Metropolitics

France's Housing Projects Recounted Through Postcards

Florine Ballif & translated by Oliver Waine — 2026-04-21T05:00:00Z

The selection of postcards presented by Renaud Epstein in his book On est bien arrivés (“We've arrived safely”) invites us to look at France's large postwar social housing projects and their inhabitants from a different, more sensitive perspective, far removed from the usual stereotypes.
This original book sheds light on a forgotten—even ignored—object: postcards showcasing France's postwar social housing projects, or “grands ensembles”. In this book, political scientist Renaud Epstein

- Reviews / architecture, banlieue, grands ensembles, heritage, urban heritage, public housing, suburbs, social housing, urban planning, urbanism, photography, memory

A Masterpiece in Peril: The Garden Suburb of La Butte-Rouge

Renaud Epstein & translated by Oliver Waine — 2026-02-24T06:00:00Z

La Butte-Rouge, built in the mid-20th century in Paris's southern suburbs, is the archetypal example of a French cité-jardin. In a recent work retracing its history, Élise Guillerm highlights the urban and architectural qualities of this eco-neighborhood before its time, whose very existence is now threatened by an urban renewal project.
Analysis of urban policies, and particularly urban renewal policies, dispels the idea that historical knowledge can prevent the repetition of past mistakes.

- Reviews / urban planning, cité-jardin, HLM, urban heritage, heritage, Châtenay-Malabry, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, social housing, sustainable development, garden city, garden suburb, France, Paris region, Paris, history, urban history, environment, urban renewal, landscape

The Paris of Yesteryear: A Photographic Inventory

Pauline Rossi & translated by Oliver Waine — 2024-05-14T05:00:00Z

The Commission du Vieux Paris has kept meticulous records of urban transformations, with its own perception of what constitutes heritage. Since 2022, some 11,000 geolocated photographs from its collection have been made available online, enabling a virtual historic visit of urban renewal projects.
In Paris, a municipal committee called the Commission du Vieux Paris (Old Paris Commission) was created in 1897 to advise the prefecture (covering the former Seine département), and later the city

- From the Field / Paris, history, photography, heritage, urban history, urban heritage

The Politics of Urban Heritage-Making in the Yongqingfang Redevelopment Project in Guangzhou, China

Yimeng Yang — 2022-03-29T05:00:00Z

Yimeng Yang uses the case of a redevelopment project in Guangzhou, China, to interrogate heritage-led urban development, pointing to the conflicts such development strategies provoke among local residents, government actors, and developers.
China has been experiencing a dramatic “heritage boom” in recent years. As China's global aspirations grow, the government has become increasingly adept at using heritage to consolidate political legitimacy, construct national identity, and demonstrate

- From the Field / China, heritage, urban heritage, redevelopment, Guangzhou

In Havana, Tourism Development Before the US Tsunami

Lily M. Hoffman — 2016-03-22T06:00:00Z

The easing of Cuban–US relations will likely bring a new wave of tourists to Cuba. Although the Cuban government needs the foreign investment, it is wary about the all-too-common ills of tourism. Cubans talk about growing inequality and corruption. Lily Hoffman considers the difficult choices facing the country and their likely impact on Havana.
In the wake of President Obama's visit this week (March 21–22, 2016) to Cuba, Cuba is poised to become the next hot tourist destination. Cuban

- Essays / inequalities, urban development, tourism, Cuba, Havana, urban heritage