chaîne est le meilleur que j'ai trouvé sur l'urbanisme à Paris. Je regarde tes vidéos pour pratiquer mon comprehension de français, et de faire ça en apprenant des choses très intéressants sur Paris et l'urbanisme! Merci beaucoup!
Salut, Altis. I spend my time split between Silicon Valley, Toronto, and Paris. And so return to live in Paris 5e a few times a year. If you are a parent watching your child grow, I am the uncle, who sees the child only intermittently, and is shocked each time by the changes that have happened in the few short months I've been away. School streets, separated bike lanes, more bike parking, less car parking. Plus ça change...plus c'est changé.
As someone who first moved to Paris in the mid-1990s, I agree there has been a massive change for the better. Back then the municipal authorities were still pandering to the car lobby, but starting with Delanoë, and increasing under Hidalgo, human-friendly traffic reforms have really improved Parisian life. What other cities can take from this is that you don't have to aim for perfection, just change things where you can and build up on that; rely on public feedback and support to feed your momentum; and don't be afraid to rock the boat.
l’m parisian since my birth , middle class worker and my feeling of living here his not the same as you . Back in the days , Katherine from Russia built clean fake streets in Moscow , it’s the same here shinning places for the wealthy tourists !
I am happy to hear that Paris is the #1 city in urbanism. Montréal's mayor Valérie Plante and Anne Hidalgo from Paris are exchanging a lot on progress to be made. Some of the new ideas for Paris come from Montréal and vice versa.
You are so lucky to live in Paris. It's the only city I care to visit. There's something about it that restores my soul. The cream-colored stones and the uniform building heights create a walkable human-scale environment. You never feel like you're at the bottom of a canyon. There are independently owned boulangeries, pâtisseries, traiteurs, and merchants of every type rather than corporate schlock. The logical grand axes of the boulevards offer stunning vantage points. Speaking of urban projects, on my visit in November 2022 I went to Gentilly outside the péripherique where a portion of the Bievre River which now runs underground and empties into the Seine in the 5th arrondissement has been restored. You can find a RU-vid video about it.
I agree that it's crazy how the city has changed in the past two decades. Another thing I like very much is all the composting recycling facilities in the gardens, and the "third places" where many activities are organised by associations and other citizens' collectives. It's always impressive to see how many citizen initiatives there are all over the city. The Mairie de Paris is also buying up buildings (housing and shops) to be able to offer it at affordable prices and fight against the crazy inflation of rents. I've been living in the Paris suburbs for 8 years now, and I wish my mayor would follow the same example.
Hell yeah!! No nonsense, in your face, fearless implementation of good design that's creating a better city for everyone. Paris is showing us that it doesn't need to be perfect, it never is. And look at how much you can do with cheap, temporary measures! Giving everyone a beta test of good design and shocker, they love it! Thanks as always for giving us your eagle-eyed look and analysis of the streets. So happy for the people of Paris to experience this newfound freedom to breathe and exist in their city
As a Parisian I must say I don’t like Hidalgo’s often misplaced words to everyday people that don’t live in the usually targeted areas of her city planning endeavors…BUT this video really opened me up about all the good things she inspired, instead of the bad things we more often than not seem to fixate upon
I would add that although I’m all for the interdiction of through traffic in the center of Paris and using the Périphérique as a way around, it should come with investments into the ring road infrastructure and raising the maximum speed back to 80 for adjusting to the increase in traffic
@@cloverhal2284 Why should it come with investments in the periph? That encourages cars, overall. I argue that it should come with investments in public transport...and then we see that it DOES: Le Grand Paris Express - a plan to add many rail lines to the banlieu, linking it with the city, but importantly, also with the other suburbs.
Les saccageouinouin ont une très grande voix...mais ne représentent pas la volonté majoritaire. En plus, ils sont tres content de dire des mensonges, pour faire semblant que Paris est pire qu'elle l'est. Ils montrent souvent des travaux en progrès, ou des jardins a peines plantés comme une "bidon d'hidalgo". Bon, ils on parfois raison : j'aime les grilles en bas des arbres, moi aussi. Mais attention de ne pas trop les croire.
The Netherlands are the country to watch if you want to know how urbanism can be transformed after 4 decades of deliberate and good policy. But Paris is even MORE important. Because Paris is the place to watch if you want to know how things can be changed FAST. As expected, there are setbacks, and the rapid changes are not necessarily smooth...but after a decade, they are clearly improvements to the city, and the voters agree. With what we know today about CO2, and the space-effects of private cars, we don't have the luxury to take the slow path to new urbanism, thus, Holland is the end game, but Paris is the path there.
Utterly inspiring video! Heartfelt thanks, Mikael. 🙏🏼 I see examples in Montréal of quite many of the initiatives you depict and let us see... Yet, other than in the Plateau or Rosemont boroughs, they merely multiply within a few central boroughs in an almost timid manner, or else they're sparsely geolocated throughout the sprawling outer boroughs, drowned in a sea of invasive, bigger-than-ever vehicles. The Parisian boldness is sadly rarely found here: you still merely need 3-5 car owners crying hysterically in every public tribune about how terribly difficult politicians are vowing to make their lives miserable... And magically, projects are either downsized into "pilot projects" that won't bother too many motorists, or worse, abandonned in favour of a noisy, static car-centric 'status quo'. Such is the pervasiveness of the car-centric North American way... There are however definite signs about an impending acceleration here, too. Yet it seems "slow as molasses" compared to Paris' non-stopping boldness!
Amazing! Was so impressed first time in Paris after covid. Paris in September of 2021 was very different to Paris I remembered from March 2018. Way to go!
Love your ‘in your face, say it as it is” style!! Along with the peripheral metro are the new Greater Paris longer distance bike paths from suburbs to centre, running approximately parallel to the RER suburban rail lines.
Me too, sad American, who wonders if it may be too late for us to make any changes here (Houston). We are overrun with truly giant pickup trucks, and most of the city is smothered in concrete.
Thanks for the report, really cool to see the changes happening. I've lived in Paris from 2016 to 2018, great to see some things are changing, but a lot still remains to be done. In particular drivers behaviour: parking on the cycle lane, honking... * Roundabouts are not protected for bikes, the "portes" accessing the city from the péripherique are a jungle of concrete and cars. *Metro carriages are tinier than in other cities, resulting in too little space and overcrowding, especially at rush hour (for instance metro 6 and Rer B). But compared to Tallinn where I live now, seeing a piano in the middle of the bridge makes me cry of joy 😅
I've visited Paris a few times over the past couple of years and I've been really impressed with the changes. Night and day from what we have here in Scotland.
Anthony Bourdain was one of my favorite story tellers and adventurers. Thank you for continuing his way of telling a story and for this fun look at my favorite city in the world!
Lol the grunting about motorbikes. My girlfriend said it was like watching me. (The effin scooters on the bike paths here in copenhagen..) Nice video, made me want to live in Paris!
Man, this is a dream. I live in Milan, where something has been done lately but like a drop in the sea of cars, that occupies every corner, sidewalks, pedestrian crossing, double lines...can't really cope with it!
Thanks for this video! I don't now if you heard of the project to transforme 7 places of Paris? After the Place de la République, they decide to extend this to 7 other places (I heard with the same budget for the 7 than for the only one Place de la République). I had the chance a few years ago to meet one of the urbanist who was working on the Place de la Nation. The process was very interesting. They try to transform little by little with testings and time to the habitants to invaste the space and even invent new ways of been here (cycling, gaming for kids...) . It was a huge roundabount. They close half of the way and now it's a very cool place to go (and not just at the end of the manifestations 😅). I don't remember which are the 7 other places (I think they where 7) : place du Panthéon, place de la Madeleine. Place de la Bastille...
Wow! As a Berliner, I look with a lump in my throat at the great changes Paris is making. We had an election some days ago - it looks like we're going to have a new mayor who during the election campaign said "Berlin, don't let them ban your car" and "Berlin is for everyone. Also for car drivers" - and actually won the election with it! 😭😭😭 Traffic policy was a big issue in all campaigns and was unfortunately framed by politicians and our media as a culture war. (Cyclists versus motorists - who is the biggger a**hole?) A very prominent street in the Centrum (Friedrichstraße) was closed to cars, then reopened and then closed again and equipped with super ugly street furniture, just perfect for the grey Berliner winter. A really idiotic action and an absolute wasted opportunity. Many Berliners thought, if this is the traffic turnaround, then I'd rather drive a car. Mikael, I would honestly be interested from a professional point of view, what is the difference in traffic development between Berlin and Paris. Because I don't get it: In Berlin there are hundreds super smart and dedicated activists in the field. There is a cool "Mobilitätsgesetz" but it is super lame and poorly implemented. So what went right in Paris? Maybe worth a longer video as well? Watch now the Paris video further, quietly crying.... 😢
@Varius Avitus Bassianus I think that German politicians have a big issue with taking decisions based on ideology alone. Just look at your energy and environmental policies
I think he said it at the start, small bites rather than a big plan that will upset so many people at once. People don't like change, but small changes can be easier to get done, then when people see the advantages they are open to those small changes as well, and actually want them in their neighbourhood. If you tell people you are going to tear down and change things they have known all their life, there will be resistance, keep change small and manageable so its accepted, it takes longer to do but the end result is the same.
Well that's Berlin out. The spreadsheet for "where to live" has Utrecht, Freiburg, and Paris - Paris was a distant third (along with Helsinki, actually) but this video is making us reconsider.
We were just in Paris, Montpellier, and Italy. Everything was beautiful and well thought out - then flew back into JFK..... It was like landing in Calcutta, 1992, a bit of a hole.
Great to see such a booster for the greening of Paris! You're right -- much has changed for the better over the past 20 years, and there's more to come. To be fair, those barricades in front of schools and public buildings were the result of anti-terrorist measures in the '90s, not environmental efforts. Thanks in any case for this post.
My city is currently working on a pilot project to make neighbourhoods safer. City officials are dropping the speed from 50km/h to 40km/h. Their creativity is mind blowing 🤦♂️
Idiocy prevails all over the place with people who love following like sheep instead of actually making a difference. Ama eise Elinas as se poume kai malaka!
I live in Strasbourg, where we have a "car free" downtown. I recently went to a local meeting to green a street in front of a school, and remove some parking space in the process. I was one of the only cyclist that showed up, I guess a group of car owners heard about it, there was a litany of stupid pro-car arguments, but thankfully, our maire is ecolo. I slipped the comment afterward that things would be better if there was no cars in this city. I got weird looks, but fuck, it's refreshing to see someone unironically touting this argument.
Thank you so much for showing us some effort! I'm trying to keep optimistic but its hard from time to time, living in a street without trees and just car parking...
Excellent work. Consider me subscribed. Glad to see the widened sidewalks from covid become permanent. Hopefully the trees and the birds and squirels will grow there my friend. Cheers.
I had a pleasure to visit Paris last year after 10-year pause and I was really amazed by the difference. Especially by pedestrian zones along the river. 10 years ago there were only car lanes and traffic jams. That being said, Amsterdam is far in the future compared to paris. I mean, in Paris I had to go down into the metro to buy a ticket for a BUS. WHY?
@@MrFahrenheit9 No you don’t need an app, you just send a sms that comes with a surcharge that you have to pay on your phone bill and the received sms is the proof you paid your ticket, you can find infos about that on the bus stops or I guess on the RATP website searching « sms bus ticket »
I left Paris 2 years ago to live in another big capital wich also has its interest, Taipei. But this kind of video makes me really miss Paris so much ! This city has a "ne je sais quoi" that makes it bewitching: As someone who discovered biking to go around culture in Copenhagen in internship before and continued to use it everyday in Paris afterward. I already noticed the amazing improvement for bikes in Paris before I left. And now it is even better ! Every cities should learn from Paris for that !
to add a bit more about the widening of the sidewalks, there is an entire political process to go from a temporary pedestrian area to a permanent one, it takes 1 or 2 years.
Hey ! Very cool video, learning about small infrastructure from the other side of my city. I'm living in the 13th arrondissement, and I think there are loads of interesting stuff you should check out. Just the duality of the newly built massive plot of land with the bibliothèque François Mitterrand in the middle with all the little pedestrian focused streets around, with pedestrian and cycle express ways going through the center. Counting as well the multiple associative places that have been adapted from scrap to use by the citizen is insane. You should check it out or I can tour you around if you don't know the place !
2:33 school streets, something we could so use in Chicago. Part of our problem, though, is how many kids enroll into schools well outside their home neighborhood, which is something we're going to be stuck with as long as the Chicago Public Schools manages their system so unevenly. Big difference between having a school just down the street and having to go eight or ten miles and a very high proportion of the latter get driven to school or else take the bus.
Vive la France! Also yes La Propriété de Paris....it is an army. Was trying to explain it to someone a while back...about how the whole system and status of council employees is viewed differently.
It’s a cultural thing. Cities in France or in Denmark are very mineral and have few trees, as opposed to cities in Germany that are booming with trees everywhere.
I lived in Paris for 12 years, the lack of trees was unbearable with all the heatwaves especially since the majority live without air conditioning. Last year I moved to the countryside, 24 min train and I'm in the city. Transport is amazing when there aren't strikes.
Density is an artifact of Paris's history. I don't think anyone who really loves Paris would want to see that swept away. If one factors in the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes, Paris looks respectable. If one factors in the vast forests farther out, Forêt de Sénart, Forêt de Ferrières, Forêt de Saint Germain, Forêt de Montmorency, Forêt de Meudon and so forth, the greater Paris area looks very good indeed.
Most European cities, which are ancient, did not have tree lined streets. This was a rather recent feature. People think that Hausmann's Paris always existed. The city prior to his plans did not resemble what people see nowadays. Nor did any other European city for that matter. Even NYC, until quite recently, did not have tree lined streets.
Michael Colville-Andersen has understood the massive changes imposed by political will on the city since the demise of the Conservative majority in 2001. The Center left has understood that it benefited from an anti-automobile, pro-bicycle a ecological constituency, and cleverly gave them the Transportation revolution. It was electorally motivated, but such is democracy. A tremendous change, which I applaud.
Great video! Inspiring. My city, Boston is doing some of these things, but at a snail’s pace. Nonetheless, much of its infrastructure is similar to a European city, so we have a fighting chance of taming the auto.
I have worked in over 100 cities around the world and visited easily a hundred more. It's my job, dude. And I know NYC very well. Specifically, you can watch episodes of my TV series from Detroit and New Orleans, with Los Angeles coming in Season 4: www.tvo.org/programs/the-life-sized-city (use your VPN and place yourself in Canada to watch the first three seasons)
I've lived in Paris multiple times and there are a lot of great changed in the last 5-8 years. However there are some huge issued that all Parisians know. The Metro is too crowded. Due to the reduction of cars the metro is over capacity and has been for a long time. Even though the next train show up in less than two minutes it is still packed. Most trains have only 5 cars, and they are small. NY has 8 to 10 cars per train, so literally double and they are larger inside. Paris also does not name an express train on any of it's lines. The RER is a different system and does not count. If Paris keeps pushing cars out they need to do a huge Metro renovation to keep up with the increased passengers. RER also needs work. Two floors and they are still packed. The second is the trash. Not building collection but public garbage cans. They have these ones where you see the plastic bag and all the trash in it. It is very gross. Most Parisians agree they are an eye sore. It was done due to Paris trash bombs so you could see if there is a bomb inside. These days are pretty much over and its time to get new ones. Again it is two many people for the infrastructure like the metro. Paris has tiny garbage cans and they can fill up in less then a day. Often times there will be pile ups on the sidewalk because there is no place in the bin. They need new garbage cans and more often collection in high trafficked areas. The "Bigbelly" trash cans suck and not a replacement. The Metro is a much bigger issue of course.
I wholeheartedly agree, and I am Dutch. I have been trying to tell my friends they should go to Paris to bike, but they just laugh at me. To me it is just better overall. Less jammed, more spacious, more adventurous, yet safe. Oh, and more beautiful :)
14:42 -- the removal of expressways along the river -- have they removed the segment where Princess Diana was killed when her driver went into a bridge abutment while being chased by press photogrpahers?
Great channel and why we decided to leave Washington, D.C. and live here. By the way, we walk our dog every day on the blocked off street in front of the school you were filming at!
The guy starts his video on the square (place de la République) which is one of the most recent emblematic architectural failures/massacres in the "ville lumière"... As a regular visitor of Chicago, I can confirm: Paris is a very dirty city (even visually with all the graffits and tags absolutely everywhere). I still love Paris though, thank's to the magic of the old buildings constructed up the the mid 20th century. The postcard...
It’s inspiring to find the Paris administration is willing to prioritise the quality of life for it’s residents over the property taxes generated by selling off its land to new housing developers.
A unique balance of power has helped make this possible. The strong will of Hidalgo is supported by her voters, specifically because car ownership in Paris (intra-muros, which means inside the peripherique highway) was around 39% when she took office (it's lower now!) The voters who want a car-centric paris live outside the peripherique, thus don't get to vote for Paris Mayor. So, her forward-looking policies were only put to electoral scrutiny by a mostly-pedestrian citizenry. You can see how popular her ideas are outside the intra-muros area by looking at how well she did in her run for President, versus her re-election as mayor (it was night and day opposite.)
I always envy first world countries because they have the luxury to think of urbanism in their cities. Mine is still on the food supply poverty problem stage. Anyways, its sad how other first world cities are missing the chance.
I really hope you can highlight at some point what they plan to do with the infamous "Petite Ceinture" that is a freaking long railroad circling Paris that has been shut off from the public eye by SNCF. I do not know that current status of it, but they really need to do something with it, the potential is huuuuuuge.
Many spots of the petite ceinture have already been taken, it will not take long before they become parks or opened up for restaurants or bars (look at "Le Hasard Ludique" for examples)
@@antoinelb8509 while I agree, these initiatives are however very limited and currently sit in a legal grey zone. We need a solid and lasting decision on what to do with the entirety of the track and amenities alongside it.
@@markclemens3409 and it will probably remain the case for very strategic reasons. If, God forbid, France needs to move troops or military equipment around - or supply Paris for that matter - the "petite ceinture" is a critical asset. This is why a single track is kept in working condition (the other is not due to a faulty bridge from what I remember) and anything on this "petite ceinture" needs to be temporary should SNCF or the government need it
Great video and interesting info. However when it comes to urbanism I was wondering if your videos might also approach the question of Lefebvre’s « right to the city » further extended by Marxist geographer David Harvey for thinking about the uneven distribution of access to urban space and urbanized livelihoods. I find this might be a relevant approach for tackling what you spoke to around the cleaners and sweepers of the city versus who actually gets to « live » and experience the city.
paris is pretty unaffordable - how do you balance the need for open green spaces and parks with also making sure to build more housing for those that need/want it?
We dont need to build more (Paris is already one of the most dense and mineral cities in the WORLD) but have more affordable housing There are many other tools, like control of mass tourism and drastic Airbnb investments restrictions, more collaboration with close suburban cities, moratory on new office buildings (as well as luxury hotels or malls which are always big parts of urban planning in this municipality), pre-emption/repurposing of empty existing building, stronger rent control... And more generally work on rebalancing the employment market on a national level
@@hp1892 You hit the nail on the head. Inner Paris is already one of the densest cities in the world but the demand for housing is virtually unlimited as Paris is attractive internationally. Public transports are incredibly well-developed and it's still feel like a hive, you can't add more people. More buildings wouldn't lower prices much by itself, only induce demand for ultra-profitable tourists rentals if nothing is done.
Part of the problem is income inequality worldwide. Brazilian mining tycoons, the Red Princes and Princesses of the PRC, Russian oligarchs, Emirati princelings and American billionaires all want their own little place (minimum 180 square meters) in Paris. Second houses and pieds à terre need to be more heavily taxed.
02:35 safe schools and safe kids 03:53 1st motorbike 😡 05:04 pedestrians 05:31 2nd motorbike 😡 06:10 neighborhood work 07:40 public parks 09:26 arrogance of space 11:04 decrease speed and pedestrianize 14:43 Sena river as beach 18:22 urban forest 19:43 3rd motorbike 😡
I'll be retiring in the next 5-6 years and have always wanted to live in France particularly Paris. My ancestry is French how long have you lived in Paris?
I like Paris (too expensive for me) but I love Barcelona (affordable for me). Plus, the Med beats the Seine everyday. Weed is legal in Barcelona. Is weed legal in Paris?
The problem is that it's an area of 13M people and everything interesting is in Paris, there is barely any cultural life in the suburbs. Meaning people in the suburbs now pay overpriced réal estate, surfer pollution and trafic jams and dont have easy access to Paris. So simply limiting access to the city is not enough.
If you like Paris look at the Netherlands (no just Amsterdam!). They did a lot of these changes starting in the 70s. Very much ahead of the curve. If they are not so dynamic now, it's only because they are so far ahead.
Meh.. Paris is catching up quickly, and as a native Dutch I would say in some ways it is already better (much wider bike paths and more streets where cars are banned, and they even put in protected bike lanes where in the Netherlands we wouldn't). Take for example the street shown from 5:05. In the Netherlands it would never get a protected bike lane. You would just have to share the space with cars. I live in Utrecht, which is supposedly the best major city for cyclists in the Netherlands, and I studied urbanism. I'm not talking out of my *ss. There is so much horribly dangerous infrastructure even in my city, but you would never get to see it as a tourist, unless you knew about it. And it is knowingly kept out of all those fancy PR video's on RU-vid such as those from BicycleDutch (he is paid by the Dutch government).
I was born and raised in Paris and moved to Canada 10 years ago. And you’re right. I haven’t been in the Champs Élysées more that 4 or 5 times maximum xD (Sometimes just driving thought maybe) Just like New Yorkers don’t hang out in a Time Square I guess 😅
As someone who see Paris everyday, you point of view is very optimistic, to say the least, especially for the "paris is dirty" part ahah! Although I agree it's improving a lot. Nice video
Since August 30, 2021, the authorised speed in Paris has been 30 km/h. However, the speed of 50 km/h in Paris remains on some axis such as the boulevards des Maréchaux (forming a continuous set of boulevards that encircle Paris, at the edge of the city), two portions of the quays of the Seine, the avenues of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, the avenues of the Champs-Elysées, Foch, of the Grande Armée and the rue Royal. The authorised speed on the Paris beltway or ring road, with 4 lanes in both directions, which was 110 km/h has decreased to 70 km/h. Watch out, if you get caught speeding by the police, the fine is hefty and even worse for repeat offenders.
English speaking cities around the world could learn a lot from cities like Copenhagen or Paris, at least in how bicycles and cyclists are accommodated. In my country, Australia, car drivers think they own the roads, and it is shocking to hear how some motorists regard cyclists as pests or a lower life form. They complain about traffic, yet don't see that they themselves, sitting in their single occupancy cars, are part of the problem. We need politicians with balls, people who are prepared to move and break things, just like their Paris counterparts.
I think it is possible cause in Paris live and votes only 2 from 10 mln of people living in metropolia. Taking suburbs right of vote is crucial for positive urban development
Very cool video and I really enjoyed getting to know all these small ways Paris improves local life as well as foot and bike options. One point I partially disagree with though is when you talk about making war on the car, and simply making it a more awful option, this only works if walking, cycling and public transport options are already there and at least decent. In Icelands capital area for example there are many moves to make driving worse but it remains the only real option as the area is designed around it, buses are awful and even the app for them doesn't really work, walking and cycling means braving awful weather and none of the paths are even slightly covered, even in greener areas trees and shrubs are separated by a fence or a layer of grass so you can't even enjoy shade or cover. So overall the experience by car is simply worse, with bad planning, more expenses, lower speeds, but no real alternative unless you want to suffer even more. Nobody mention downtown Reykjavík, barely anyone lives there, it's for tourists.
Mr. Colville-Andersen, Paris, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam don't need you. Athens needs you. Go to Athens. If you can fix Athens, your next assignment is the large cities in the United States. -Greg V.
Looking at the French election results. The Rassemblement National RN poses a huge threat to this. But part of why the RN even exists is neither the economy nor the vision of the Paris area and other major French cities is being spread around. In a country that's centralized enough they teach the same damn style of handwriting everywhere, you'd think they'd be better at making this for all France.
A bold move would be to forbib the use 50cc (at least) motorbikes. With the advent of electric bikes, it make no sense to use combustion engine powered bikes in a city like Paris.
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I don't understand how they built the garden instead of a building. Did it belong to someone? They gave up? Sold it? What happened?
A developer planned a 9 floor building on the site but the locals wanted green space so they occupied the land and made a garden and common space - the city agreed it was a good idea (not many parks in that area) and the building plans were cancelled.
