Abstract

The French banlieues were constructed from the mid-1950s in response to rapid economic growth and subsequent migration to the cities, both from rural areas as well as from outside France, during the post-war period. Low-cost public sector housing was constructed on the edge of cities, characterized by high-rise towers, few community facilities, and often poor connectivity to the rest of the city. However, by the mid-1970s, these peripheral housing estates had become synonymous with marginalization and socioeconomic exclusion, with low-income households, often of ethnic minority background, feeling isolated from mainstream society.