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Political Architecture

France’s HLM. Political Architecture. The Language of Poverty. What are some of the terms we have for subsidized housing? Subsidized Housing - Government supported housing for people with low to moderate incomes Terms. The Language of Poverty.

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Political Architecture

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  1. France’s HLM Political Architecture

  2. The Language of Poverty • What are some of the terms we have for subsidized housing? • Subsidized Housing - Government supported housing for people with low to moderate incomes • Terms

  3. The Language of Poverty • What are some of the terms we have for subsidized housing? • Subsidized Housing - Government supported housing for people with low to moderate incomes • Terms • Ghetto

  4. The Language of Poverty • What are some of the terms we have for subsidized housing? • Subsidized Housing - Government supported housing for people with low to moderate incomes • Terms • Ghetto • Slum

  5. The Language of Poverty • What are some of the terms we have for subsidized housing? • Subsidized Housing - Government supported housing for people with low to moderate incomes • Terms • Ghetto • Slum • Inner City

  6. La Banlieue • Francophone term meaning “outskirts” • Linguistically implies the English equivalent of “suburbs” • Euphemism for France’s centers of urban decay • Low income housing is pushed out of the urban centers and isolated in the distant reaches outside the cities • Fundamentally different from American “inner city” housing

  7. HLM • Habitation à LoyerModéré – “housing at moderated rents” • Four million residences • Fourteen million people • One quarter of France’s population • Half of France’s rented housing • Mostly immigrants from North and West Africa

  8. The Birth of a Slum • Aftermath of WWII • The war in France and the German occupation resulted in enormous damage to the city • French colonies in North and West Africa provide abundant and cheap labor • Muslim and Black Africans seeking better jobs and French citizenship arrive en masse to begin repairs • Bidonvilles, a Francophone term for shantytowns, grow outside cities in response to the lack of available or affordable housing.

  9. Birth of a Slum (contd.) • Hasty construction beginning in the early fifties and growing rapidly to keep up with demand often fell short of expectations. • In 1968, only 41% of these residences have running water and sanitation. It would be a decade before that figure rose to 80%.

  10. Aesthetics of Oppression • To reduce construction costs, large complexes were built in simplistic rectangles and assembled le chemin de grue(“by way of the crane”) • This allowed a crane on a single track to construct both sides of the building simultaneously.

  11. Aesthetics of Oppression • Budget cuts and general apathy led to many aspects of construction to remain unfinished resulting in large amounts of dead space.

  12. Marginalized Youth • Cut off from the city and isolated within their empty environments, the youth populace of France’s many HLMs are unemployed and without constructive outlets.

  13. La Haine (Hate) • 1995 film by MathiueKassovitz • Shows the mounting tension between France’s disaffected youths and their police force • Contrasts the architecture and environment of the banlieues with the urban centers of Paris • http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=1gFenEV9N2U&feature=related

  14. 2005 Riots • The abundant policing of the banlieues coupled with antagonistic and overly abusive police finally reached its boiling point in October 2005. • After police killed two fleeing youths of African descent, the banlieues responded.

  15. 2005 Riots (contd.) • The resulting riots lasted for almost three weeks. • 200 million Euros in damages • 9000 cars burned • 2900 arrests • 126 injured police and firefighters • 1 innocent bystander killed

  16. Conclusion • The design of France’s banlieues represents a system of political architecture where active design choices and unchecked apathy have created a system of oppression. • Isolation from urban centers and activities coupled with an inability to find employment results in a disaffected youth population at odds with an antagonistic cop force.

  17. Works Cited • http//:riotsfrance.ssrc.org • http//:wikipedia.com • McCoy, Heather. “La Haine.” French Culture Through Film. Penn State University Park. December 10, 2009.

  18. Parkour • French parkourhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM5aYOIbklI&annotation_id=annotation_874301&feature=iv 2:15 • Russian parkourhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQNt64PxfE 2:04

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