Although Paris has developed fairly consistently because it has remained the capital of France, its heavy dependence on royal authority has deprived it of autonomy, and thus the relationship between the central government and Paris has always been strained. Moreover, Paris is not only a political city, but also a religious and industrial city, as well as a center of production and consumption, and this diversity makes Paris peculiar. Although it was the Industrial Revolution, and the subsequent dramatic increase in population in the 1830's and 1850's which ultimately forced Paris to shed the framework of the medieval city, the original plans for reconstruction had been laid as early as the French Revolution. The initial stages of the plan entailed improving the roads, which the revolutionary government attempted to do when it confiscated the ecclesiastical properties in Paris City and disposed of them. The road improvements, however, were not carried out because of the civil war and the Napoleonic War. It was not until the Monarchy of July that improvements began, and the plan was ultimately executed in earnest under the reign of the Second Empire. Thus, the reconstruction of Paris, through improving the roads and building a modern city suitable to industrialization, was entrusted to Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann, the chief administrator of the department of Seine. Based on the theory of public utilities, this project restricted the right of ownership to the government established by the French Revolution, but opposition from the land proprietors was less than expected. This is because the project generated a speculation boom benefiting the bourgeois class. On the other hand, craftsmen and laborers who were forced to move or suffer from increased rents were opposed to the project, yet had no form of redress. Ultimately, these poor people left the city center, and formed a new slum in the northeast zone of Paris. Although the reconstruction achieved impressive results in the areas of public hygiene, beautification and safety, its effect was like sprinkling water over thirsty soil with regards to the goal of providing transportation and housing. The reconstruction of Paris, however, provided a model for the redevelopment of other cities and had a strong effect on both French and foreign cities suffering from the same problems.

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