Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PARIS NOW: THE CITY AS IT IS
Paris Overall
Still a small city as world capitals go, Paris encompasses no
more than 80 sq km and is only about 12 km across. Although
officially Paris is
intra-muros
(within the old city walls),
Greater Paris today includes the outlying towns that border
the
périphérique
. About two million people live intra-muros.
10 million more live in the suburbs, giving the metropolis a
population of more than 12 million.
If Paris is the sum of its history, as any city is, it is also
creating a new history as the days go by, changing and
evolving into what this new millennium requires. Too
much traffic in the city? Construct bicycle and bus lanes
to encourage a reduced use of cars, or develop a tram line
that circles the city edges, and provide 20,000 rental bikes
for public use, docked in every neighborhood. Not enough
open space for the increasing population? Create a 3-km-
long summer sandy “beach” along the riverfront, and offer
recreational activities late into the night.These are already
accomplished and, except for the car drivers who are slightly
inconvenienced, few people complain.
And more is in the Paris wind. That enormous warren
of shops at Les Halles is to be upgraded and additional
residences for students are being planned. There is also
a need for more affordable housing throughout the city.
Although more than 5,000 apartments have been built in the
past decade, future building might require changing zoning
laws and reaching higher into the Paris sky. In this beautiful
city, this is not popular at all.
Yet, for now Paris still retains a very human scale. Buildings
are low, few neighbourhood streets run straight, and there
is always something unexpected, often charming, to catch
the eye. Thanks to Baron Haussmann 150 years ago, Paris
is an open city, characterised by ornate, spectacular squares
and wide boulevards that converge at open junctions where
residents do their shopping or sit at sidewalk cafés. Formally
planned gardens and parks and casual, leafy squares dot the
landscape; 100,000 trees line both narrow streets and wide
boulevards; and two beautiful wooded parks, the Bois de
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