Immigrants and Redevelopment Plans in Paris, France: Urban Planning, Equity, and Environmental Justice

In France, as in many Western democratic countries, immigration has become politically and emotionally charged, challenging democratic principles and institutions by evoking racist and exclusionary policies. This article uses a broad definition of environmental justice-to include the intersection between who lives where and the local environmental conditions such as access to jobs, decent housing, and heathful adjacent land uses-to examine a neighborhood in Paris undergoing transformation. It examines urban redevelopment in the context of environmental justice and the growing crisis in Western democratic systems in places with high numbers of immigrants.