In France the melody played backwards. Housing blocks, which I've read were also praised by communists there, started as little paradises. Not too disconnected, out of the box parks, daily shops (groceries, hair, ..), some tiny lakes, sport fields even some times.
Fast forward decades, many of them became ruins and barely liveable places (for tons of different factors).
Now they've been a thorn in France's shoe, some neighborhood have been recently deeply remodeled. A good 50% of blocks, towers and bars have been destroyed and replaced by smaller blocks. The difference in scale makes the place liveable. I couldn't believe the impact on the city.. Having smaller heights and tinier blocks instead of prison like huge and dense structures brings back life and peace.
Previously there were renovation plans but they just fixed breakage and applied a new layer of paint. These would quickly become dirty, with graffitis back soon too. But the new blocks are still clean after 2 years.
My feeling is now that housing projects were a necessary error of the post war era; but they're far from optimal for a sense of good life.
Meaning the poorest just ran away from the place, and a new wealthier population is now living here, explaining why the new buildings are still "clean" ?
Well, something had to change, and I doubt it was the effect delta from high rise aesthetic. We all probably seen plenty of run down, broken glass and graffiti yet low-rise neighbourhoods.
What often happens with projects in Europe is as metropolitan areas expand, the then-outskirts where the blocks originally were become attractive located land. Not sure the mechanics of this in France though, but could be the same dynamics.
> That said the population didn't change much, still cosmopolitan, 3rd gen of immigrants from Africa (north or west).
I don't think ethnic composition matters as much as income bracket. Middle class people tend to have both means and priority to care after their property.
Fast forward decades, many of them became ruins and barely liveable places (for tons of different factors).
Now they've been a thorn in France's shoe, some neighborhood have been recently deeply remodeled. A good 50% of blocks, towers and bars have been destroyed and replaced by smaller blocks. The difference in scale makes the place liveable. I couldn't believe the impact on the city.. Having smaller heights and tinier blocks instead of prison like huge and dense structures brings back life and peace.
Previously there were renovation plans but they just fixed breakage and applied a new layer of paint. These would quickly become dirty, with graffitis back soon too. But the new blocks are still clean after 2 years.
My feeling is now that housing projects were a necessary error of the post war era; but they're far from optimal for a sense of good life.