Haussmann's Renovation of Paris (Essay Sample)

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Haussmann’s Renovation of Paris
Currently, the city of Paris is one of the world’s most famous cities, not only for its position as a global hub, but also for its good urban plan, which makes it very spacious and easy to move through. However, this has not always been the case and the city has been through great transformations in its history. For instance, throughout 19th century, the city has been transformed from one with high rates of poverty, disease, crime, congestion, underdevelopment, deindustrialization and many other hardships, to the city it is today (Jordan 88). Between 1853 and 1870, King Napoleon III commissioned one of the greatest renovation and reconstruction program, which would transform the city forever (Zanten 21). In charge of the transformation and urban regeneration program was Georges-Eugene Haussmann, who was responsible for the transformation where he put in place urban planning and design processes to transform the city (Pinkey 14). The transformation included the demolition of slums, which were crowded and unhealthy, changing the city’s landscape by building wide streets, parks and squares, monuments, annexation of suburbs surrounding the city, the redesigning of the water and sewer systems and ultimately entire urban facade the city has presently (Jordan, 100).
“The city’s renovation was informed by the rapid population growth, which had put a lot of strain on the existing infrastructure and facilities” (Zanten 28). For instance, between 1800-1850, the population of Paris grew to more than a million (Pinkey 16). The city was overcrowded while the city’s streets and its plan followed the medieval style with unplanned narrow and winding streets (Jordan, 105). The streets were also characterized by open sewers, which were breeding ground for diseases (Pinkey 23). The streets were not ideal for commerce and traffic.


Figure 1: An example of Architecture in Pre-Haussmann’s Paris
characterized by narrow and winding streets (Jordan, 106)
Political reasons were also major factors for the renovation of the city. France had experienced a very shaky political climate where between 1790 and 1850, France had transitioned between royal dynasty, republic and empires six times (Zanten 33). Each of the previous government systems had been toppled through a revolution and hence, Napoleon III saw it as a very important to open up Paris, which had been the centre of the previous revolutions. Its medieval urban city plan was a hindrance for the army to quell revolutions due to accessibility. A new design, which would provide quick access for army troops, would be a very effective tool in discouraging revolutions and for the army to respond fast. Napoleon III had been greatly influenced by open streets of London, following its reconstruction following its destruction in the great fire of 1666 (Zanten 27).
The renovation of the city had to consider many things including the rapid economic growth, which was being experienced in the time of industrial development . “The development of railway and steam engine was also fueling more population growth as more people continued to move in to the city” (Pinkey 19). Haussmann came up with urban design to renovate the city, where the plan involved the following:
Expansion and reconstruction of sewer system
Construction of wide roads
Street lighting
Development of building codes
Construction of monuments
Construction of public parks
Construction of symmetrical road system
Updated uniform façade for city’s buildings
Expansion of the city



Figure 2: Avenue de L’opera before and after renovation (as it is today) (Zanten 45)


Figure 3:A wide road (boulevard) lined with Haussmann’s uniform façade of buildings(Zanten 46)
Under the leadership of Haussmann, over 20,000 building were demolished and other 30,000 constructed. “The city was renovated and rebuild with neoclassical façade, which is still very common in the present day Paris” (Jordan, 88). The buildings were mostly five storeys, which allowed for more space and hence decongesting the city of its high population. As the buildings were of the same design, Haussmann succeeded in ensuring that the construction was cheap. Over 360 miles of sewerage pipelines were added to the city (Jordan, 109). The roads of city followed a symmetry plan, where they ran from east to west and north to south with diagonal smaller road connections radiating out. The roads were also wider expanding from the average 12 meters to between 18 and 24 meters (Pinkey 43). The construction of the roads is the key factor for the demolition of many of the buildings.


Figure 4: Symmetr...