Process of design and planning of urban changes
Dominique Perrault
The second one is region. It is a very rich region with a lot of people living in there. Very rich, but in the strategy of money-sharing it is between the west part of the region - rich part and the east - which is, not really poor, but in difficulties. On this part of the territory the balance is not good. The region could change this situation, but it is very political and without state it is impossible. Because the link between the region and the state is direct. They are very close.
And after you have some cities: the main half of the cities is Paris. And the other control or maybe a paradox of leadership is in Paris. But it is not correct if you would try to develop a new territory with the most part of inhabitants living and working out of the centre of the city. That is the question.
In this political situation it is very difficult. If you compare some other metropolises in France, for example Lyon, Marseille, Nancy, or Strasburg - and we have a lot of them - their position on the political problem is very clear. We have a democratic debate: obviously some people say yes, some people say no, some people are involved, some people hate it, ok. But the scale is more human. It is more, not spatial, but the routes are more like a network it is developed and it is working together. That is a main idea in the regions. But in Paris, you are working against your level.
The first reason to be positive about the Grand Paris is that we forgot/we are killing this concept of "suburban". Now it is possible to speak about it. I am an inhabitant of the Grand Paris. And for a lot of people, living around Paris historical city means they are living in the Grand Paris. They are living in the end of Paris, in the new Paris. And I think it is very positive about identities: psychological relationship between people and the cities and the territory. It is a beginning it is not a lot, but it is something.
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