On the Transforming City
Listen to a conversation about Paris, bikes, the Olympics and more with urbanist Brent Longley
One thing I love about the occasional taxi ride in and around Paris is that it offers an insight into how a slice of the population views the city’s ongoing radical transformation. Without fail, the first run-in with a street newly blocked off to non-residents, or the first cyclist shimmying between cars, or the first traffic jam during a journey elicits audible frustration from drivers that devolves into a string of invectives at Mayor Hidalgo. They rarely say her name, though. The hostility is implied through claims of, “it’s all her fault” or, my favorite, “she has ruined this city,”— as if one person single-handedly altered the face of a major metropolis, and only for the worse.
Despite my love for debate, challenging a driver’s ideas on Hidalgo’s policies as we’re video-game-driving through the city, an already stressful endeavor, isn’t very wise so I tend to keep my opinions to myself. But I listen, I take note, and I immediately relay the tirade with my friend Brent Longley, an urbanist who writes over at The Tryphena Project and fervently supports the mayor’s transformative projects.
With his experience in urban planning and working to bring government projects to life, I knew he’d be the right person to bring on my podcast to discuss the changes Paris has undergone, as well as the reasons the opposition to them is so fierce (well, I think we know why… this study on hostility against women political leaders should really be expanded to include France), and how the Olympics fits into the vision for a more sustainable metropolis.
We recorded the episode from his 18th arrondissement apartment (with the help of our friend
). I hope you’ll take the time to take in our conversation! I know you’ll learn as much from listening as I did from speaking with him.
We live in strange times and things are hotting up. I should say accelerating. Old Ways of thinking,behaving and coercing public acceptance of limits to thought and action are now in place and the general reaction is puzzlement. Or maybe that's just me.
Of course Hidalgo is a lightning rod. I hope she runs for the presidency of the republic. Then again, I don't live in Paris. Perhaps I would feel differently if I did.