Date:09/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/09/stories/2008070961692400.htm

Business - Briefly

Paris favours high-rises

PARIS: The Paris City Council on Tuesday moved to scrap a 30-year-old ban on high-rise buildings inside the city walls. The decision could spell a revolution for the French capital’s skyline.

The Socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, has championed a change to rules that limit the height of inner-city buildings to 37 metres. Polls have shown that two-thirds of Parisians oppose the change.

The 37-m ceiling was brought in 1977 in response to a string of high-rise projects — including the Montparnasse tower south of the Seine — now seen as failed experiments in urbanism.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted to launch a study on easing the planning rules, paving the way for the construction of 200-m towers at six emblematic sites just inside the city walls.

Public consultations will begin in January to measure support for each project, according to city councillor for Anne Hidalgo. — AFP