Residential areas

FR

Since the 1970s, the middle classes have moved away from the cities and suburbs to live their residential dream. Generally located in the countryside, these areas are built on the edge of old towns or in "new villages". It is the advent of the individual house with garden, barbecue and trampoline, a real aspiration for 56% of French households.

These inhabitants of "residential neighborhoods", formerly called "allotments", lived for the most part in the cities or near suburbs. But the price per square meter and the living environment in collective housing no longer made them dream. City dwellers want their own garden. And the trend tends to become even more pronounced in the Covid era. Generally made of cinder blocks covered with white or cream rendering, these identical semi-detached houses are flourishing in American-style cul-de-sac alleys. Living in a "residential neighborhood" also means living near a commercial zone, where everything necessary to consume is available: restaurant chains, shopping malls, movie theaters... A whole model.

It is to question this suburban architecture that I chose to photograph several suburban areas. Put together, these images reveal the uniformity of the "William Levitt" model imported from the United States.