Paris

I'm researching Paris in preparation of my trip. In the 1860's Napoleon III hired Houssmann to renovate Paris. And that he did, my friends. He made the streets alot cleaner and anarchist-free (widening roads, etc) and he also sent all the impoverished packing to the countryside by replacing the slums with bourgeoisie housing. From wiki:
Because of Haussmannisation, that is the creative destruction of something for the betterment of society, the 1860s was a time of intense revolt in Paris. Many Parisians were troubled by the destruction of "old roots". Historian Robert Herbert says that "the impressionist movement depicted this loss of connection in such paintings as Manet's Bar at Folies." The subject of the painting is talking to a man, seen in the mirror behind her, but seems unengaged. According to Herbert, this is a symptom of living in Paris at this time: the citizens became detached from one another. "The continuous destruction of physical Paris led to a destruction of social Paris as well."

Lovely.