The Genius Design Behind Modern Paris

The visionary behind the geometric streets and unified design of Paris.
The Genius Design Behind Modern Paris
Key sources:

0:00 The beautiful city
0:44 The old city
1:03 Napoleon III takes control
1:38 Appoints Haussmann prefect
2:01 The transformation begins
2:45 Haussmann opens Paris up
3:28 Uniform building design
4:08 Arc De Triomphe
4:43 A global city
5:24 2024 Olympic Games

The most populated metro area in the EU has a surprising lack of tall buildings. This is by design. Paris limits the height of new buildings to 37 meters, and has clustered 20 of its 24 skyscrapers in the La Defense business district at the west end of its historical axis, 10 km away from the Louvre at its eastern end.

This straight vista exemplifies Paris’ geometric street plan and unified aesthetic. It wasn’t always this neat. To create what many regard as the world’s most beautiful city required a massively ambitious, disruptive reconstruction lasting decades, overseen by an urban visionary.

In the 1830s, a cholera pandemic devastated cities worldwide.

French President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon I, was uniquely positioned to act. He too was frustrated by these conditions and dreamed of making Paris a modern, hygienic, global city. But, although he was extremely popular, he was constitutionally-barred from running for reelection. So at the end of his term in 1851 he seized total control of the government and declared himself Napoleon III, Emperor of France. With absolute power, he fast-tracked his plans for Paris, appointing seasoned administrator Georges-Eugene Haussmann as the project’s leader.

They created 4,900 acres of parks, 24 new squares, and planted 600,000 trees. Never before had a city built so many parks so quickly. They constructed a 150 km long aqueduct to bring fresh spring water into the city and expanded the sewer system so it could carry away solid waste for the first time by adding 380 km of tunnels, which they also ran gas lines through to fuel new street lamps all over, turning Paris into the ‘City of Light.’

He meticulously mapped out 63 km of new wide, straight boulevards. This would require the demolition of 20,000 buildings and the relocation of 300,000 Parisians.

To replace what they tore down, 34,000 new buildings were erected in a uniform style: commercial space on the bottom, balconies on the middle floors, and at the top, dormer windows under roofs sloped at 45 degrees to maximize the amount of sunlight on the street. The facades were Roman-style limestone, while the roofs used zinc, giving Paris its distinctively harmonious blonde/gray look.

Haussmann used monuments as landmarks for roads and intersections. A general rule of thumb: the larger the statue, the longer the road. Few monuments on Earth are larger than the Arc de Triomphe, a war memorial. Haussmann’s most controversial move was remaking the Île de la Cité.

Napoleon and Haussmann aimed to complete the first phase of their citywide project in time to host the 1855 World’s Fair and its 5 million visitors. They succeeded, and over the next 15 years the duo continued improving the city for the benefit of all Parisians, and the tourists who arrived in ever greater numbers. In 1840 there were 87,000 passages across the English Channel. By 1899 there were 951,000. Today, Paris trails only Bangkok and London in welcoming more foreigners.

This week, Paris hosted the first Olympic ceremonies ever held outside of a stadium along a 6 km stretch of the Seine river. Grand Paris Express metro megaproject.

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[Dark-Horse-]

I'm currently in Paris for the Olympics...
This city is so SO SO beautiful!🤩
Arts, culture & history are everywhere &
surprisingly these French are not so bad!

[magoryn]

Even as a French, I'm stuned everytime I go downtown Paris. Beauty is everywhere.

[LouDelannay]

As a french I am grateful to Napoléon III and baron Haussmann 👏

[thedamnedatheist]

Napoleon 3 & Haussman may have had big egos, but they were earned with the renewal of Paris.

[kandiharper]

Great video, as expected. Love the tone of your videos! ❤

[FGHG]

So I guess you can call Baron Haussmann's Renovation of Paris one of the earliest examples of urban renewal. It's a shame that he changed Ile de la Cite beyond recognition with the exception of the Notre Dame. It would be so cool to be able to live on the same island as the Notre Dame, albeit it would most likely be ridiculously expensive.

[irwi]

That is partly why the French were so proud about the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony, before it was routed in centuries of Paris architecture. It was the ceremony of Haussman, Eiffel and Viollet-le-Duc as much as the ceremony of Thomas Joly.

[nco]

Apart from the cholera and the demonstrations, the barricades, there was also the Great Fire in London which was a motivation behind the redesigning of Paris.

[KyrilPG]

Great video!
The Grand Paris Express expected ridership increase has been revised from 2+ to 3+ million daily. Over 100 km of new lines have already been dug as of a few months ago.
And all extensions to existing lines were opened this June.

[brunolescene]

Quoi qu'on en dise, le centre de Paris est vraiment somptueux 🖖

[markholland]

Many today prefer to forget that back then, people hated the modernisation of the city that politics imposed. Many were forced to leave their homes, and th e monotonous modern buildings that replaced the wealth of historical buildings was not appreciated, and indeed there was a certain level of gentrification at work.
This example learns us that many with the socio-political background that despise contemporary architecture today, will embrace it as examplary in some hundred years from now.

[vicdu]

Larger street meant that it was easier for canons to be manipulated and soldiers to counter-attack during uprisings.

Also, a lot of people were drawn out of the city because of the evictions and replaced by weathlier Parisians.

[jplully]

Emperor Napoleon III, my best-known customer, proud. 😊. Got to do some artwork for his crypt in Farnborough

[Peter_Parker]

Hope they come to their senses again in the future. Beautiful city and people.

[henrysmith]

i like this emperor and the person he selected to rebuild Paris. as it is said by the commentator, it really needs vigor and courage over a 17 years enduring stubborness to make a paris forever briliant.

[connorhadley]

Hey I love you're city videos, I would love it if you made some about Australian cities maybe Melbourne and/or Sydney!

[Leyfandir]

Although I really love Paris, it must be noted that it may have turned out terrible. We are lucky the project was a success but just imagine tge same thing today: destroying a whole medieval city to build state of the art, homogeneous flats, a recipee for disaster. Also, a lot of landmarks were simply erased. So, dont follow hausmann and renovate rather than destroy

[nonokbh]

Figures for visitors in the Grand Paris are 36.9 milions 2023. Otherwise it is apples and oranges. Nice video though !

[liudacebanov]

Perhaps you forget to mention the key motivation for rebuilding Paris in that period: to suppress and control demonstrations easier. Broad boulevards allowed for royal army to be easier deployed and population controlled. Ah - what a service to Parisians at that time.
A beautiful result for a high cost.

[DingChavez]

Do you like History?
Are you a walker?
Then Paris offers endless hours of entertainments 🎉