Turning Champs-Elysées into an extraordinary garden

湖北 余 璐

The mayor of Paris has said a250m makeover of the Champs-Élysées will go ahead,though the ambitious transformation will not happen before the French capital hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Anne Hidalgo said the planned work,unveiled in 2019 by local community leaders and businesses,would turn the 1.9 km stretch of central Paris into “an extraordinary garden”.The Champs-Élysées committee has been campaigning for a major redesign of the avenue and its surroundings since 2018.

The legendary avenue has lost its splendour during the last 30 years.Although the Champs-Élysées is often called the world's most beautiful avenue,its famous charm has faded.It has been progressively abandoned by Parisians and has been hit by several successive（连续的）crises:the gilets jaunes（“黄背心”运动）,strikes,health and economic crises.To French people it's looking worn out and has become a place that summed up the problems faced by cities around the world—pollution,the place of the car,tourism and consumerism.It needs to be redeveloped to be “ecological,desirable and inclusive（包容的）”.

The committee held a public consultation（咨询）over what should be done with the avenue.The plans include reducing space for vehicles by half,turning roads into pedestrian and green areas,and creating tunnels of trees to improve air quality.The plans also include redesigning the famous Place de la Concorde—Paris's largest place—at the southeast end of the avenue,described by city hall as a“municipal priority”.This is expected to be completed before the Olympic Games.The aim is to transform the Champs-Élysées by 2030.

The project was one of several intended projects to transform the city “before and after 2024”,including turning the area around the Eiffel Tower into an “extraordinary park at the heart of Paris”.

What problem does Champs-Élysées face today?What will Paris do to solve the problem?

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