The Second French Empire was established in 1851, and fell in 1870. Napoleon III appointed a civic planner named Haussmann prefect in 1853. This great architect planned a traffic network, a service network, and entry points into the city. This approach was adopted in all of the major French cities thereafter. The Second Empire was not without its critics – among them some of the greatest writers of the day, such as Emile Zola, who commented that Paris appeared as if it had been cut up with an axe. Liberals and Republicans largely condemned the Empire for this reason.
The concept of the city changed, however, in the 19th Century. Previously, Paris had been considered a Medieval town, a society organised within a wall, with a seat of power and its representatives. In 1795, twelve arrondissement units were established; the equivalent of districts. During that same century, the suburbs were added.
Paris was also greatly affected by the Industrial Revolution, which actually brought about major changes in the cityscape. Like all major European cities, it attracted a wealth of immigrants in search of jobs, and the boundaries grew to encompass surrounding areas, where small towns had begun to spring up. The use of railways allowed Paris to exert its influence over a vast region of France. This is how the metropolis was born.
However, the urbanization era was not without its downsides. The immigrants were poor and settled in shabby areas of the city. Their lives were difficult, often void of joy and hope. Their images were reflected in Hugo’s Les Misérables and the novels of Balzac, among other works of the day. The themes of these works involved a pathological fear of the slums, the inner suburbs, a misunderstanding of the causes of impoverishment, and an overall moral decline.
Gradually, urbanization became synonymous with city planning and regulation. An international exhibit on this subject took place in Paris in 1867, drawing 200,000 visitors. A famous name during this period was the above-mentioned Georges-Eugene Haussmann. The history of Paris’ landscape is thus divided into ‘pre-Haussmann’ and ‘post-Haussmann’. He cut wide boulevards which corresponded to a whole new sense of logic. They were broad and straight, in order to facilitate traffic and speed. By contrast, Medieval roads were narrow and inconvenient. What’s more, Haussmann envisioned a network of large squares and crossroads around the centre, a sewer system, many parks, gardens and other innovations. He succeeded in implementing most of his projects.
After the fall of the Empire in 1815, the monarchy was reinstated and retained absolute power until 1848. A municipal commission was appointed to examine the city centre in 1839. Its members reached the conclusion that the centre was past its time. The concept of a ‘sick city’ was gaining support. What’s more, there was a major imbalance between the Left Bank and the Right Bank. At this time, traffic circulation was given priority. Like all big cities of the period, Paris suffered from lacking a pattern of urban itineraries.
Interestingly enough, almost 200 streets were constructed between 1815 and 1853. The most significant was the rue Rambuteau, the first one located in the complexly laid-out city centre. A system of mass expropriation replaced the traditional approach of waiting for a building to fall completely into disuse before forcing the owners to consider the alignment of the road. Another notable project accomplished during the 19th Century was the completion of the Arc de Triomphe in honour of the victories of Napoleon and the French Revolution.