Residential History of People Born in Île-de-France between 1930 and 1950

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe the residential history of the generations born between 1930 and 1950, living in Paris and its suburbs. It is based on the Biographies and Setting survey conducted by INED in 2001 on about 2830 people from the Île-de-France region belonging to these generations. Their residential and geographical trajectories testify to the great moments of Île-de-France urbanization that occurred during the course of the second half of the 20th century, particularly with the expansion of property and the phenomena of periurbanization and gentrification. From a geographical point of view, three major trends emerge: a centrifugal movement that drives people from the Île-de-France region away from the center of the agglomeration, a certain stability in the geographical area where they have settled in Île-de-France, denoting their attachment to Paris and their roots in the suburbs, and to a lesser extent, a return to the center of the agglomeration. Some surveys have also observed urban movements. This was the cases of the pioneers of periurbanization with access to the ownership of an individual home in a holding and of the pioneers of gentrification in certain districts of the capital located in the immediate vicinity. Analysis by generation shows the different effect on residential and geographical routes. Above all, it reveals the impact of marital changes on trajectories. Although the residential trajectories of the pre-war generations, like their family trajectories, were shown in a linear manner in a scheme that went from rental to ownership, the trajectories of the generations born after 1945 were far more chaotic, due to unions, separations and the eventual formation of new couples. Ownership, often presented as the ultimate goal of the course, becomes a stage in an increasingly complex trajectory for some.