Why the Expansion of Paris Is a Pretty Big Deal

Following a vote in Parliament earlier this month, the city of Paris looks set — after years and years of discussions — to join with its hinterland in 2016 and become part of a huge new urban authority, one with roughly three times its current population and four times its current land area. Dubbed the "Métropole du Grand Paris," this new city authority will break down the rigid barrier between the city of Paris and what are referred to as its suburbs, despite their often being more densely populated than many American downtowns.

Admittedly, tinkering with a few boundaries and pushing the tentacles of urban power a little farther out into the ‘burbs may not be the thing to set the non-specialist’s heart racing. But the Paris power map's redraw is likely to have a major effect on the city. For while it still has a beauty that blows other European megacity competitors out of the water (sorry London), Paris has for decades been hampered by a fiddly, fragmented administration that’s frankly something of a hot mess.