Haussmanns Master Plan for Paris - Case Study Example

Haussmann’s Master Plan for Paris Its social and political objectives and the extent to which they were fulfilled Lydia Interior Architecture (Cultural Context Module) Assignment University of London August 30, 2016 Table of Contents Haussmann’s Master Plan 1 for Paris 1 Table of Contents 1 Haussmann’s Master Plan 2 for Paris 2 Introduction 2 The Haussmannisation of Paris 2 Background 4 Political Motivation 6 Social Consequences 6 Fulfillment of Objectives 8 Bibliography 10 Haussmann’s Master Plan for Paris Its social and political objectives and the extent to which they were fulfilled Introduction Initially, Paris grew without any master plan, as is the case with many other cities around the world, until that is, Napoleon III appointed Georges-Eugene Haussmann (shown below) as the Prefect of the Seine in 1852. Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann This paper describes how Haussmann transformed Paris, referred to as the process of Haussmannisation, and gives some background information to better understand the needs and objectives at the time. It then discusses the political motivations and the social consequences of the transformation. Finally, the paper concludes by answering the central question on the extent to which the social and political objectives were fulfilled. The Haussmannisation of Paris The process of Haussmannisation involved the expropriation of property in order to acquire ownership rights, the demolition of standing buildings, the laying down of new streets and pipework, and so on. In a period of just seventeen years, Haussmann demolished many of the narrow streets and old quarters in Paris to pave way for broader avenues and parks. He also worked on improving lighting and air circulation, and providing proper water sanitation. Haussmann thus made sweeping changes to the whole map of Paris, and gave it its present day monumental beauty. This was described as "the most comprehensive programme of urban redevelopment ever experienced by a major city" (Boyd, 2009). However, it involved razing entire neighbourhoods, albeit "over-crowded, dangerous, and filthy … and from the rubble a modern city of light and air emerged" (Jordan, 1995). At its peak, 848 properties were demolished in a single year (Hall, 1997: 74). An important part of the transformation was the Ile de la Cite, and the intersection of the north-south and east-west openings. The illustrations below show the Ile de la Cite before Haussmannisation and the planned changes. Ile de la Cite before Haussmannisation Ile de la Cite planned for Haussmannisation With respect to open green spaces, Paris had very little in 1850 whereas just twenty years later, "it had a park system unparalleled in continental Europe" (Hall, 1997). Another significant change was the water supply. Whereas during the 1850s it was taken from the river Seine, which also functioned as the towns main sewer, later two aqueducts were supplying Paris with 150 million litres of spring water daily (Hall, 1997: 76). This particular effort was Haussmanns own initiative because there was stiff opposition. To Haussmann, it was necessary to separate clean water from dirty water. The Haussmannisation of Paris transformed Paris from being one of the most dirtiest of places in Europe to establishing its reputation "as the city of magnificent scenic effects" (Hall, 1997: 55) during the year of exhibition (exposition universelle). Chapman (1953) paints another contrast. He describes that when Haussmann arrived, Paris was "a picturesque medieval city, in which dens of thieves, escaped convicts and arrogant prostitutes held court, mockingly at ease … protected by tortuous and labyrinthine slums" whereas when Haussmann left, Paris became the European model of town planning and an envy of other cities. Haussmann is best known for the grand boulevards, which give Paris a distinctive style. "Those broad boulevards accommodate traffic and parking better than most European cities, create grand vistas focusing on buildings and monuments, and provide shady promenades lined with cafes and brasseries" (Clapp, 1989). The boulevard named after him is shown in the below. Boulevard Haussmann Parts of the old city do still remain so Haussmann was not completely ruthless in transforming Paris. Among the parts remaining intact are the Avenue de Opera and the Boulevard Saint-Germain (Kirkman, 2007), and the buildings of Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, etc. Background The idea of creating broad avenues is not uniquely attributable to Haussmann. The embellishment of Paris was seriously proposed by several individuals during the Enlightenment (Hall, 1997: 60-61). It was again suggested during the French Revolution a century before Haussmann by a Commission of Artists (statemaster, 2005). One street was to form a straight line from the Louvre to Place de la Nation. Later, "Napoleon I commissioned the construction of a colossal street along the Jardin des Tuileries, the Rue de Rivoli, extended under the Second Empire up to the Chatelet and Rue Saint-Antione" (statemaster, 2005) to control the traffic better. At the same time, the servitude dalignement law came into effect preventing "real estate owners from renovating or rebuilding beyond a certain line drawn by the administration" (statemaster, 2005). The purpose of the servitude dalignement was found to be unattainable, and during the early 19th century, Paris was again suffering from serious problems of traffic and hygiene due to the growing population. The desperate need to let air and men circulate in Paris, as described by the miasma theory of disease, was felt when in 1832, a cholera epidemic killed around 20,000 (3%) of its population. Another outbreak occurred in 1848-49. Then, Michel Foucault who expounded a social theory of medicine based on flux, air circulation, cemetery location, etc., inspired Prefet Rambuteau to draw a new street running through the center of mediaeval Paris. However, at that time there was little the administration could do in regard to expropriation. The worry over the unsuitability of Paris infrastructure was growing, as the city was unable to support its rapidly growing population (Papayanis, 2004: 65). It is said that only a fifth of the houses had running water, that too usually only on the ground floor (Pasold, 2005). A law in 1841 then allowed the Second Empire to implement a massive expropriation programme, which was costly but more effective than the servitude dalignement. When Louis Napoleon assumed power in 1848, he made important planning decisions and launched some projects. The gardens and other urban landscape features he saw while in exile in London were also influential in what he desired for Paris (Parisrama, 2004). However, he was not satisfied with the then prefect Jean-Jacques Berger who was too timid and opposed to the taking of loans in principle (Hall, 1997: 65). He was thus replaced by a more dynamic successor - Georges-Eugene Haussmann from Bordeaux. Although Haussmann lacked much experience in urban development, he was a skillful administrator and loyal to Napoleon. On Haussmanns very first day of work, Napoleon handed him a sketch showing streets that he wanted constructed and their priorities in colour. Existing work such as on the Rue de Rivoli continued before more radical changes were implemented. Haussmanns own initial guidelines (shown below) indicate that one of the objectives was "to facilitate communication within the central parts of Paris and between these areas and the peripheral districts of the city" (Hall, 1997: 68). Haussmann’s guidelines (source: Hall, 1997, p. 68, fig. 3.9) Political Motivation There were also political motives behind Napoleon and Haussmanns efforts. Napoleon wanted Haussmann to assert the power and permanence of Paris in stone (Jordan, 1995). More importantly, Paris had been experiencing a history of insurrections among the working class and the narrow streets made it easy for them to block the paths. A big revolution occurred previously in 1789. From the perspective of defence therefore, Napoleon is said to have ordered the construction of long and wide boulevards "to facilitate the use of artillery fire, [and] forestall the building of barricades" (mapforum.com). The wider streets made it easier to move troops and cannon. That political and defence motives existed is evident by the fact that Haussmann himself mentioned this on several occasions while presenting his plans. However, these were not the only motives behind the Haussmannisation of Paris. Social Consequences The Haussmannisation process was not regarded favourably by everyone. Rather, it received widespread criticism at the time, and led to intense revolts and many people became detached from one another. Thus, "The continuous destruction of physical Paris led to a destruction of social Paris as well" (statemaster, 2005). The most controversial aspect of the reshaping of Paris was the displacement of tens of thousands of the poor from the centre of the city, and the destruction of a large part of the old city (Jordan, 1995). An estimated 15,000 people lost their homes (mapforum.com). Demolition took place unabatedly but alternative arrangements were not provided. Furthermore, the expropriation of more land than was actually needed created much resentment although this practice was stopped by a decision of the Council dEtat in 1858 (Hall, 1997: 73). Instead, luxury housing was developed and this made the central areas exclusively for the upper class (haute bourgeoisie). Paris was also initially divided into several districts (arrondissements) as shown in the figure below. This, in effect, divided the Parisian population according to their economic status. Affordability in central areas was low. A landmark that was also lost was a portion of the Luxembourg Gardens. Initial arrondissements of Paris Devious debt financing had to be resorted to by the administration because the entire project was fast becoming extremely expensive. Another economic consequence was the rising value of land due to "uninhibited speculation" concerning the location of new streets (Hall, 1997: 73). Large loans were taken, and during the latter period, some of these were not even authorised by the legislature (Hall, 1997: 74) resulting in an enormous burden of debt for Paris. Nonetheless, Paris was made ready for the industrial revolution. On the positive side, the cleaning of the city also had a knock on effect on people’s behaviour, as this was a period in which narcissism took hold (Kirkman, 2007). Architecture also underwent major changes. Monuments were created "to celebrate human greatness, inculcate worthy remembrances, [and] teach moral values" (Kirkman, 2007). The period of the Baroque and the Rococo styles ended and neoclassicism took hold. Fulfillment of Objectives Based on the information gathered above, the objectives of Haussmanisation were to give Paris a grandeur look, provide greater government and military control, establish a modern sewer system, improve air circulation, prevent the spread of diseases, improve communications with the surrounding districts, and so on. The problem of overcrowding was resolved by the increase in the height of the buildings, made possible by the street widening. The risk of disease was drastically reduced due to the open spaces, wider streets, and the channeling of waste water away from the city. On improving communications, Haussmann wrote, "In order to render accessible and habitable the vast empty spaces which have remained unproductive on the furthermost edges of the town, it will be necessary first to pierce it right through, thus ripping open the centre" (Hall, 1997: 69), which is precisely what he did. Traffic problems were also eased, at least for that period. The most striking display of Haussmanns effort to show the grandeur of Paris is Napoleon Is Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) set in a centre from which twelve boulevards radiate out (see image below). Haussmanns desire was to organise the city symmetrically but in the end he had to make some compromises with the existing layout and architecture. Some streets had to be worked around, and in addition, "The respect for the ancient monuments outweighed the need to unify the city completely and the river Seine served as a natural barrier separating the two sides of Paris and the roads that once had the ambition to link the riverbanks" (Kirkman, 2007). Haussmann gave Paris a sense of harmony and aesthetic proportion. If the overall objective was to establish Paris as a leading city of Europe, he certainly achieved it. And, as a town planner, he exerted great influence not only in Paris but also as inspiration for future urban planners around the world. However, if Napoleon foresaw that the transformation could be carried out at a reasonable cost, then he was clearly mistaken. Furthermore, the objective of preventing insurrections also failed, as demonstrated in 1871 (mapforum.com) a few months after Napoleon had to oust Haussmann to save his own position. Bibliography Chapman, Brian. 1953. Baron Haussmann and the planning of Paris. Liverpool University Press. http://www.jstor.org/pss/40101527 [Accessed 5 May 2001]. Clapp, James A. 1989. Radio Essay No. 42 aired KPBS-FM, Public Radio, July 12, 1989. In Dragon City Journal, Vol. 5, Feb. 2004. homepage.mac.com/yingloon/ DCJournalCURRENT.htm [Accessed 4 May 2010]. Hall, Thomas. 1997. Planning Europes capital cities: aspects of nineteenth-century urban development. Illustrated edition. Taylor & Francis. Jordan, David P. 1995. Transforming Paris: the life and labors of Baron Haussmann. Illustrated edition. Free Press. Reviewed in Bergdoll, Barry. 1997. Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 56, No. 3, Sept. 1997. Kirkman, Emily. 2007. Haussmanns Paris: Architecture in the era of Napoleon III. http://www.lilithgallery.com/arthistory/architecture/Haussmanns-Architectural-Paris.html [Accessed 5 May 2010]. Mapforum.com. N.d. British Library Map Exhibition: An imperial capital: Baron Haussmanns transformation of Paris. http://www.mapforum.com/15/blmap.htm [Accessed 6 May 2010]. Papayanis, Nicholas. 2004. Planning Paris before Haussmann. Illustrated edition. JHU Press. Parisrama. 2004. Paris in the 19th century: from walled city to agglomeration. http://www.parisrama.com/english%20version/pages_history/haussmann.htm [Accessed 6 May 2010]. Pasold, Lisa. 2005. Paris architecture explained. http://www.paris-architecture.info/gall-arch.htm [Accessed 6 May 2010]. Razia Iqbal. 2009. Paris receives a facelift. BBC News, 29 April 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/raziaiqbal/2009/04/the_french_president_nicolas_s.html [Accessed 4 May 2010]. StateMaster. 2005. Encyclopedia Baron Haussmann. http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Baron-Haussmann [Accessed 4 May 2010]. Read More