Contenu du sommaire : Les périurbains de Paris

In the light of the analyses produced in this issue of Villes en Parallèle , one might reflect on three questions brought up by the diffusion of urbanization in the peripheral areas of Paris. Is diffused sub-urbanization henceforth a thing of the past ? Because there has been a slow-down in demographic dynamism and in that of urbanized land consumption in the outskirts as well as renewal of city centres, it would be a mistake to ignore the present and simultaneous existence of two urbanization fronts : the continuation of outward movement and the reconquest of the inner suburbs. Has diffused sub-urbanization contributed to giving the peripheral areas a middle class outlook ? In an area both district and Capital, which accentuated the shifting of French social classes diffused sub-urbanization has just barely maintained a middle-class equilibrium, eliminating the richest and the poorest. Finally, has sub-urbanization created a new urbanity ? Socially and economically these neo-city dwellers are closer to the Provinces than to Paris, which, however gives them their legitimacy.

Urban development in peripheral areas in the Ile-de-France between 1975 and 1982 touched almost all of the communities in the region. The influx of new residents definitely changed the population structure in the outlying suburbs. One could see a rejuvenation of the population and a relative trend towards a «middle-class outlock». If the distance to the center of the Paris area is to be taken into account in the selection of the socio-professional categories -the outlying areas accomodating proportionally more executives than workers -the division into sectors is what shows up most clearly. The outlying western and southwestern areas are more «middle-class», as are, in the Greater Paris area, the Hauts-de-Seine and the western part of the city of Paris itself.

Between 1975 and 1982 population migration into the outer suburbs occupied a modest place, if one compares it to the migration recorded within the Greater Paris area : 80 % of the area's migrants who left their communities moved to another community in the area, and only 10 % moved to outlying areas. The socio-professional categories of executives and members of the intermediate professions are over-represented among the immigrants into the outer suburbs, even if the total numbers of workers and employees are also quite positive. Thus, unlike what occurs in the center of the metropolitan area, there is no increase in the proportion of well-to-do classes brought about by the «expulsion» of the more modest classes.

This article gives a general appraisal of peripheral urban development in the Ile-de-France between 1968 and 1982, taking up the demographic and socio-professional aspects of migratory movements. In the outer suburbs, the outward movement from the Greater Paris area represented, between 1975 and 1982, three-fourths of the migration into Paris and less than half of the migration out of it. The outer suburbs, furthermore, are very much in the minority where emigration out of the Paris area is concerned. The well-to-do social classes are clearly over-represented in the waves of immigrants moving into the peripheral areas (executives and professional people -in both the liberal and intermediate professions). But the balance of arrivals and departures in each social category between 1968 and 1982 shows that the urban outward movement was not sufficient to bring the outer suburbs into line with the socioprofessional structure of Greater Paris. These suburbs remain more working-class, with employees underrepresented and a growing under-representation of executives.

At the outer edges of the heavily populated Greater Paris area, there are still a few bits of the old market garden belt, protected by ZADs (Zones d'Aménagement Différé = deferred development zones). The Montesson plain (Yvelines) is one of these agricultural areas, hemmed in by the grouth of the outlying suburbs. Over the past decades, it has been the object of numerous development projects, but none of them have been carried out. At the present time, the Montesson plain, which is very close to the La Défense business district, is greatly coveted by developers, while at the same time, State projects and those of local groups are in conflicts with each other.