Scenarios about 'grands ensembles'
Large-scale public housing developments built primarily in France from the 1950s to 1970s to address severe housing shortages and urban growth. These modernist apartment complexes, characterized by high-rise towers and standardized construction, represented the postwar vision of urban planning but later became associated with social segregation and urban decay. In alternate history scenarios, grands ensembles often serve as settings to explore different approaches to social housing, urban development, and the consequences of architectural modernism.
What If Paris Developed Different Suburban Housing Strategies?
Exploring the alternate timeline where post-war Paris rejected massive high-rise housing estates in favor of human-scale urban development, potentially avoiding decades of suburban isolation and social tension.