Poor Paris suburbs count on Olympic promise
| 脦le-Saint-Denis, France
In the town center of 脦le-Saint-Denis, a new billboard is affixed to the wall of the local library. Kickboxing world champion Mohamed聽Diaby聽looks out with a confident smile聽next to a call to action: 鈥淭ogether, let鈥檚 go beyond our limits. ... The 2024 Olympic Games in Seine-Saint-Denis, we鈥檙e ready!鈥澛犅�
Mr.聽Diaby, who is Franco-Malian, grew up in this Paris suburb and represents the vibrant diversity of 脦le-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest communities in the country. He is also proof of聽the聽sense of聽pride and promise that the Olympics can bring to residents here.
The sprawling region of Seine-Saint-Denis 鈥� which includes 脦le-Saint-Denis, just northeast of Paris 鈥� will host swimming,聽gymnastics, and track and field events, and house the聽15,000 athletes expected at聽the聽Olympic Village.聽 聽
Why We Wrote This
This year鈥檚 Olympic Games will be held in one of France鈥檚 poorest communities. Residents are anxious to believe official promises that 鈥淧aris 2024鈥� will leave them a brighter legacy.
While urban planners are making use of existing infrastructure, they have had to build much of the Olympic landscape from scratch.聽Paris聽Olympics officials say they鈥檙e committed to sustainable development and plan to leave a legacy that will benefit local communities.聽
But such promises have been made聽before聽by other Olympic host cities, and here the changes have not been to everyone鈥檚 taste. Some residents worry about noise and air pollution, or that any new housing will be too expensive for them.
Still,聽local authorities have made a concerted effort to聽involve聽residents聽in the planning process.聽That鈥檚 providing hope that 鈥� unlike after previous Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Athens 鈥� the new infrastructure will be used once the Games have moved on, and that it will create lasting positive change.聽聽
鈥淲hat will the legacy be of this Olympic Games? What do we do afterwards?鈥� asks Martin聽Citarella,聽an聽urban planner for聽the regional Olympics and Sports Committee. 鈥淭he Olympics can鈥檛 act like a magic wand. But our hope is that once it鈥檚 all over, the flame doesn鈥檛 go out.鈥澛� 聽聽
Looking forward first聽
Seine-Saint-Denis聽is no stranger to transformation. Once Europe鈥檚 second-largest industrial hub, the area saw a rapid deindustrialization in the 1970s that turned factories into corporate聽headquarters,聽and a power plant into a film studio complex.聽But it also brought high levels of unemployment among its large working-class population, striking economic inequalities, and crime.
That legacy has created extra challenges for urban planners tasked with preparing the Games: pleasing the Paris Olympics organizing committee while also honoring the area鈥檚 history and meeting the community鈥檚 needs.聽
鈥淭he Olympics are an amazing event,鈥� says Dominique Perrault, whose architecture firm is leading the design of the Olympic Village.聽鈥淏ut for local communities, they are not a response to their needs in and of themselves.鈥�
In the short term, Seine-Saint-Denis聽must聽build the Olympic Village 鈥� a collection of apartment complexes across three neighboring聽suburbs聽鈥� a connecting bridge, and a new aquatics center.
But instead of leading with聽Olympic demands, urban designers used an atypical approach: They focused first on how Seine-Saint-Denis should look after the Games.
In 2017, local entrepreneurs were asked to come up with ideas. Urban planners met with Seine-Saint-Denis聽mayors about their aspirations聽for the Olympic Village, while聽mayors聽held citizen forums and met with nonprofits and parent groups to maximize public participation. The Olympic Village is聽now an expanded version of a project for an eco-village that was already underway.
鈥淲e had envisioned this聽environmentally friendly space聽before Paris was聽even聽selected to host the Olympics,鈥� says聽Mohamed Gnabaly, the mayor of 脦le-Saint-Denis.聽鈥淭he Olympics have聽just聽accelerated that transformation.鈥�
In 2025,聽the village聽will be reconfigured into 2,400 housing units 鈥� with up to 40% of them set aside as public housing 鈥� alongside schools, hotels, and a 5-acre park.聽The Games have also pushed forward construction of聽what will become聽one of the largest metro stations in the region as part of a broader project to extend Ile-de-France鈥檚 regional train network by 120 miles.聽
There is hope that this investment will have knock-on effects, boosting a region bursting with youth and a vibrant startup culture but weighed down by a reputation for crime.
鈥淢ore people are starting to see Seine-Saint-Denis as a young, hip place to be, where there鈥檚 this great urban arts scene,鈥� says Hafida Guebli, a startup founder and advocate for public housing tenants in Saint-Denis. 鈥淚 see these new buildings being put up and lots of good things coming. But we鈥檒l have to see if [local leaders] keep their promises to us.鈥�
Free tickets 鈥� a good start聽
Not everyone is enthusiastic about聽the changes.聽A Seine-Saint-Denis parents鈥� association has expressed concern about the effects of air pollution on schoolchildren, as construction continues. Others say the Olympic Village聽renovations聽don鈥檛 include enough green space.聽
And although the Olympic Village is supposed to provide housing after the Games, some local residents聽worry that聽it won鈥檛聽be affordable.聽In 脦le-Saint-Denis,聽75% of聽the population currently lives聽in state-subsidized homes.聽
鈥淲ho is going to buy [a home] here?鈥� wonders C茅cile聽Gintrac, a Saint-Denis resident who heads up the Vigilance Olympic Games 2024 citizens group. 鈥淲e鈥檙e largely a poor district. I鈥檓 not against new people coming in, but this is only going to increase the gap between rich and poor.鈥澛�
Mr. Gnabaly, the mayor,聽says he wants to focus on selling to families, ensure diversity, and avoid gentrification. But the Olympics will inevitably change the social and economic dynamics of the area, especially as improvements to the subway system make it easier to get there.聽
Within the athletic community, though, there is little doubt about the opportunities the Olympics will bring. The region has a serious lack of sports facilities; soon it will have some of the best in the world.聽And venues聽like the new aquatics center could become a democratizing force for local residents.
In 脦le-Saint-Denis, Mayor聽Gnabaly聽has taken things a step further.聽Early on in the聽process, he organized a deal with Olympics officials to provide each resident with a ticket to an Olympics event.聽聽
While a free ticket to the Olympics may not address the concerns about housing or pollution, local leaders hope it will bolster an appreciation of how positively the Games might change Seine-Saint-Denis, now and in the future.聽聽
鈥淩ight now, there鈥檚 lots of construction and noise. It鈥檚 been difficult for people,鈥� says Mr. Gnabaly. 鈥淏ut聽later on, all of this will be for them.鈥�
