{"product_id":"the-zone-an-alternative-history-of-paris-9781804294048","title":"The Zone: An Alternative History of Paris","description":"\u003cb\u003eAN OUTSIDER'S GUIDE TO MODERN PARIS\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Zone\u003c\/i\u003e, Justinien Tribillon takes the reader on a tour of an eponymous Parisian hinterland. The site of dreams and nightmares, from Van Gogh's paintings to the cinematic violence of \u003ci\u003eLa Haine\u003c\/i\u003e, the Zone, so often misun- derstood, is the key to understanding today's Paris, and even France itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOriginally the site of defensive walls, alongside which mushroomed makeshift housing, allotments, and dancehalls in the nineteenth century, the Zone has performed many functions and been a place of contention for two centuries. Dismantled in the 1920s, the fortifications were first replaced with gardens, stadia and homes. After the war came the Boulevard P?riph?rique, a ring road promising seamless travel in a futuristic car-centric Paris. With the ring road came new dreams of modernity in reinvented suburbs: new towns, high-rise architecture and social housing built at record speed. Yesterday's Paris made way for tomorrow's banlieue. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut the metropolitan dream was never realised. The Zone became a symbol of division: between inner and outer cities; between the bourgeois centre and the working-class immigrant outskirts; between 'us' and 'them'. The Zone, both a physical space and a powerful myth, came to crystallise the social, spatial and ethno-racial differences between Paris and the banlieue. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Zone\u003c\/i\u003e is a brilliant anatomy of the true heart of Paris. An essential book for urbanists and historians.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJustinien Tribillon\u003c\/b\u003e is an urbanist, writer and editor. He co-founded, edited and published \u003ci\u003eMigrant\u003c\/i\u003e Journal (2016-2019), and \u003ci\u003eVisible upon breakdown: Exploring the cultural, political and spatial nature of infrastructure\u003c\/i\u003e (2024, Spector Books). He has also contributed to \u003ci\u003eFlaneur\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Architectural Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMONU\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMagnum \u003c\/i\u003eamong others. He gained his PhD in urban studies at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. In 2023-2024, he is a fellow at Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50727564280082,"sku":"9781804294048","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0c4c68ed-9340-4eb4-8a3e-11bb44a419a6.jpg?v=1734913582","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-zone-an-alternative-history-of-paris-9781804294048","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}