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After Medellín, TheCityPlan returns to examine the transformation underway in a European city: Paris, whose history and culture make it one of the most representative and fascinating capitals of the old continent.
As usual, our four maps have been developed using the GIS (Geographic Information System). The first shows the geographical contours and population distribution; the second indicates land-use in terms of how services and community spaces are distributed; the third is a public transport density map, and the fourth shows the distribution of natural vegetation in the city.
Unlike Medellín, Paris is one of a group of metropolises to have developed on a stretch of prevalently flat land. The only exception is the hill of Montmartre to the north on the “rive droite” in the XIII arrondissement, famous for the Basilica of Sacré Coeur on its summit and as the centre of bohemian life during the Belle Époque. The natural element that has most impacted the city’s growth down the centuries is the river Seine and its lazy loops.
The municipal area of Paris has approximately 10.5 million inhabitants, distributed over an area of around 3.000 sq km. It is a perfect hub and spoke layout with a series of concentric circles rippling out from the centre point.
The first circle closest to the historic heart is bordered by the famous Paris Boulevards. The outer circle is delimited by a ring road known as the Boulevard Périphérique. The area in between this inner and outer circle has the highest population density. In comparison, the population density of the central core is very low.
The second circle is bordered by the A86 highway, from which several roads branch off to connect with the Périphérique. Another secondary highway, built at the time of President Georges Pompidou, follows the Seine right into the heart of Paris. This essentially disruptive high-speed thoroughfare is...
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