Dear Liza,
As I learn more about Montpellier, I understand why it is laid out the way it is. Like many medieval cities, it had walls around it from A.D. 985 to 1628, for protection. Most medieval cities were also built along the rivers, for easy transport of goods and people. Think of Paris, London, and Moscow. Their rivers allowed them to grow and prosper.
But the river closest to Montpellier, the Lez, is notorious for flooding. This area gets most of its rain in just a few weeks in the late fall, and the river has flooded many times over the centuries.
In order to keep the city safe, engineers have figured out how to keep the river in its place, while still using the area when the weather is good.
When visiting the shopping area called The Polygone, we accidentally discovered Montpellier’s beautiful solution to urban flooding. It’s called Les Echelles de la Ville, the Staircases of the city.
This is how it works. The Lez River, in the dry months of summer, is only a few feet deep and about ten to twenty feet wide. It is a narrow, flat canal passing between concrete walls.
Above the walls, reached by steep steps, are newly built cafēs and restaurants. More stairs up from there, the open, grassy Place d’Europe provides dog walking space.
Above that, about fifty feet above the river, is where the development starts. Offices, shopping malls, public pools, are all well above what might be dangerous flooding.
This development was completed in the 1980s but has all the earmarks of Ancient Rome. Arches, wide arcades, symmetrical open areas with lines of trees, and copies of Roman statues are all over. It feels almost Disneyland-ish in its dedication and exaggeration of the style (if Disneyland had a Roman Land).
As we walked through an air conditioned mall and took convenient, well designed escalators down to the river and then back up, I appreciated what a clever flood control solution this is. The liability of steep river banks had been turned into a comfortable series of stairs, creating long views and spaces for Framer’s Markets and sports activities.
So when the floods come, nothing is really damaged.
Clever people!
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 