Urban decay, grim and projects in northern Paris

[NYC4Life]

Wow, the side of Paris few of us would probably have imagined existed.

[Barbarossa]

Still looks better than most American Cities.

[Le Charbonneur]

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[harryc]

Wow - just Wow, really helps understand the news from there, all my other images of France are touristy Paris, and stuff blown up (WWII) or very blown up (WWI).

[Le Charbonneur]

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[the urban politician]

Wow, a side of Paris that the world rarely sees.

I don't feel so bad about the south and west sides of Chicago any more after viewing these photos..

[lio45]

Those new buildings are really horrible... sure, they're OK as dwellings when looked upon with a strictly technical eye compared to what's around, but aesthetically, they totally, totally suck, and even though they're a short term improvement, in the long term those ultra-bland and absolutely soulless "cages à poules" are likely to turn out actually a deterioration of the built quality in the neighborhood. Surely those areas would be better off in the long run if most of the decrepit buildings were restored instead of leveled en masse and replaced with those archetypal Commie boxes.


P.S. Thanks for risking your camera (and the contents of your wallet) to bring us this fresh round of pics!

[Le Charbonneur]

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[montréaliste]

A lot of new developments look worse than the old bicoques of yesteryear.

Moi j'les aime ces vieilles cambuses, j'les aime j'te dis. (voix de Gabin railleuse à souhait)

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Le Charbonneur

For my friend Minato, new redevelopment housings on the other side of the street, enjoy:


Nouveaux logements à la Plaine Saint-Denis par Le Charbonneur, sur Flickr


New housing Plaine Saint-Denis par Le Charbonneur, sur Flickr

Well, I'm a little worried from seeing something like this for instance... That is definitely not going to age well. Guess they'll have to start this lot from scratch again within a couple of decades, if not sooner.

[Buffalonian]

These photos are valid proof that European cities are not 100% perfect and problem free as they have been percieved over the years. Like any big city, Paris suffers from urban decay and disinvestment along with a crumbling infrastructure, poverty, and crime. No place is perfect and everyplace has its serious ills and drawbacks. I am more than sure that there are areas of severe urban decay in other major Europeans cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Moscow, Milan, Rome etc. Urban decay and disinvestment are not unique to US cities. It is time for everyone to remove their rose colored sunglasses when visiting European cities.

[ChrisLA]

I'm almost speechless that so many american forumers are shocked at the urban decay in the Paris metro. I thought it was well known these types of neighborhoods exist there. Well at least all of the folks I know who either visited Paris, or have heard about it through others.

It's not like it's hidden when you go there, you are greeted with it even coming in on the euro-rail from London. On our way to the airport taking the van shuttle we encountered urban decay passing one area that reminded me of the skid row area of downtown Los Angeles. Even in central Paris I recall an areas not completely ghetto but still rather ugly and dirty near the Eiffel Tower.

When I visited Italy we drove around Genoa we went/shopped in areas that reminded me of something back in NYC during the 70's era of the South Bronx, there were drug dealers and prostitutes everywhere. When I visit London I also went off the beaten path to some non-tourist neighborhoods that were quite dirty and run down on the scale of a poor neighborhood I've seen in many eastern USA cities. I saw a couple of strip malls and visited some electronic store on the scale of a Best Buy/Circuit City in one of them. I which I believe this area was not a suburb either because it was at the end of the line of a London Tube which I believe only serves the city. These things do exists in many cities are they aren't all that hidden as most would think.

[dc_denizen]

Are these anywhere near St. Denis (the cathedral)?

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by Le Charbonneur

On s'embrouille pas on discute fallait pas balançer des images piquées sur google street views c'est un sacrilège.......

Concerning the 18th i grew up there and the junkies were part of the local flavor lol, as a child in the 80's and teenager in the 90's i saw the end of heroin and debut of crack....The situation in Chateau Rouge and Stalingrad today is not anymore comparable , it was crazy back then. There's still a strong active scene at porte de la Chapelle but that's all.....The big cleaning in the north of Paris has been operate in the early 2000's.....
The combination of Sarkozy (ministre de l'interieur at the time) and Delanoe (mayor of Paris) has been radical.....
More cops, more credits for police + massive renovation and vicious politics by the city to change the social composition of the area helped a lot.....

La rotonde (the new hip restaurant Place de stalingrad):


Gentrification (rotonde de la villette) par Le Charbonneur, sur Flickr

The same place 20 years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFxNyEZQgZM

pic by me from 2005



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[mousquet]

^ The before/after difference is striking. Some may say it's too clean now, I think it was needed.
Speaking of 2005...

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

I'm almost speechless that so many american forumers are shocked at the urban decay in the Paris metro. I thought it was well known these types of neighborhoods exist there. Well at least all of the folks I know who either visited Paris, or have heard about it through others.

For the fun of it, bringing something to complete driving you speechless.
This is France by CNN for the 2005 riots.



They put Strasbourg somewhere between Germany and Czech Republic... France looks much larger than I knew, as if Napoléon was still ruling, and it's rather upside down like they shook the whole continent and cities moved. Where's Toulouse now? Austria, I guess.
Alright?

[Le Charbonneur]

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[Le Charbonneur]

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[Le Charbonneur]

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[Le Charbonneur]

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[mhays]

So many sidewalks blocked by parked cars. I'd be furious.