Pratik Mhatre an urban planner from Texas has a very interesting take on the recent spate of riots in Paris
The riots in Paris strangely do not have characteristics that plague other conflicts elsewhere at least most of them. The Parisian riots aren’t about religion although the miscreants are largely Muslim; they aren’t about ethnicity although again the miscreants are largely of North African descent. The riots are almost like the opening of floodgates of simmering frustration of oppression and discrimination. The much hyped French society of tolerance and liberty fell apart as the riots spread all over the country and soon the original catalyst of two electrocuted youths from the Muslim ghetto was forgotten. Because it was never about religion or ethnicity but in fact, it was about broken windows.
Continue reading at the Urban Planning Blog.
