[The Transformation of Paris]

Paris, the city of dreams. Through movies and photographs, many have surely imagined living amidst its beautiful streetscapes, where cobblestones and stone buildings stretch endlessly. While Japan's urban landscapes feature a mix of diverse structures, examples where traditional Japanese houses remain relatively concentrated include Kanazawa, Kyoto, Kurashiki, and Takayama.

The charm of Paris's streets lies in the unified landscape created by the cobblestones along the Seine and its vast avenues. The foundation for this was laid by “Haussmann's renovation of Paris,” undertaken by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann in the 19th century. This urban renewal significantly contributed to France's modernization and also influenced the Meiji-era transformation of Tokyo in Japan, laying the foundation for modern urban landscapes.

While Parisian architecture spans diverse styles from medieval Gothic to modern, the city is symbolized by the Haussmann-style stone buildings that cover approximately 60% of its urban area. In these structures, prevalent in the 8th, 9th, 16th, and 17th arrondissements, Haussmann prioritized not the opulence of individual buildings, but the “beauty of the street as a whole.” By widening and straightening streets and standardizing building heights, roof lines, and the placement of windows and balconies, a continuous landscape of stone facades was created. This approach of designing streets and buildings as a unified whole, strategically placing parks and squares, remains central to Paris' enduring appeal.

This architectural style also influenced the hierarchical structure of residents. Before elevators became common, the ground floor housed shops, while the French-style first floor (equivalent to the second floor in Japan) served as the “noble floor” for the residences of the wealthy. It was characterized by continuous street-facing balconies and high ceilings. Ceilings grew lower on higher floors, with the top-floor attic rooms designated for servants. While lower floors were historically associated with higher status, today all levels are valued as desirable residences for their historical charm and excellent views. The mansard roof, a type of hipped roof, was designed to prevent sunlight from being blocked by taller buildings and to ensure light reached the lower floors. The contrast between the building's restrained exterior and its lavish interior decoration is also characteristic. Notable examples include the Palais Garnier (Opera House), the Louvre Palace, and city halls.

This Haussmann style was established during the grand renovation of Paris led by Baron Haussmann, then Prefect of the Seine, from 1853 to 1870. This effort followed Napoleon III's directive to “air, integrate, and beautify Paris.” The Paris of that time, dating back to the Middle Ages, was an “unsanitary city” with a dense population crammed into a maze of narrow alleys, deprived of sunlight and fresh air. Napoleon III had been impressed by the modern urban environment he observed during his exile in London. His vision involved demolishing densely packed areas to create wide boulevards, improving the city's ventilation; introducing a modern sewer system to the filth-ridden streets to curb epidemics like cholera; and placing vast green spaces, like London's Hyde Park, in all four cardinal directions where citizens could breathe and rest. He also sought to connect the then-isolated neighborhoods into a single “functional city.” He linked the city's extremities and major new railway stations with straight, wide roads, annexed surrounding towns and villages, and expanded and reorganized Paris from 12 to the current 20 arrondissements. Napoleon III envisioned transforming Paris into a magnificent city worthy of being the “capital of the world.” He promoted the construction of monumental buildings like the Opéra Garnier and designed the cityscape to ensure major monuments were visible.

Haussmann established three principles: “widening and straightening streets,” “improving main thoroughfares,” and “creating diagonal roads connecting key points.” He combined concentric bypasses and radial roads with the existing Seine-based street grid, creating twelve grand boulevards radiating from the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. Simultaneously, he advanced the development of water supply and sewer systems and parks, completely transforming the city's appearance. Underpinning this grand plan was the technique of “excessive expropriation,” which involved acquiring surrounding land as a unified whole and recouping project costs through profits from resale after redevelopment. While enabling financial self-sufficiency, it also created a phenomenon later termed “gentrification,” forcing traditional residents to relocate to the suburbs.

Paris's urban transformation influenced cities across Europe, including Vienna, Barcelona, and Berlin. In Japan, it was incorporated into the Meiji-era redevelopment of Tokyo through observations made by the Iwakura Mission. The Ginza Brick District of the 1870s was developed as a pioneer in fire prevention and Western-style modern urban landscapes. This led to the radial road concept for the Hibiya government office concentration plan, the adoption of the “excessive expropriation” system in the Tokyo City District Revision Ordinance, and ultimately to the reconstruction plans after the Great Kanto Earthquake. These ideas form the urban framework of modern Tokyo, symbolizing the journey of Japan's version of “Urban Renewal.” Learning this background makes you want to walk through Paris's streets and see it for yourself.

Ginza Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/ginza.html

References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/パリ改造
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ジョルジュ・オスマン
https://imp.or.jp/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/special-1.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_Paris
https://www.mlit.go.jp/pri/kikanshi/pdf/pri_review_50.pdf