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Old Posted Aug 2, 2020, 3:04 PM
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Paris is planting four new ‘urban forests’ right next to major landmarks

From timeout.com:

Paris is planting four new ‘urban forests’ right next to major landmarks

The Hôtel de Ville and Opéra Garnier will soon be surrounded by pine groves and cherry blossom trees

By Huw Oliver
Posted: Friday July 31 2020, 5:16pm


Hôtel de Ville. Photograph: Apur / Céline Orsingher

Central Paris may be beautiful, and grand it certainly is. But if there’s one thing it’s not, it’s green. The streets are lined with tarmac, concrete, and lots and lots of limestone. Even the parks are dusty, gravelly, distinctly unwild places – with very few trees in sight.

Soon, however, the city centre could look a heck of a lot more rustic. And if these mock-ups are anything to go by, pretty blooming lovely. Anne Hidalgo, Paris’s mayor, has confirmed that four new ‘urban forests’ are to be planted in locations across the city – including directly in front of the Hôtel de Ville, the city hall, and behind the Opéra Garnier, the French capital’s main opera house.

Linden and cherry blossom trees will be planted at the rear of the opera house, while a tall pine grove will take over the currently-barren square in front of the Hôtel de Ville.

The two other locations chosen to host a more modestly proportioned ‘urban forest’ are a small paved plaza to the side of the Gare de Lyon, which will become a woodland garden, and a pedestrianised area of the Seine quayside, which will be given over to swaths of shrubs and grasses.

Hidalgo had unveiled the designs for the new green spaces to much fanfare last summer. After she was reelected earlier this month, she told Le Parisien that planning would finally get under way over the coming months. It’s unclear exactly when construction and planting will begin.

It’s just one of a gaggle of initiatives Hidalgo has launched in an effort to make Paris greener. Since she became mayor in 2014, she’s created some 30 new green spaces – including 28 school-playground ‘oases’ – and has pledged to make 50km of temporary bike lanes that were introduced during lockdown permanent. Cars could also be banned permanently from the iconic Rue de Rivoli.

By 2030, the authorities want 50 percent of the city to be covered by planted areas, whether parkland or green rooftops. Right now, just 9.5 percent of Paris is made up of public green space – so there’s a long way to go yet. Plant more of these forests though, and the city may well hit its target.

Link: https://www.timeout.com/news/paris-i...box=1596231883
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  #2  
Old Posted Aug 2, 2020, 8:18 PM
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Fancy political propaganda and details... Nasty meaningless politics.

I'd rather have them local politicians refurbish all cheap concrete buildings from the 1960s and 70s. That would be a much more significant move from an environmental and social standpoint.

We could afford it. This region can afford anything. But they don't really like the poor living in their ghettos to grow better off, because they are selfish and mean, pathetic.
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Old Posted Aug 2, 2020, 9:50 PM
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Hidalgo policies are all about publicity stunt, not efficiency.
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Old Posted Aug 2, 2020, 10:43 PM
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Paris is indeed very arid, even the gardens covered by endless sand paths. It will be very interesting to watch, and definitely will change the way we see Paris.
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  #5  
Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 9:04 AM
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Some shade would be nice, and the area in front of the Hotel de Ville is a good place for it.

I see the class warriors are out to oppose anything that looks like investment in central Paris and not housing projects, just as they were when Mayor Daley would do this sort of thing in Chicago (for the benefit of the entire city).
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Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 9:32 AM
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Actually it's pretty much the opposite. The class social warriors are Hidalgo and its allies (She governing with greens and communists). Well, they claim to be because when you look closer, their policies have pretty much the opposite effect.
Many are against private investments.
Many want to convert office space into social housing.
They have spent billion building a few new public housing in wealthy districts. They make big publicity stunt about those when it's pretty much useless.

Quote:
Whatever you think of them, you can’t say the new promises from Paris’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo lack ambition. Seeking re-election at the municipal polls in March, Hidalgo unveiled proposals this week that include a referendum on the role of Airbnb, a plan to make the city center “100 percent bicycle,” a new 5,000-strong municipal police force in which at least half the staff are women, and a vow to spend 20 billion euros on converting office buildings into affordable housing.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-big-ambitions
I'm against those kind public investment. It cost a lot of money and have very few effects. Money could be better spent elsewhere.

Save money rather than increase debt.
Improving maintenance of streets, urban furnitures and existing parks which are declining.
Improving the quality of urban cleaning which clearly declined during Hidalgo.
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Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 10:24 AM
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I was referring more to the post before yours but fair enough.
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Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 10:35 AM
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I think this is great. Paris parks are usually dusty and unshaded.
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  #9  
Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 5:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Minato Ku View Post
Hidalgo policies are all about publicity stunt, not efficiency.

It would be vapid as a purely climate sustainability initiative, but that doesn't mean that it's not an otherwise positive proposal from an urban design or livability perspective. More trees are always a good thing.
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Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 5:48 PM
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I suppose a city as big as Paris could afford to plant some trees without having a detrimental impact on budget priorities...
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  #11  
Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 6:30 PM
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Last edited by Hed Kandi; Oct 4, 2022 at 4:20 PM.
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Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 6:50 PM
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Last edited by Hed Kandi; Oct 4, 2022 at 4:21 PM.
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Old Posted Aug 3, 2020, 7:10 PM
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I think it's a great plan. The hôtel de ville and opéra Garnier are beautiful to look at, but not particularly green or pedestrian-friendly in their immediate vicinity, from what I remember.
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