Paris is known as “the capital of the 19th century”, and day to day, it feels like it. I live on a 19th-century Haussmannian street. I travel around on a late 19th-century invention, a bicycle with two equally sized wheels, when I’m not using the prehistoric technology of walking. Living here has helped me realise: the 20th century was rubbish for cities. All over Europe, in particular, cities are now peeling off the century’s imprint like a bad wallpapering job in ways that go beyond pushing out cars. The post-pandemic urban ideal is a cleaned-up version of the 19th-century city with 21st-century enhancements.
巴黎以“19世纪之都”闻名，而且一天天地，巴黎给人的感觉也越来越是这样的了。我住在一条19世纪的奥斯曼式街道。我通过一种19世纪晚期的发明出行——一辆两个轮子大小相同的自行车。当然，这是在我没有用一种史前技术——行走——的时候。住在这里帮我意识到：20世纪对城市来说糟透了。尤其是在整个欧洲，各个城市现在都在剥离20世纪的印记，就像剥离贴得不好的墙纸，方式多种多样，不仅仅是把汽车从城市清除出去。在疫情后，城市理想的模样是一种清洁版的19世纪城市，附带21世纪的各种改善。