Comment by decimalenough

As an occasional visitor to Paris, I was quite astonished at how nice at least the central parts of the city have become under the 12-year tenure of Mayor Hidalgo (admittedly with the help of gobs of public funding for the Olympics). It's so much more green, clean, and biking/pedestrian friendly than it used to be.

I gather locals who drive are in violent disagreement with me on this, and Paris is a big place that extends well beyond the posh touristy arrondissements, but it's still remarkable -- especially given that the downtowns of most American big cities have gone downhill in the same time period.