The 19th arrondissement is a great mix of architecture styles and walks of life mixing Old French bohemianism and the new highly diverse Parisian cosmopolitanism. This sector is home to many immigrants especially from North and Sub-Sahara Africa. Generally the south western edge of the district is the oldest populated with a mix of Haussmannian architecture along the Boulevards but also plenty of more plain historic styles common to its neighbor Belleville to the south. As one moves to the north and east thru the neighborhood architecture becomes more and more modern but plenty overall the district is very eclectic architecturally.
Quartier de la Mouzaïa in the eastern central portion of the district is the most affluent and attractive neighborhood of the 19th Arrondissement hosting many semi-private and village esh streets. The Quartier is surrounded by two excellent hilltop parks (i.e. Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and Parc de la Buttee-du-Chapeau-Rouge), which take advantage of the 19th’s hilly terrain. Just north of here is the LaVilette, Paris’ largest cultural park, a treasurer for Parisian families where one can enjoy a host of museums and performing arts venues or simply take a stroll thru the well designed plazas and canal side promenades along the Canal Saint-Denis and Cala de l’Ourcq. Much of the 19th Arrondissement has a strong immigrant/working class presence but it is most pronounced in the Northwestern sector outlined by the two aforementioned canals. This subdistrict is mostly post WWII construction yet still maintains a high level of urbanity.
The 19th’s main commercial districts include Av. Jean Jaurès, Rue de Belleville, Simon Bolivar, Rue Eugène Jumin (a block long pedestrian st surrounded by gorgeous 1910s flats), Av. de Flandre (Pedestrian Promenade in the middle), and Rue de Crimée.
Click here to view my 19th Arrondissement Album on my Flickr Page
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* The 19th Arrondissement is marked by some of Paris’ greatest parks and ones that are off the beaten track of most tourist (i.e. the hilltop parks of Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (designed by Baron Haussmann for the World’s Exposition in the 1860s) and Parc de la Butte-du-Chapeau-Rouge, Le Bassin de la Villette and surrounding canal promenades, and the expansive La Villete filled with numerous museums and arts and cultural amenities, it is Paris’s largest cultural park), and Jardins d’Eole. Plenty of others smaller plazas and parkettes and the lengthy where Canal Saint-Denis and the Canal de l’Ourcq meet creating some wonderful waterfront trails.
* Great diversity here with more middle and upper middle class districts in the southern and eastern quadrants and more immigrant work class areas in the western and northern sectors.
* Solid public transit access.
* Only of Paris’ most hilly districts.
* Nice mix of architecture covering anywhere between the mid 1800s to the present age. Older parts of the district are in the Southwestern portions of the neighborhood.
* Solid urban density at 68K per sq mile pretty average for Paris. Neighborhood is actually at its peak population.
* Low amounts of Tourism here give one a very authentic Parisian experience.
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Some churches but much less than other Parisian districts.
* Decent amount of grid in the more working class areas.
* Decent number unattractive modern buildings with not the best urban form.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 