The Quai Pelletier
Andrew P. Trout describes how Pelletier sought to improve conditions of everyday life for ordinary people in seventeenth century Paris.
Urban blight, modern though it may seem, has been with us for centuries. Three hundred years ago, Parisian officials and notables assembled to discuss the fate of a decaying area in the heart of their city, where the tanning and dyeing industries caused intolerable pollution of air and water. Guided by Louis XIV’s Minister and urbaniste, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the assembly spurred public officials and technicians to remove the offensive industries, demolish or alter the tanners’ homes, and renovate the area. On that site emerged a new quay to move traffic more efficiently and to adorn the right (north) bank of the River Seine.
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