How do you create a magnetic public destination like Luxembourg Gardens? Read on! / Photo: PPS

In a recent blog post, entrepreneur-turned-VC Mark Suster wrote about the necessary ingredients for a city trying o develop a successful start-up community. His advice seemed applicable to any community that’s trying to create a strong local sense of place, so we’ve retrofitted his recommendations to speak broadly to people who are working to transform their public spaces into magnetic destinations that are reflective of the diverse communities that surround them.

[✓] A Strong Pool of Zealous Nuts – If you’re reading this, chances are you’re either a zealous nut, or you have the potential to be one. You’re passionate about place, about your neighborhood, your streets, your favorite park. Zealous nuts are the local leaders who have a vision of how great their community can be, and who want to get all of their neighbors involved in making it happen. They also have the tenacity and patience to stick with that vision, even when fighting an uphill battle. They understand that half of the fun of Placemaking is getting to know their neighbors through discussion, debate, and collaboration. As we’ve seen time and again, great Placemaking projects can almost always be traced back to one or two driven, dedicated people who are “nuts” about their community.

[✓] Place Capital – Great places generate more value for the communities in which they are located than they actually cost to create. These places draw people into the daily life of their communities, encouraging local investment–both financial (through shopping at local stores and markets) and social. Individual actions toward the improvement of and participation in public spaces are like little investments in Place Capital. If people have opportunities to take part in shaping their public spaces, they will feel more connected to their community, and will be more likely to go the extra mile to keep those spaces attractive and welcoming. This has a magnetic effect, creating a distinctive local character and turning a location into a destination.

[✓] Killer Events – Suster’s explanation of the importance of events is spot-on for much more than just the tech community: events bring people together, and get them talking. This builds social capital, and does so in a way that is specifically connected to place. Great events often celebrate unique aspects of a local community, and throw them into high relief–the example of SXSW in Austin is perfect, as it highlights the creative and tech-focused community of people that already exists in Austin, and does so out in the streets. The informal and entertaining vibe puts people at ease, and strengthens the local sense of identity as people mix and mingle.

Austin’s Sixth Street bustles during the SXSW festival / Photo: John Rogers via Flickr

[✓] Access to Great Advocates – Chatter about Placemaking is on the rise, but not everyone who uses the term is talking about really engaging local communities to facilitate the creation of places that truly reflect the people that they serve. To create a great public destination, it’s helpful for a community to have access to advocacy organizations that really “get it,” and are proactive in working with locals to help them articulate their needs and claim their place. Look at the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago, or (thinking regionally) the Michigan Municipal League. These groups are on a mission to make sure that Placemaking stays an inclusive process, rather than becoming an empty buzzword that is attached to projects that reflect top-down planning and design visions rather than local culture.

[✓] Motivated Champions – 90% of the success of a public space is in its management. For public spaces and districts with access to a large pool of resources, the involvement of a dedicated community development org or business improvement district can be extremely helpful in making sure that the buzz around a space stays strong. New York has dozens of BIDs that manage major squares and shopping districts. As downtowns around the country have surged in recent decades, groups like the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and Downtown Houston have helped to guide growth, manage important hubs of public life, and spread the word about what’s going on in the heart of town.

Neighbors work together to brighten their Portland neighborhood through City Repair’s Intersection Repair project / Photo: City Repair via Flickr

But your champions don’t necessarily need a lot of money if they’ve got a lot of heart. Many spaces are managed by volunteer organizations made up of community members who help to keep a space clean, and “program” it with a steady mix of informal activity. Often times, smaller groups can build capacity over time and scale up; Portland’s well-regarded City Repair started out as a group of concerned neighbors who just wanted a safer street corner, and today they’ve revolutionized community planning across their city!

[✓] Local Press / Websites / Organizational Tools – Great public spaces are stages for public life. In addition to major events like parades, festivals, and other public gatherings, they’re perfect places for local media organizations to tap into public opinion on the key issues of the day. Public space managers, whether professional or volunteer, should work hard to build a strong relationship with local media outlets that cover what’s going on in the city or region. People attract people, so the more often folks see and hear reminders of how vibrant and exciting a given place is, the more likely they are to travel out of their way to check out the action. In the long term, building strong media partnerships also creates an active local culture that gets more people off the couch.

[✓] Alumni Outreach – Here’s an intriguing item on Suster’s list that isn’t necessarily obvious when you think generally about creating public destinations. If you live in a neighborhood with some history and are trying to turn a place around, it might be helpful to do a bit of research to learn whether there are some famous past residents who might have fond memories of that space when they were growing up in the neighborhood. Great places inspire the kind of visceral memories that spur people to action. Find out who your neighborhood’s “alumni” are, and you might find some powerful allies in your effort to restore a down-at-heel site to its former glory.

[✓] Wins – “At the end of the day,” writes Suster, “no amount of ‘planning’ can build a community that is seen as a success – it can just be a contributor.” This is the idea at the heart of the Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper approach to public space management. You can plan and plan, but doing is absolutely essential. If you don’t have the funds for a new playground, get local organizations to donate odds and ends and have kids from the neighborhood build their own temporary adventure playground. If there’s a blank wall that you’re not quite ready to cover with a permanent mural, host a chalk party to get up some temporary, community-sourced public art. Small wins today build momentum that can be critical to achieving bigger wins tomorrow.

[✓] Recycled Place Capital / Repeat Placemakers – When people participate in a Placemaking process and see firsthand how powerful an effect it has, both on their public spaces and on their own lives, they often get hooked! This has a spillover effect, meaning that one great public destination can wind up influencing an entire city, or even a whole region. The Power of Ten concept posits that you need at least ten things to do in a public space for it to be a lively, multi-use destination. To have a great neighborhood you, need at least ten of these public destinations. For a great city, you need at least ten great neighborhoods.

Making a great place requires lots of participation from lots of people. That creates lots of new Placemakers, and inspires a whole new group of zealous nuts. Placemaking can change the way that people think about their role within their community, and inspire them to be more intentional about investing in Place Capital not just in their own back yard, but all over town.

Photos like Jackson Square in New Orleans set the bar high / Photo: PPS

[✓] Flagship Public Spaces – Barcelona has Parc Guell, Vancouver has Granville Island, and New Orleans has Jackson Square. These iconic spaces set the bar high, and give neighborhoods in their respective cities something to shoot for. If your city has a flagship space (or, if you’re very lucky, a few of them), tap into the public enthusiasm for the sense of place that exists around that location, and remind people that any site can become a beloved destination if it is responsive to the community in which it is located.

An iconic scene from Woody Allen's 1979 classic "Manhattan"

According to the @UrbanismAvenger, interviewed recently by The Atlantic Cities editor Sommer Mathis, “There are ALWAYS urbanist themes in movies, if you look. Cities themselves are often heroes, or at least key characters, in the story. Whether the city is New York or Asgard, cities in movies can inspire us to be better urbanists!”

We agree wholeheartedly, and have been thrilled by the response to our post a few weeks ago about films that demonstrate Placemaking principles. Folks have made a lot of great suggestions, and we’ve culled eight of our favorites below. Keep ‘em coming!

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Rear Window (1954; director, Alfred Hitchcock)
Cindy FrewenWuellner suggests several Hitchcock films, our favorite of which is this classic featuring Jimmy Stewart as a man with a unique view of the life of his neighborhood. Eyes on the street! (Or the courtyard, as the case may be).

A Thousand Clowns (1965; director, Fred Coe)
According to Rob Sadowsky, the key moment for Placemakers here is a scene featuring Jason Robards giving a tour of NYC by bicycle, “because it’s the best way to see the world.”

Manhattan (1979; director, Woody Allen)
Commenter Dbpankratz nominated Woody Allen’s classic, considered by many (including at least one person here at PPS HQ) to be one of the “greatest love letters to New York” ever made for the silver screen. The film beautifully illustrates the intimate link between place and identity.

Blade Runner (1982; director, Ridley Scott)
Adrian Riley likes the dystopian urbanism of Scott’s sci-fi classic, which contrasts “the world the underclass are forced to inhabit” with wealthy residents cloistered in gleaming towers. The city is “dirty, wet, crumbling and constantly being adapted, but also grittily exciting in a way few science fiction film environments are.”

Lisbon Story (1994; director, Wim Wenders)
Wenders’ film-about-a-filmmaker shows how intoxicating the power of Place can truly be. Tiago Oliveira loves it for its portrayal of “the soul of a City and the wonder of its People and Places.”

Before Sunrise & Before Sunset (1995 & 2004; director, Richard Linklater)
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy’s decade-long romance starts with a chance encounter on a train, and features the two lovebirds walking the streets of Prague and Paris. Both of these films, suggested by two commenters. Julieta and Todd, highlight the ability of human-scaled cities to create a feeling of comfort that promotes public affection.

Be Kind Rewind (2008; director, Michael Gondry)
Highlighted by Plantanbanda, this flick focuses on two video store clerks who accidentally erase every tape in the store. (Remember tapes?) In their quest to re-shoot the entire cinematic inventory, they enlist the help of the entire neighborhood.

Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" beautifully illustrates the mix of uses and resulting social vibrancy at Paris' now-demolished Gare Montparnasse / Photo: Paramount Pictures

When you’re watching a movie, how much attention do you pay to the setting? While the best way to learn about what makes a great place is often to get out and observe how public spaces work first-hand, there are films that illustrate Placemaking principles quite beautifully. We’ve collected ten of our favorites here, with explanations of why we think they tell great stories about place. Take a look, and let us know if you have a favorite Placemaking-related movie or two (or three!) that we should add to our Netflix queues!

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Ikiru (1962; director, Akira Kurosawa)
A bureaucrat who learns he is dying of stomach cancer unexpectedly finds a sense of purpose in his life by cutting through red tape to get a park built for neighborhood children.

Thieves’ Highway (1949; director Jules Dassin)
A feud among corrupt produce dealers at the San Francisco market comes alive because of the location footage. A wonderfully pulpy film noir thoroughly grounded in a very specific place.

Mon Oncle (1958; director, Jacques Tati)
An eccentric uncle comes to visit family in an absurdly well-ordered and well-groomed suburb. Accustomed to the joy and texture of city life, he is utterly unable to adapt. Tati is a brilliant physical comedian who once said, “”Les lignes géométriques ne rendent pas les gens aimables” (“geometrical lines do not produce likeable people”). Watch him be hilariously confounded by a kitchen full of “convenient” modern appliances.

Play Time (1967; director, Jacques Tati)
Tati’s signature character, M. Hulot, is trapped in the linear, slick, modernist environment of 1960s Paris. There is almost no dialogue. It is all about sight and sound gags. You will have to watch this four times to get them all. And you will want to watch it four times.

La Bête Humaine (1938; director, Jean Renoir)
About trains and train conductors and cheating wives. The most beautiful footage of trains and rail yards ever filmed.

Brazil (1985; director, Terry Gilliam)
Wonderful to watch for its humorous takedown of bureaucracy and top-down institutions, and its praise for zealous nuts.

Hugo (2011; director, Martin Scorsese)
The balletic interplay of people in Hugo’s grand train station – travelers, shopkeepers, musicians, lovers – is a thrill to watch. Scorsese has created a place so vibrant, and so real, that you long to step into the screen and inhabit it yourself.

The Sandlot (1993; director, David M. Evans)
This film about a neighborhood baseball field recalls a time when a kid could walk (or as was often shown in the film, run) to the neighborhood ballfield, and stay there all day, every day, unsupervised. The only time he was expected at home was for dinner.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946; director Frank Capra)
Perhaps the ultimate American love song to community wisdom, with a walkable downtown to beat the band.

High Noon (1952; director, Fred Zinnemann)
Talk about a sense of place. All the drama in the world is contained on High Noon’s Main Street.

I think the commentary on triangulation is exactly right. In general, people will not go to a space in order to do one thing. They like to serially multi-task in their leisure time. In the Jardin de Luxembourg, one can keep an eye on the kids, admire the plantings, chat with others, snack, and watch the world go by.

One park you didn’t mention is the Quai St. Bernard (I don’t know the park’s proper name) on the Left Bank, which attracts young people by the hundreds at night for dancing and socializing. As someone who takes students to Paris each year, I can tell you it has become a Mecca for the young who enjoy the music and a chance to meet others without spending 5 Euros on a Coca. Who knows when this began, but it is a major event every night all summer.

Another park that is used extensively at night is the Champs de Mars. Entire extended families as well as the young spread out blankets until it is like Jones Beach on the Fourth of July. They bring guitars, dinner, wine, candles, babies, grandma, books, music, and anything else needed for the evening. It is where all of Paris goes to be outdoors on a hot night.

Elizabeth Theiss Smith
Vermilion, South Dakota

My 18 year old daughter is graduating from high school and had three weeks to do a senior project of her own creation. Building from a month-long study experience in Paris two summers ago she wanted to return and create a “teen” or “student” guide to paris. She and a friend headed over and spent a brief 12 days exploring their favorite neighborhoods and writing about them. They created a wonderful guide which I am encouraging them to take further.

What amazed me was their approach and seeming intuitive understanding of “place” and what makes a place special. And I promise you I did not give any lectures on the subject. Whatever they did or did not do was of their own creation. The neighborhoods they singled out were small and intimate like Le Marais and when they thought they knew it they tried to get lost and discovered the most amazing hidden gardens and squares. They photographed the way a cafe owner would place plants in pots and a bird bath on the small tree strip outside the shop to create a “place.” Truly I was amazed at what seemed so intuitive to them.

I’m thinking there is an untapped resource in our youth.

Linda Cody, MLA
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Rue de Buci

This street is a place where tourists and residents converge. It’s not long, but is packed with wonderful uses. The produce stands and flower stalls, along with the cafés, stores, and restaurants, make this agglomeration of activity as intense as any we have seen outside of the bazaars and souks of the Middle East and Asia. There’s always a lot of passion on display as the street merchants, performers, and even pedestrians compete aggressively for attention.

Rue Montorgueil

We once witnessed a small elderly woman with two canes tottering carefully down this wonderful street. Her face was full of determination. It was clearly not easy, but she was comfortable in her surroundings nonetheless. Most streets aren’t good for the elderly, but Rue Montorgueil was good for this woman. Without the constant threat of vehicles to deter her, she felt at ease venturing onto this public thoroughfare by herself. Few other urban streets provide the elderly with such security.

But Rue Montorgueil is a lot more than just a pedestrian street. Over time, it has accreted uses that complement each other, forming an urban ecosystem of commerce, social gatherings, and street performances.

Rue Mouffetard

Rue Mouffetard is the gold standard for commercial streets. Its central purpose is not the movement of traffic, but to serve as a neighborhood marketplace. There are no cars during the active parts of the day, and its merchants have elevated street displays to an art form. But the true thrill is watching people as they engage in the ritual of shopping for their daily needs. Look closely and you’ll see how many of the customers stay loyal to their familiar vendors, yet also engage in frequent chance encounters. It is a world unto itself, street theater at its best.

Rue des Rosiers

Rue des Rosiers has been the main artery of Paris’s Jewish quarter since the Middle Ages. Shops housed in 17th century buildings promote themselves in Yiddish and Hebrew, and you’ll find excellent kosher foods and specialty items behind their windows. The sense of history and tradition is palpable, but there is also a tension between the area’s cultural heritage and the encroachment of trendy commercial ventures.

One end of the street is now home to chic boutiques like those that have sprouted up all over Le Marais (the larger historic district where Rue des Rosiers is located). But the area has survived far worse threats in the past, and there is every reason to believe it will remain a vital ethnic enclave. The area’s longtime Ashkenazi residents, refugees from 19th century pogroms in Eastern Europe, now share the street with Sephardic Jews, more recent immigrants from North Africa. This population shift is an encouraging reminder of how places like Rue des Rosiers help new arrivals adjust to the city, and vice versa.

Rue St-Louis-en-l’île

This short, narrow street is actually the “main drag” on the Ile Saint-Louis, the smaller of the two islands at the center of Paris. There are so many tiny attractions vying for your interest that, small as the street may be, you cannot absorb it all in one visit. It is reminiscent of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, nearby our office in New York City. It may seem to some that tourists dominate, but in reality there are layers of users that flow through the street quite independently of each other. Each group of users contributes to the activity of the street, enhancing the others’ experience.

Despite its assets, the street is almost overwhelmed by parked vehicles. They seem very out of place on this pedestrian island. And when cars try to drive down this small path and impose their ill-fitted presence, they distract from the peaceful, almost spiritual street experience.

Viaduc des Arts/Promenade Plantée

The Viaduc des Arts is a series of 45 working studios for craft artists located between the arches of a restored 19th century viaduct running alongside Avenue Daumesnil. With restaurants and outdoor cafés to complement the artists’ workshops, it has a strong appeal to visitors and tourists. The old rail bed on top of the viaduct has been replaced by the Promenade Plantée, a 2.5 mile greenway that extends from Place de la Bastille almost to the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern edge of the city. Much to our surprise, the walk along the Promenade, which is situated at the equivalent of a building’s third floor, was quite pleasant, offering a spectacular view of the city’s rooftops and a quiet stroll unimpeded by vehicular intersections.

Bridges over the Seine

The beauty of each bridge that crosses the Seine is inspiring. Each one has its own unique character, and some are among the world’s best. Whether you are walking over them or passing under them on a cruise of the river, you cannot fail to be impressed by the stunning quality of their designs. All together, they add up to yet another major monument; some are monuments in their own right.

Without these bridges the spine of Paris would be a giant void, and neighborhoods would be isolated from each other. Their success highlights the need to transform the highways along the Seine. The bridges are the great connector; the roads are the great divider.

HALL OF SHAME

Boulevards and Major Intersections

We always thought that a boulevard was a wide, tree-lined street where strolling was a primary activity. Not so! All over Paris these formerly grand avenues have become heavily congested thoroughfares crammed with parked cars. They are a nightmare to walk along, and crossing is a serious adventure. The fear etched in the faces of seniors as they traverse major intersections is profoundly disturbing. In fact, if you were to spend most of your time on the boulevards, you would think Paris’s streets had become parking lots and its sidewalks the domain of motorcycles and scooters. This is a creeping cancer that has profoundly diminished the city’s street life.

L’Etoile

This is one of the most disappointing destinations in Paris. The Arc de Triomphe is spectacular, but the traffic circle around it, L’Etoile, is spectacularly bad: a vast asphalt expanse filled with speeding cars entering and exiting as quickly as possible. Getting across this expanse at street level is out of the question, and the idea of going underground simply to visit an island the size of a postage-stamp surrounded by hectic traffic is not much more appetizing.

Almost every boulevard that emanates from this location is dominated by vehicles, and excessive parking adds to the devastation caused by high-volume traffic. Only Avenue Victor Hugo and Avenue Foch have any interest as places to walk or stroll. As you get further away from the point of origin, each boulevard gradually improves.

The space for vehicles in the circle around L’Arc de Triomphe could be halved–it would actually reduce drivers’ confusion. If this highly recognizable monument could be transformed into a space that belonged to pedestrians as much as cars, it would set a huge precedent for similar spaces in Paris and other cities.

Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde is the worst of all public spaces in Paris because it exists solely to move traffic. This square, the biggest in Paris, is 21 acres large. Calling it the Place de la Concorde (“Square of Peace”) is the height of irony. Its history of slaughter, (over 1100 people were beheaded there and another 133 trampled to death), is recalled by the racing traffic that constantly threatens to run over the substantial flow of pedestrians traveling between the Tuileries and the Champs Elysées. Hopes of walking comfortably from the Louvre, through the Tuileries, to the Champs Elysées are immediately dashed upon encountering this asphalt wasteland.

Nowhere can you find so vast an expanse of vehicle-dominated space that is less necessary than Place de la Concorde. The vehicular space could be reduced by 80% and there would still be a smooth flow of traffic. Instead of an enormous void, this could be the central point in all of Paris — a historic destination, a gateway/transition space, and a great event center. From its vantage point there are fabulous vistas of many noteworthy monuments. More than any other single space in Paris, Place de la Concorde could be transformed from a spectacular failure into a sublime, transcendent urban space.

Place de la Madeleine

Approaching Place de la Madeleine, one is so overwhelmed by traffic that the district’s positive assets, including a wonderful flower market, are all shunted into the background.

Once you get to the steps of La Madeleine, a monumental church constructed in the style of a Greek temple, you can behold the sea of traffic coming toward you from Place de la Concorde and up Rue Royale. If vehicular space was decreased by a quarter and the sidewalks were widened into a boulevard like the Passage de Gracia in Barcelona, the whole experience would be dramatically altered. Combine these changes with similar improvements to the streets emanating outward from Madeleine and the suggestions for Place de la Concorde mentioned above, and you’d completely transform the whole district into a walkable, attractive destination. One suggestion: A pedestrian–oriented connection between Place de l’Opéra and Madeleine could become a much-used link between two of the most recognizable monuments in Paris.

Roads along the Seine

If you try to walk along either side of the Seine, you quickly realize how the wide roads that run parallel to the river detract from what should be the city’s chief asset. The Seine could be the setting for the ultimate promenade or boulevard, an actively programmed pedestrian paradise that provides access to the many destinations located near the river. Some of the city’s main attractions, including the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Musée d’Orsay, would be well-served by a more walkable riverfront. But the way things stand now, only the city’s bridges provide comfortable, direct pedestrian access to the river. Why? Because most of the space along the river itself has been ceded to the automobile.

The roads have become highways within the city: Streetlights phased for high-speed traffic encourage aggressive driving, and vehicles move at too high a speed even for passengers to take in the scenery.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Streetlights could be phased to reduce speed; more pedestrian crosswalks could be added; the number of moving lanes could be reduced to create a better “boulevard effect.”

Most cities now realize the error of bringing highways into the central city, and Paris seems to be coming around too. Each of the last two summers, the city has staged a short, wonderful experiment along the Seine called Paris Plage (Paris Beach). This incredibly innovative program closes off one section of road to create a miniature beach environment by the banks of the river, complete with sand, beach chairs, umbrellas, and games. The same section is also closed on Sundays the rest of the year, but without the intense programming.

These steps are just a small taste of what is really necessary. Taking permanent measures to reclaim the riverfront for pedestrians and transit should be the next bold move for a city that thrives on such gestures to retain its position as the best in the world.

Luxembourg Gardens

The real marvel of Luxembourg Gardens is the extensive variety of ways you can use the park and how these uses complement (or triangulate with) other activities. Kids can take a pony ride, ride a carousel, see a puppet show, or cavort in the playground while adults can converse, observe, drink coffee, or play chess.

We think it is one of the three best parks in the world and if asked to choose the best, we would probably rank it number one. We are enthralled by its seeming ability to self-manage. Each management activity is done independently. Police/security is separate from the garden department, which is separate from the concession department. And the special exhibits seem to be done by a separate group as well. Put it all together, and a magnificent whole emerges that is unparalleled. Every time you visit you come away in awe of some new activity or feature.

An honest indicator of a great space is when you can take a truly unbelievable photograph. This happens to us almost every time we are in Luxembourg Gardens, in every season. On one of our last visits, on a warm day in late May, it was bare feet. Seeing people take off their shoes wonderfully demonstrated the level of comfort they felt using the park.

Despite all its charm, Luxembourg Gardens also embodies the Paris of contrasts. While the “inner park” is spectacular, two sides of the “outer park” are fast roadways, almost like racetracks where the park user–lulled into a peaceful calm–is bombarded by aggressive vehicles upon leaving the park. The traffic dulls secondary uses along the adjacent roadways –- a shame because the right activities in the outer park could effectively integrate the inner park with the buildings that overlook it.

Jardin des Tuileries

The Jardin des Tuileries is in many ways a sister park to Luxembourg Gardens. It has many of the same qualities: major focal points, activities for children, and cafés for everyone.

Unlike Luxembourg Gardens, the Jardin des Tuileries is located between two major tourist destinations (The Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe), and functions mostly as a park for people to stroll through. As they pass from one place to another they also stop to partake in some of the many offerings along the way. The sailboat pond is a big attraction right on the main path that slows the steady flow of “flâneurs.” Nearby are smaller pools of water, sculptures, small cafes, a carousel and plenty of seating. Further from the main flow are large areas that occasionally host events. These areas seem to be perfect settings for fashion shows and other very Parisian activities.

We caution that as a public space, the park should adhere to a public viewing or participation standard for its events. New York’s Bryant Park is on our “Hall of Shame” because it allows exclusive, invitation-only events to take over the entire center of the park. On our recent trips to the Jardin des Tuileries, a large tent structure along the north side of the park has become a setting for similar events. This large area could easily provide a venue for large public exhibitions, events, and playing fields which are sorely lacking in the rest of Paris.

The only drawback to the Jardin des Tuileries is its isolation from nearby places. Once you are there, it is wonderful, but getting there is often a real challenge. Three of the main obstacles are the Place de la Concorde, Quai des Tuileries, and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. The Jardin itself is a world class treasure, but its connections to the rest of the area are deficient.

Palais Royal

Palais Royal is a refuge from the surrounding city, a place for those seeking calm and peacefulness. Some of our best images of children and seniors relaxing in comfort are from this place. One of our favorite pictures depicts a septuagenarian couple hugging with his hand on her knee. The way we see it, this is the highest form of praise for a public space.

This park, actually a giant courtyard, exemplifies the concept of the inner park and the outer park, which emphasizes the importance of edge uses (or the “outer park”) to the success of a park or square. Palais Royal is surrounded by an arcade filled with small stores and restaurants. There are no major streets around it; the next ring of streets beyond the arcade are small and comfortable to walk along.

Its variety of amenities, while seemingly limited, creates a setting ripe for improvisation. For example, many children use the northern part of the park, but amazingly the only thing for them to play with is a sand box. Yet the kids improvise and make their experience much richer than one could ever imagine.

On the southern edge of the park sits a large sculpture area comprised of 280 closely-placed black and white columns of varying height. Although it takes up too much space, it nevertheless has great appeal to those who venture there. Children in particular seem to delight in experimenting with the variety of uses for the different columns.

Place des Vosges

Place des Vosges is another enclosed park surrounded by magnificent rows of arcaded Georgian buildings. It is one of the most comfortable open spaces anywhere. As you approach the park, it remains out of view. Upon seeing it, the park fulfills your every expectation. It is an uncomplicated design, which we think is its best asset. A simple fountain anchors each quadrant; seating is spaced evenly; two simple sandboxes are provided for children; and some trees provide shade. It doesn’t seem like much, but it is incredibly well-used.

Though it is a formal park, it allows informal use. You can be truly surprised when on a very hot June day, you enter the park to find the grass full of people spread out in relaxation and comfort. Most cities don’t want people on their grass, or sometimes even in their parks–not Paris.

Other Great Parks

We will review other parks that deserve to be on this list in the near future. Any thoughts would be welcome. They include:

• Parc Monceau
• Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
• Bois de Vincennes
• Bois de Boulogne

BETTER THAN AVERAGE PARKS

The Seine Riverfront (below the roads)

The areas below the roads that run along the Seine are spotty, but some good places do stand out. From Notre Dame to Jardins des Plantes, there is a marvelous example of a riverfront park. It could be enhanced, but only modestly, with additional activity, exhibits, small festivals, and boat-related uses. It is a favorite hangout for couples and should retain its calm, which draws many people who come to contemplate the flowing water.

Jardin des Plantes

This 74 acre botanical garden is also home to a zoo and a natural history museum. The botanical garden itself is not outstanding, but the neighboring institutions provide a sort of critical mass that generates more use than the garden would on its own. Together, these attractions form a major destination that brings significant benefits to the surrounding neighborhood.

Parc de Bercy

Early in March 2004, we spent a good part of a Sunday afternoon in one of Paris’s newest parks, Parc de Bercy, a quite contemporary park in a fairly isolated part of Paris. We were impressed by the large number of people using the park, something we did not find at Parc Citroen or Parc de la Villette. But while the overall use of the park was quite heavy, when we observed the activity more closely we found many reasons for concern. In well-used parks such as the Jardin des Tuileries, sections of the grid work well because they are open and anchored by active attractions, such as playgrounds or water features. By contrast, the grid in the center of Bercy is separated into “rooms” which receive only modest use. Consequently, the rooms divide the park into sections rather than link it together. If the rooms were more open, and traversed by paths featuring focal points and activities, the entire park would hold together far more effectively and receive even more use.

HALL OF SHAME

Parc de la Villette

Parc de la Villette is only a design. It is not intended for natural, comfortable human interaction: Each activity is sequestered in its own space with little opportunity to triangulate. How did this happen? Is it the designer’s naïveté or a simple lack of interest in making places people can use? Is it not the responsibility of the park designer to plan for the user… to create that wonderful setting where people can gather naturally and be comfortable? As William H. Whyte wrote: “It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.”

This park exemplifies what happens when places are designed with aloofness and “neat, clean, and empty” becomes the design statement. A number of times in both winter and summer, we have compared use in four parks — Citröen, Luxembourg Gardens, Tuileries, and La Villette — all on the same day. We were struck by the enormous difference in use. Luxembourg Gardens and the Tuileries were full, even bursting with activity, while La Villette and Citröen were empty or barely used. What is also interesting is that many people told us to see the great new parks of Paris… La Villette and Citröen. They were all designers. No one not trained in design has ever told us that we should see them.

Parc André Citröen

We are heartbroken when we see Parc André Citröen. It is located on a crucial waterfront site, yet it completely fails the surrounding residential neighborhood. We visited the park in different seasons to see how it is used, tallying five visits in total. On each occasion, we found it so indifferent to users’ needs that we disliked spending any amount of time there.

The one feature that generates any sustained activity–an array of fountains spurting from a flat, paved surface–has a sign warning children not to play there. The sign is a fitting embodiment of the park’s overriding message: “Look, but don’t touch.”

The entire periphery of the park is a series of fussy little design vignettes that fail to accommodate people’s normal uses, such as sitting in groups, touching water, or even just watching other people. Various theme gardens, follies, and grade-separated paths restrict the user experience to one monotonous act–looking at objects.

It is very troubling to measure any part of Parc André Citröen against similar parks. The entrances, playgrounds, seating, and activity areas are complete failures compared to Paris’s better parks. Two of its features have some potential — the major water feature and the lawn — but currently they lack even the most basic supporting amenities, such as seating or picnic tables.

We never suggest that a park be torn up and redone, but we make an exception for this one. We are sure that this park is enormously expensive to maintain. In the long-run, replacing its fussiness in favor of simpler, usable spaces would be a cost-effective way to turn Parc André Citröen into the urban oasis it ought to be.

Erosion of Small Neighborhood Spaces

The small park spaces that are so vital to each neighborhood are in many ways the most valuable, because local residents use them on a daily basis. But many of these spaces are changing, piece by piece, for the worse. At Place Maubert, for instance, one of its three benches was removed to make way for a shortcut between two adjacent roadways (see before and after, right).

This seemingly little decision–to move a bit of traffic from Quai de la Tournelle, along the Seine, to Boulevard Saint Germain–is a subtle erosion of micro-communities, restricting people’s freedom to gather where they wish at this key location. It represents a pattern that Paris cannot sustain in the long term if it wishes to preserve its fabled neighborhoods.

The desire for great monuments is very healthy and exciting, and Paris is indeed the “Capital of the World” when it comes to them. They are all over the city — at least 30 in total — including the Eiffel Tower, Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, Notre-Dame, Palais du Luxembourg, and some of the bridges that cross the Seine. These monuments are in exceptional settings and combine to create what we think is the foremost concentration of great public buildings and public spaces in the world.

Notre Dame, Paris's most iconic monument, has a mutually supportive relationship with its surrounding uses that exemplifies the ability of public buildings to act as civic anchors.

The monuments mentioned are only the most obvious examples of the great architecture that gives Paris much of its well-deserved reputation. They are major draws for visitors and citizens alike, timeless icons that are surrounded by complementary uses such as parks, markets, hotels, restaurants, museums and other attractions. This is triangulation writ large, and it brings enormous public and financial benefits to the city. The interplay between these monuments and their immediate surroundings forms a lesson that most recent iconic designs have yet to absorb: It takes more than architecture alone to bring people together.

Yet on the poor end of the spectrum, Paris is also well-represented. The Bibliothèque Nationale, Opéra Bastille, and Tour Montparnasse represent some of the worst public building and public space combinations we’ve come across.

The Bibliotheque Nationale and its raised, windswept plaza add little life to the surrounding area.

Paris also has more than its share of great monuments mired in abysmal, traffic-dominated settings, including the Arc de Triomphe, Panthéon, Opéra Garnier, and Place de la Madeleine. With improved pedestrian access and surrounding amenities, these monuments could become much more vital assets to their surrounding neighborhoods. It is staggering to think how superb Paris’s collection of monuments could be if the opportunities inherent in these underperforming spaces were tapped.

The Arc de Triomphe is currently a remote island stranded in a sea of asphalt, but it could be transformed into a world-class civic space.

]]> http://www.pps.org/blog/critical-issues-buildings/feed/ 0 http://www.pps.org/blog/critical-issues-parks/ http://www.pps.org/blog/critical-issues-parks/#comments Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000 Project for Public Spaces Overall, Paris probably has the best parks of any city in the world. There are a great number of different types and sizes of parks, located in neighborhoods throughout the city. But their success is not simply a matter of variety or quantity, and not all parks are well-used. The real question is: “Why are some parks in Paris so popular, while others are not?”

The Jardin des Tuileries, one of the most well-used parks in Paris, engages people with activities like this sailboat pond.

To formulate an answer to this question, we decided to record the uses and activities in several different types of parks, both old and new, during the course of a week with good weather. We found that while some parks, such as Luxembourg Gardens and the Jardin des Tuileries, are very heavily used by a wide variety of people for a range of activities, parks like André Citröen and La Villette have homogeneous sets of users who do not engage in many types of activities.

Of course, centrally-located parks outdraw more remote places, but that is only part of the story. In fact, the well-used parks are often less accessible to pedestrians, with fewer points of entry or more highly trafficked exterior roads than the less popular parks. And parks such as Luxembourg Gardens and Place des Vosges thrive though they are not adjacent to any major tourist attractions. Clearly, then, it is not just geographical circumstance that makes some parks more popular than others; people make a greater effort to visit certain places. Why?

If you look at many of Paris’s parks in plan, both good and bad tend to consist of an underlying grid that is used to lay out various paths (exceptions include Parc Montsouris and Parc Buttes Chaumont, which have more naturalistic contours), so the difference in use is not solely a matter of layout or design either. In the busy parks, sections of the grid are filled in with programmatic attractions or uses: This is one of the keys to success. As mentioned earlier, Luxembourg Gardens is packed with such activities. But in Parc Citröen, the grid is instead filled with physical elements–”rooms” defined very specifically by walls, hedges, or grade separations–in which activity is supposed to occur but with no specific program to draw people there. In fact, the rigidity of these rooms limits the way people can use them, discouraging any sustained activity.

Activities placed within the grid can knit a park together, like this café situated by an allée of trees in Luxembourg Gardens.

Walls and grade separations in Parc André Citröen deter sustained activity.

This brings us to another crucial difference between parks: the quality of amenities. The well-used parks feature amenities that encourage interaction–movable chairs, playful sculptures, and touchable water features. The Jardin des Tuileries, for instance, has all these elements in abundance, with small cafés to boot. By contrast, Parc de la Villette is saddled with rigid, awkward public seating, and its sculpture is more intimidating than inviting. After the user’s initial encounter with such poor amenities, he or she will seldom return.

Seating at La Villette is inflexible and forces people into awkward positions.

The failure of parks like Citröen and La Villette is part of a very alarming trend that is taking hold in cities trying to achieve excellence in architecture and public space. Many of the city’s new public spaces seem to be narrowly focused on “design as art,” and these designs do not create places that measure up to the standards of the past. In fact, much of public space design today has become object-oriented and out of touch with creating comfortable places that allow people to express themselves fully. One reason may be that most new public spaces seem to have the singular goal of highlighting the identity of the designer rather than human use and comfort.

Hotel de Ville

We are always wonderfully surprised by what we find happening in front of the Hotel de Ville, Paris’s city hall. No other city hall plaza comes close to this one. We think it is a model for cities around the world. Each time we go there, we come away with a new respect for the Mayor and what he is doing to show off his great city. The last three times we have visited, it has been full of activity that draws on the unique qualities and assets of the larger Paris community.

The first time there was a skating rink on the plaza where anyone could skate for free (though people had to pay to rent skates). Next time we found an exposition of organizations that represented cultures all over the world. And the last time we found a beach with lounge chairs and umbrellas, where parents relaxed while children played ball on the sand surface. It was wonderfully innovative. Most cities would be afraid of who would use the chairs and never try it. Paris and its mayor thought about the possibilities and then did it.

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower’s best effect is that it radiates out over both sides of the Seine for quite a distance. With no skyscrapers in central Paris (except the dreadful Tour Montparnasse), the Tower is a kind of compass, a landmark that is identifiable from almost any neighborhood in the city. Not only is it a great icon, but it is also an intensely active space at the base, on the Tower itself, and in the parks and streets that surround it. Catching a glimpse of the Tower from afar is a thrill, but its influence on the immediate surroundings is just as impressive.

Notre Dame

Perhaps no iconic building in any major city receives more attention than this spectacular cathedral. As fascinating and detailed as it may be, Notre Dame derives its awe-inspiring presence from a setting that few other buildings can match. Many visitors view the cathedral from the Place du Parvis Notre-Dame, a plaza located in front of the building’s façade. But you are more likely to encounter Notre Dame from one of the many vantage points along the Seine that afford breath-taking views of its flying buttresses. Located on the eastern tip of Ile-de-la-Cité, one of the two small islands in the center of Paris, the cathedral appears to rise from the Seine like an ancient formation of sculpted rock. It is one of the most unforgettable urban vistas you will ever encounter.

The pleasures of Notre Dame don’t stop with the view. It also offers little flourishes like small parks and gardens, along with a playground for children. Playing or strolling in the presence of this landmark is a rare experience that many lucky Parisians enjoy daily and no visitor can afford to miss.

Musée d’Orsay

The Musée d’Orsay displays mostly 19th century art, bridging the collections of Paris’s two other premier art museums, the Louvre and the Pompidou. Formerly a railroad station and hotel, it is also a public building of the highest order and a prime example of adaptive reuse.

The majestic, light-filled nave of the old station now serves as the museum’s central space. Preserved elements, such as the enormous station clock, contrast engagingly with the new ramps, catwalks, and partitions. Smaller galleries branch out from this main area, forming a periphery of more intimate spaces. Together with the plentiful seating, this layout enables visitors to linger and explore freely, unlike linear museums in which you proceed from gallery to gallery. (Although main attractions like Cézanne and Van Gogh are housed in more traditionally sequenced rooms.)

In addition to the galleries, the museum restaurant and café make particularly innovative use of adapted spaces. The museum’s only drawback is its remoteness from the rest of the city; it is isolated by a surrounding set of lifeless roads and an excessively aggressive section of the highway along the Seine (Quai Anatole France).

Retail Buildings

The city’s monuments, parks, and cultural attractions may have a higher profile, but Paris’s retail buildings are the unheralded asset that helps weave the city together. Despite the over-trafficked streets that severely diminish the experience of walking along the main boulevards, the amazing storefronts of Paris are the best in the world. As you walk along the great shopping streets, you become transfixed. Observe closely, and you can tell how numerous storefronts have adapted over time. Sometimes it is a carefully placed sign, a well-lit window display, or a small outdoor amenity that is in the perfect place for passersby to stop and notice at the right moment. These little touches set the rhythm for the choreography of the street. All the great streets in Paris share this attention to detail.

WORSE THAN AVERAGE

Musée du Louvre/Jardin du Carrousel

Many people consider the Louvre to be the best museum in the world, and that may be true if you only consider the collection. As a public environment, it could use some improvement.

Without exception, the streets that surround the museum are uninviting and devoid of attractions. The new park just north of the museum’s entrance, the Jardin du Carrousel, is a disappointing link to the Tuileries. Designed to function as a promenade connecting the two spaces, the Jardin might as well be a void for all the attention people pay to it. Simply enlivening the park with supporting uses related to the area’s history of art could make it a promenade as renowned as the museum nearby. Currently it is a waste of valuable land.

Similarly, the central courtyard that surrounds I. M. Pei’s entranceway could support much more varied activity. As is, the courtyard feels dull and one-dimensional when you use it. But there is nothing inherent in the design of the famous pyramids that discourages activity; in fact, it is a space waiting to come alive. It could be one of the world’s great squares, with art of all kinds displayed as exhibits, markets of juried art, performances and shows that draw from Parisian venues, or food from various regions of France. Compared to the variety of activity offered in the nearby Tuileries, the Louvre’s main entranceway comes up short. The greatest art collection in the world deserves better.

Paris has great parks, but no great squares. The Louvre, together with the Place de la Concorde and l’Etoile (the traffic circle around l’Arc de Triomphe), is one of a trio of major opportunities to create such a square, just waiting to be seized.

HALL OF SHAME

Bibliothèque Nationale

An epic exercise in hubris, this library became instantly notorious for storage areas that didn’t protect books from sunlight and high-tech retrieval systems that frustrated even the most patient patrons. Functional problems aside, it is even worse as a public space.

Merely entering the building is a chore: There is no natural entranceway or gathering place to meet someone before going in. The windswept central platform and the stairs that lead up to it serve no apparent function; they merely obscure the purpose of the building. If you can find the entrance ramp without being blown over by the hurricane-force gales generated between the library’s towers, you’ll be dwarfed by its walls, which are seemingly designed to humiliate each user that enters and leaves the complex.

The “park,” a sunken garden located in the center of the structure, is completely inaccessible for no apparent reason, and the interior of the building is a mishmash of corridors and spaces that are likely to confuse anyone trying to use the facility. A true disaster!

Forum des Halles

Forum des Halles derives its name from the historic market structures (Les Halles, affectionately remembered as “the stomach of Paris”) that were demolished to make way for the nearby Centre Pompidou. It is hard to imagine a space more dissimilar from its namesake. Forum des Halles is essentially a subterranean mall; it completely disorients you from the real city on the surface. To experience a city is to be aware of one place merging into the next, to encounter a staggering variety of stimuli continually flowing all around you. But traversing Forum des Halles is a deadening experience; every time through we have been gripped by the urge to leave as quickly as possible. It is covered aboveground by a park that no one ever seems to visit, consisting of a fussy, unconnected set of elements. We encountered the ultimate sign of a failed space at one of the entranceways, where we found some of the most overt drug-dealing we have ever witnessed in Paris.

The most important indicator of a successful, livable city is the comfort of children, women, and seniors. During our last few visits to Paris we specifically looked at how women used the city’s public spaces. Our research has shown that good public spaces always draw a high proportion of women, because women are more selective about the spaces they use. They choose to be in places where they are comfortable, and they avoid spaces where they are not. We found that Paris excels in the number of places where women are predominant. As we went from public space to public space, we saw women exhibit confidence, security, and–in a few unforgettable examples–extreme conviction.

The key to comfortable public spaces is the presence of a range of amenities that support human use. In Paris, the most prominent amenity is the movable chair, which is present in nearly every park and of course in every café. Movable chairs allow people to choose where and with whom they want to sit, giving them a sense of freedom. People feel more at ease in places that give them such choices, and they will choose to use those places again and again.


Paris is also the city of cafés, which are an amenity unto themselves. You’ll find cafés of all kinds in all places–parks, wide boulevards, or tiny pathways. They provide something that is fundamental to Parisian culture–the opportunity to sit outside and watch the passing scene. And Parisians do it all year around. The café embodies the Parisian attitude toward comfort in public space, as well as the sophisticated management strategies that make comfort possible. A particular café in the Jardin de Tuileries illustrates this concept perfectly. The cafe is designed to be comfortable during cold weather, and it expands in the warmer months to accommodate well over 200 people outdoors. A garden, sculpture, and pond provide the backdrop for the café ensemble.

Another indicator of livability is the abundance of “triangulation,” a term we use to describe the way layered, complementary uses create a convergence of activity in public spaces. Paris’s Luxembourg Gardens provides the foremost example of triangulation in practice. The range of activities is so broad that people can easily spend an entire day there–at least. Movable seating “triangulates” with a central pool and small sailboats to create a very full experience in one area of the park. In another area, the combination of a puppet theatre, carousel, café, bocce court, and basketball court around a children’s play area makes a very exciting destination for all ages.

Bocce, which the French call “boules” or “petanque,” provides a spectacle for bystanders, as do the tennis and chess players. There are quiet pleasures such as sunbathing, admiring the espalier apple and pear garden, reading and eating. Indeed, there is something for every age and background. A high level of security personnel (the gardens are located on the grounds of the French Senate), and a high fence with gates that close at dark, keep it a safe and well-maintained haven within a densely populated area.

The triangulation integral to the best public spaces in Paris has resulted in a richness of experience that people have come to expect both as residents and as visitors. And without this richness, Paris would definitely not be the city of lovers.

We call this the “art of the path” — the way a sidewalk or park trail engages your attention, making it an asset to the surrounding environment. Small gaps along a path can be brushed by as a walker moves on, but larger interruptions by the wrong use — a long blank wall or a loading dock — can ruin a whole blockfront. Many of Paris’s streets respect the art of the path, thanks largely to the consistent excellence of street-level retail architecture, but this quality is diminished by the increasingly oppressive presence of traffic.

For Paris to survive as a livable city, sanity must be restored to traffic management along main thoroughfares and around major focal points.

Unfortunately, Paris is becoming a collection of destinations without accommodating the ability of people to get from one place to another. The current preference for automobiles has resulted in a lack of pedestrian-friendly connections between destinations. The walkable Paris is threatened by excessively fast vehicle traffic on the roads along the Seine, traffic-dominated focal points such as Place de la Concorde, and the conversion of historically significant boulevards into giant parking lots for cars. (One major exception has been the removal of parking from the Champs Elysées, and the broadening of newly paved sidewalks.)

This single-minded mission to maintain traffic flow, maximize roadway space, and accommodate legal and illegal parking wherever possible detracts enormously from the pedestrian experience. Public spaces have been separated from one another to such a degree that people often need to travel by Metro for short distances rather than walk along the surface. This detracts from the wonderful experience of discovering things while walking from place to place, and leaves many streets and neighborhoods unseen.

In Place de la Concorde, automobiles take precedent over pedestrians.

For Paris to survive as a livable city in the long term, sanity must be restored to the traffic management along main thoroughfares and around major focal points. Other cities have made progress in this area. In London, a “congestion pricing area” demarcated last year has already resulted in a 36% decrease in private transport within its boundaries. This decision has made London a city where people can once again ride a bus that won’t be bogged down in traffic. Not only that, but people can also shop or stroll along thoroughfares like Oxford Street without the overwhelming intrusion of vehicles. By examining the results of recent steps taken in London and other cities, such as Zurich, Copenhagen, Curitiba, and Bogota, we learn what a city can achieve when the negative impacts of the automobile are mitigated.

The presence of vehicles on Paris sidewalks infringes on human life and ultimately eats away the soul of the city.

In spite of these recent examples, to get from destination to destination along the major thoroughfares in Paris can be a miserable experience. Walking between the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay and from the Tuileries to the Champs-Elysées are dangerous exercises. It is also unpleasant to cross the streets to reach many of the city’s major destinations. For example, before entering one of the world’s greatest parks, Luxembourg Gardens, one encounters frenetic traffic on two of the four roadways that surround it. The park is a gem gleaming across the street, but the chaotic roadway is a major barrier, separating the park from the neighborhood around it –- what we call “the outer park.” The result is that the adjacent neighborhood is not a natural extension of the park, and vice versa. (A mitigating factor is that there are entrances on all sides of the park, six in total.)

Taking a bus in Paris can also be a frustrating experience. Along some of the city’s major streets you can walk faster than the bus chugging along next to you. While the addition of special bus lanes to streets such as Rue de Rivoli has helped to some degree, every driver seems to think they can use these lanes as well.

The bus stops in Paris are top-notch, but the buses themselves get bogged down in city traffic.

While the larger streets and boulevards dominate the city with their fast-moving traffic, the small streets have become a refuge. In fact, sometimes it seems that tourists populate and actually take over the smaller streets to the detriment of local residents. This is especially true where all traffic has been removed to form pedestrian-only zones. In fact, the effect of these zones, except when they are for street markets such as Buci and Mouffetard, has been to cheapen the area, attracting loiterers and driving away residents.

To witness a city such as Paris surrender itself piece by piece to the supposed needs of the automobile is unspeakably tragic.

The danger in this situation is that the small streets no longer serve as reservoirs of neighborhood shops for local residents. These streets are so overwhelmed with stores for tourists they leave residents no alternative but to walk the busier, more uncomfortable streets with their less personal shopping experience. A tell-tale sign is evident in the numerous Paris “walking” guides. These books show very few walks along or through the traffic-dominated areas of the city. On a broader level, this phenomenon illustrates how the vehicle has eroded the sense of identity we derive from our neighborhoods.

Since many of Paris’s boulevards and squares have fallen victim to excessive vehicular use, the city’s sidewalks should provide sanctuary for pedestrians… But do they? Sadly, the answer is “No.” Increasingly, pedestrians find themselves competing for sidewalk space with parked cars, motorcycles, and scooters. A common scenario: You’re standing on a corner waiting to cross the street when suddenly a throttling motorcycle pulls up beside you, ready to disembark from the sidewalk where it has been illegally parked.

The city's street life is diminished by allowing vehicles to occupy space once reserved for pedestrians.

Jane Jacobs described the erosion of cities by automobiles as “a kind of nibbling, small nibbles at first, but eventually hefty bites.” The presence of vehicles on Paris sidewalks is a prime example of “nibbling” in action. It infringes on human life and ultimately eats away the soul of the city. To fully grasp the consequences, you need only watch the city’s children and elderly people navigate their neighborhoods with fear, denied their comfort by the ubiquity of vehicles.

To witness a city such as Paris surrender itself piece by piece to the supposed needs of the automobile is unspeakably tragic. Paris will always be great, but if it is to retain its unique station as the urban ideal to which other cities aspire, it needs to begin recognizing the small opportunities to preserve and create spaces that allow comfortable, natural human activity.

“Paris in many ways sets the standard for just how pleasurable urban life can be,” says Fred Kent, president of PPS and a long-time explorer of Paris. “These are the places we’ve found over many visits where you can join in the wonderful life of this amazing city–relaxing in sidewalk cafés, strolling beautiful boulevards, soaking up the cultural richness.”

Project for Public Spaces has honed a unique technique for identifying the best public places in the course of its 30 years of work in 14 countries and over 1000 communities. The New York-based research organization builds upon the insights of pioneering urbanist William H. Whyte, in evaluating the ways places are actually used by people–not just how they look. In addition to highlighting great spots to visit, PPS helps communities around the world improve their public spaces.

After pounding the Parisian pavement for more than 100 days over a number of visits in different seasons, Fred Kent and PPS Vice President Kathy Madden identified dozens of public spaces where people truly enjoy spending time’the most important measure of any great place. That list was refined even further until only the very best remained, the kind that stirs your soul and induces a swirl of euphoria as only the very best public spaces can. Here is la crème de la crème, the 10 Must-See Places of Paris:

10. Place des Vosges
Place des Vosges is the classic “urban oasis,” tucked away among the narrow streets of the Marais. Walk there on a hot June day, and behold the lawn full of people spread out in blissful relaxation as the square opens up before you. Exactly what is it about Place des Vosges that makes you want to take off your shoes and feel the grass between your toes? In a word: simplicity. The square’s uncomplicated layout–four quadrants anchored by fountains, with plenty of benches, grass, and shady trees–lets you feel at ease from the moment you enter. When you’ve had your fill of leisurely repose, the arcades surrounding the square beckon, brimming with shops and cafés.

9. Hotel de Ville
If you’re accustomed to the staid, strictly-business aura of American municipal buildings, you’d never guess that the Hotel de Ville is Paris’s city hall. That’s because the square in front of this building is packed all year round with Parisians who’ve come to enjoy the latest attraction. In the winter, it’s an ice-rink. In the summer, a sandy “beach” where kids play soccer and volleyball. In between, all manner of festivals and expositions appear: cultural exhibits, organic food fairs–you name it. Go to the Hotel de Ville on a peak day, and you’ll never look at your city hall the same way again.

8. Rue de Buci
A compact thoroughfare filled chockablock with wonderful uses, Rue de Buci is as lively a street as you can imagine. Produce stands and flower stalls, cafés and street markets, all combine to make an agglomeration of activity more intense than any outside of the bazaars and souks of the Middle East and Asia. There’s always a lot of passion on display as the street merchants, performers, and even pedestrians compete aggressively for attention.

7. Rue St. Louis en l’Ile
Start out at the western end of Rue St. Louis en l’Ile and take in one of the city’s most breathtaking vistas: the spires and buttresses of Notre Dame, rising from the Seine like an ancient formation of sculpted rock. Turn around and you can see all the way to the end of the street, which is actually the “main drag” on the smaller of the two islands at the center of Paris, Ile Saint-Louis. Though the island is inhabited by a privileged few, Rue St. Louis en l’Ile is filled with all types, drawn to its romantic 17th and 18th century architecture and the scores of tiny attraction that line its sidewalks. There are so many enticements vying for you interest, chief among them the legendary Berthillon ice cream shop, that you cannot absorb them all in one visit.

6. Notre Dame
Most tourists gawk at the flying buttresses, tour the nave, and move on, but the real pleasure of Notre Dame reveals itself slowly, as you discover the little flourishes that surround it. Take your time exploring the small parks, gardens, and playgrounds that the cathedral supports. These are the places that Parisians enjoy on a daily basis, playing and strolling with one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks as their backdrop. The interplay between Notre Dame and its immediate surroundings forms a lesson that most recent iconic designs have yet to absorb: It takes more than architecture alone to bring people together.

5. Rue des Rosiers
Rue des Rosiers has been the main artery of Paris’s Jewish quarter since the Middle Ages. The sense of tradition is palpable: Shops housed in 17th century buildings promote themselves in Yiddish and Hebrew, and excellent kosher foods and specialty items tempt you from behind their windows. Though the area’s cultural heritage is threatened by the encroachment of trendy commercial ventures, there is every reason to believe it will remain a vital ethnic enclave. The area’s longtime Ashkenazi residents, refugees from 19th century pogroms in Eastern Europe, now share the street with Sephardic Jews, more recent immigrants from North Africa. This population shift is an encouraging reminder of how places like Rue des Rosiers help new arrivals adjust to the city, and vice versa.

4. Tuileries Garden
The Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe have more name recognition, but the Tuileries Garden, which lies between the two, is where you’ll find the real action. A boulevard without buildings, the Tuileries is the quintessential promenade. Join the stream of flâneurs and immerse yourself in the pleasures of strolling at its finest. As with all great places, the Tuileries must be savored to experience it fully. Take some time away from the main path, because the periphery is filled with fountains, sculptures, lovely outdoor cafés, and hundreds of movable chairs filled with Parisians enjoying the procession of boulevardiers.

3. Rue Mouffetard
Rue Mouffetard is the gold standard for commercial streets. The merchants who crowd its crooked contours have elevated street displays to an art form. But the true thrill is watching people as they engage in the ritual of shopping for their daily needs. Observe closely over time, and you’ll see how many of the customers stay loyal to their familiar vendors, yet also engage in frequent chance encounters. It is a world unto itself, street theater at its best.

2. Paris Plage
To see Paris Plage is to be in awe of its ingenuity: It transforms two miles of the city’s busiest roadway (The Georges Pompidou Expressway) into a lush riverfront beach, complete with sand, palm trees, deck chairs, hammocks, and big, shady umbrellas. On top of the remarkable way the space has been reclaimed for pedestrians, Paris Plage is intricately laced with activities ranging from writers’ workshops to children’s sports. Though temporary (it is only set up for parts of July and August), it offers a richness of experience equal to that of the most well-established and highly evolved public spaces.

1. Luxembourg Gardens
When you think of the world’s great parks, this gem leaps to the top of the list. The layers of human activity pulsing within its 60 acres are seemingly infinite. Here you will find lifelong friends chatting over espresso, solitary readers absorbed in their books, lovers in full embrace, families out for a picnic. There are no interior boundaries, just overlapping spheres of use anchored by popular attractions: a carousel, a puppet theater, a sailboat pond–even a beekeeping school. No matter how many times you visit, each encounter is invigorating, an everyday celebration of urban life made all the more glorious by the knowledge that you are surrounded by people who feel a similar sense of wonder.

Don’t miss the full report on Paris’s best (and worst) places.

We hope that Paris corrects its large-scale transgressions and turns to its diverse neighborhoods for direction.

When places are designed using the typical top-down, project-driven process, bland similarity is one of the unfortunate consequences. The alternative approach begins at the neighborhood scale by involving local residents in the decision-making process and programming public spaces in a way that fosters local entrepreneurship (with a market or vending program, for instance). Such a community-driven design process frees a city from the homogenizing effect of plans imposed from above, allowing it to grow organically, place by place, neighborhood by neighborhood. We hope that Paris corrects its large-scale transgressions and turns to its diverse neighborhoods for direction. We think that this is the only way forward if Paris is to remain truly dynamic and vital in the world arena.

Fortunately, key decision makers seem to have acknowledged, and responded to, the need to change direction. The current Mayor of Paris has instituted some very progressive activities on the “front porch” of city hall, and has closed traffic on the roads along the Seine for the summer event “Paris Plage.” The bus system has been greatly improved, with new maps at bus shelters that identify special destinations along the route. Preference is given to public transit on some roadways; space has been reclaimed for pedestrians in certain areas; and the city council is now considering a proposal to ban SUVs. These steps suggest that City Hall understands that public spaces are first and foremost for sociable, human use. If decision-makers apply this understanding consistently and well, beginning at the smallest scale, it will build cumulatively to a better city.

Paris Plage: An extraordinary example of what Paris could become.

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