... de l'aménagement du territoire. But what is meant by 'aménagement du territoire' and moreover what assessment can be made of the policies and initiatives that were designed to bring it about in post-war France and throughout the 20th century? The concept of aménagement du territoire was born in the United States to counter the effects of the economic crisis that hit the country in the 1930's4. The term literally translates as "land planning" and only became a focus of the French government after the conclusion of World War II. Prior to this time responsibility for land planning had been a regional rather than centralised affair and while the national government was concentrated in Paris, the rest of the nation's affairs were the responsibility of the 90 prefectures5. The resulting imbalance and stunted development of the regional cities was clearly a concern for the post war politicians. The State, through aménagement du ...

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