La Part-Dieu

Origin of the name

La Part-Dieu was once called "la Pardieu", what could be translated as "God's ownership" or "Gift of God". The original place was a large swampy area, and History tells how a 12th-century pious man saw a gift from God in the only piece of land that was emerged.^[6]

Farmlands

Remnants of the Part-Dieu farm estate around 1860

Before the 1850s, La Part-Dieu was composed of rural flood-zones. It was ceded by the Mazenod-Servient family to the Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon Public Hospitals in 1737.^[7] The embankment of the Rhône river and construction of bridges ( see Bridges of Lyon ) led to the management of flood risk and urbanization of the eastern Rhone bank from 1772 onwards. By the end of the 18th century, La Part-Dieu domain was a large estate bordered by the Brotteaux and Guillotière districts.^[8]

The Lafayette bridge erected in 1872^[9] accelerated the eastward urbanization process, while cleansed farmlands gave way to wheat production. From 1830 to 1848, the city erected walls to protect itself from foreign invasions. La Part-Dieu, thus becoming a fort, acquired a military function. Because of the administrative, urban and geological complexity of Lyon, rail transport brought multiple train stations to existence. The Part-Dieu one was solely dedicated to freight transport.^[8]

Cavalry barracks

Part-Dieu cavalry barracks in the first half of the 20th century

In 1844, the Public Hospitals sold their land to the military administration, which built cavalry barracks from 1851 to 1863. However, the process of urbanization was limited by traverse axes and the fact that Lafayette street was the only road connecting La Part-Dieu with the Lyon peninsula. In order to link the city with Geneva, the Gare des Brotteaux was designed by the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée company, which led to the dismantling of wall fortifications to make way for railway lines. Meanwhile, the military compound took on the orthogonal footprint of the original farm estate.^[8]

At the beginning of the 20th century, Édouard Herriot was elected Mayor of Lyon, a city dominating other French outside of Paris, thanks to its dynamic industrial and commercial output. Inspired by the French hygiéniste urbanist movement, similar to Haussmann's renovation of Paris, he undertook major works to improve urban and social space. The eastward urban expansion, rail and road networks turned the Part-Dieu marshalling yards into the centre of the metropolitan area. In 1926, a project based on American Downtowns emerged.^[8]

Post-war housing

Following World War II, France's top priorities were to rebuild the housing stock fast, to push for economic development and to favour efficient movements by car. Due to the evolution of warfare, the military compound lost its importance and became part of a massive housing estate project.^[8]

In 1960, the French state sold the lands to a private company, SERL, to bring the project to life.^[10] The subsequent demolition of existing structures took 5 years. The fact that large estates were owned by state administrations (Public Hospitals, SNCF and the military), allowed for a profound transformation right in the middle of the city.^[8]

The program evolved under the mandate of Mayor Pradel, not only by pushing for housing construction but also for encouraging the construction of an administrative centre and private office space to host public services, such as radio and police stations. The winning architectural project abode by the Athens Charter, a rigorous modernist urban planning philosophy developed by Le Corbusier.^[8]

It promoted the separation of human and car flow through the use of "above the street" concrete structures, in a La Défense fashion, allowing for car supremacy on the lower street level, while overhead orthogonal architecture standing on reinforced concrete stilts followed the Unité d'habitation principles. Consequently, several buildings were drawn by the hands of Jacques Perrin-Fayolle, Jean Sillan and Jean Zumbrunnen, nonetheless, only a third of the planned structures were constructed.^[8]

Directional center

While the Charles de Gaulle government pushed for the decentralization of France, car-centric urbanism from the Trente Glorieuses fuelled the growth of the periphery at the expense of the centre. As a result, a management plan was drafted by urbanist Charles Delfante and Jean Zumbrunnen, under the supervision of Mayor Louis Pradel. It included the development of commercial, tertiary and cultural activities, in order to compete with Paris and other international cities and to turn La Part-Dieu into a showcase of modernity. A central train station was planned but the SNCF refused to fund it, a move which hindered the purpose of the directional center.^[8]

Lyon had to become the "Balancing Metropolis", relying on regional cities like Grenoble or Saint Etienne, that fought the impoverishment and depopulation of urban centers, owing to a network of highways passing through La Part-Dieu. The original plan included major east-west an north-south green axes, pedestrian-friendly spaces such as a central plaza well served by public transit, and an iconic tower as tall as the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière from its historical hill.^[8]

However, the 1970s oil shocks and following housing crises altered the project as profitability became the main concern, isolating the district from the rest of city flows. Pedestrians were alienated because of the rupture of major axes caused by the expansion of the central mall, and also by favouring vehicle transport over public transit and finally by constructing concrete pedestrian bridges several meters above street level that isolated architectures into islands. Nevertheless, several iconic structures were elevated during this decade, such as the Municipal Library (1974), the Mall and Auditorium (1975) and the Tour Part-Dieu (1977). To that end, La Part-Dieu differentiated itself from the historical center with a strong architectural identity by offering high end tertiary activities and public services.^[8]

Major rail node

In 1974, it was decided to transfer the old Brotteaux station to La Part-Dieu thanks to its central position. By that time, Line  B  of Lyon Métro arrived inside the Mall in 1978. Half of the marshalling yards were converted into a large real estate project in order to fund the development of the new train station on each side of the rail tracks. The objective was also to integrate the district with its railways, that is, Central Lyon with eastern neighborhoods. 1983 saw the inauguration of France's first high speed rail TGV line, between Lyon and Paris. Unfortunately, large urban roads surrounding the business district, for instance the existing Viver-Merle Boulevard, continued to divide the business district from the eastern neighborhoods and train station.^[8]

European business district

La Part-Dieu's expansion slowed down during 1990s because of a strong momentum of urban development all over the agglomeration, regarding the Confluence district, the Cité Internationale, Gerland and La Doua Campus. The City Council drove efforts to minimize car travel and to encourage public transit within city limits. It also wished to establish a proper European business district doubling its office supply by densifying the area with 7 highrises such as the Swiss Life and Oxygène Tower, although most proposals were scrapped, because Lyon was focusing elsewhere. Other objectives were to reintegrate the district within the surrounding urban environment through the reclassification of major roads, the conception of the T1 tramway, the renovation of public spaces, the improvement of the connection between the métro and train station and the demolition of elevated pedestrian footbridges.^[8]

Skyscraper and high rises

Rank	Name	Image	Height m (ft)	Floors	Year	Status
1	Tour Incity[11]		202 m (663 ft)	39	2015	Built
2	Tour To-Lyon[12]		170 m (558 ft)	43	2022	Under preparation
3	Tour Part-Dieu[13]		165 m (541 ft)	42	1977	Built
4	Tour Silex 2[14]		129 m (423 ft)	23	2021	Under construction
5	Tour Oxygène[15]		115 m (377 ft)	28	2010	Built
6	Tour Swiss Life[16]		82 m (269 ft)	21	1989	Built

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