Megalopolis

Greater Paris has a lively, informative and iconoclastic magazine: Megalopolis, part of what may be an international trend of highly localized quality journalism.

The subject of this magazine is the city of Paris, the whole metropolis, in all its facets. In the words of one of the founders: “We launched this magazine with the conviction that it was time to focus on the metropolis, that it was a terrain for investigation and reportage that was not being covered by any quality title.” Continue reading Megalopolis

Contributions by Alain Bublex

Alain Bublex explains that his contemporary art piece, Contributions, has its source in the urban planning work of Le Grand Paris. He says that looking at the output of the international consultation for Le Grand Paris made him realize that he didn’t actually know Paris, that many of the places mentioned by the architects and planners were known to him – as they are to many people who would say they know Paris, I might add – only in name.

Continue reading Contributions by Alain Bublex

Le Grand Paris – Part 4: Where Things Stand

[Note: this is the 4th and final part of a series. If you have not yet read them, you may want to first read Part 1: The LaunchPart 2: The International Consultation, and Part 3: Moving To Implementation]

On October 10, 2011, President Nicolas Sarkozy was back at the Cité de l’Architecture for what had by now become a tradition of a biennial visit. He summarized where Le Grand Paris stood:

Continue reading Le Grand Paris – Part 4: Where Things Stand

Le Grand Paris – Part 3: Moving to Implementation

[Note: this is part 3 of a series. If you have not yet read them, you may want to first read Part 1: The Launch and Part 2: The International Consultation]

On April 29th, 2009, the day of the opening of the public display of the work of the ten teams of the international consultation, President Sarkozy gave a speech. His words were ambitious: “[The future city] may be  the greatest political challenge of the twenty-first century. I want France to meet that challenge. I want France to give the example. That is the ambition of Le Grand Paris.

Continue reading Le Grand Paris – Part 3: Moving to Implementation

Le Grand Paris – Part 2: The International Consultation

[Note: this is part 2 of a series. If you have not yet read it, you might want to start with Part 1: The Launch]

After ten months of work, the output of the international consultation on Le Grand Paris was presented to President Sarkozy on March 13th, 2009. Continue reading Le Grand Paris – Part 2: The International Consultation

Le Grand Paris – Part 1: The Launch

Anyone could be forgiven for being confused about what is going on with Le Grand Paris, Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential ambition to reinvent Greater Paris for the future. This week, Sarkozy gave a speech at the Cité de l’Architecture marking four years since his initial speech, in the same venue, announcing Le Grand Paris. A perfect opportunity for a summary of where we stand. Continue reading Le Grand Paris – Part 1: The Launch