Throughout the documentary We Built this City: Paris produced by Discovery Channel, it was possible to

observe the practice o civil engineering in dierent areas as well as the development and importance o new
technologies against each challenge, whether they were used to build new things or in the maintenance o
the e!isting ones" This, coupled with the transormation power provided by planning, that lead what was
doomed to chaos to its ull operation"
#nce Paris started to develop as a city under the rule o the $ing o the %ran&s, $ing Philip 'ugustus, the
need o protection was inevitable due to many wars and battles during the (iddle 'ges period" ' ortress o
stone then was built encircling the city and had about )* towers" Than&s to the engineering applied in the
process o construction, some remaining parts can still be seen intact ater all this time" (any people elt
attracted to the sense o security the city could provide" +o, with a growing population the demand or water
increased so much that The +eine was not enough to cater or everyone anymore"
The problem o lac& o water was initially settled by mon&s engineers who created a,ueducts networ&s that
supplied water to the ountains, rom where people could collected the water they would use" -owever this
system was limited and did not prevent the river which supplied the city to run dry" The outcome was the
construction o pumping stations that would divert the course o other rivers, thus ensuring that low o the
+eine .iver would be &ept on"
With the water problem solved Paris continued to grow and became the capital, causing its narrow streets to
become another big problem to be solved" ' large scale bridge was then built up, lin&ing the two ban&s o the
river, the Pont /eu, which would acilitate the mobility o people" 0t was made with limestone ta&en rom
,uarries dug throughout the city, including rom underneath the river itsel"
These ,uarries became one solution to the health issues" With crowded cemeteries, dead bodies began to
be stac&ed, e!posed into the open" To prevent the rain water that passed through there to bring disease to
the population, it was ordered that the bodies were removed and buried in the deactivated ,uarries"
0n the mid123th century, under the orders o /apoleon 000, the pro4ect o the actual 5reater Paris was
conceived by -aussmann" With its large boulevards, which didnt only brought up the aesthetics wor&, but
gave more eiciency to mobility and prepared it to welcome the low o transportation" 't the same time the
comple! sewer systems that cuts across the city was built as well and a inal touch was given to Paris by the
construction o the 6iel Tower, made entirely o iron, which became a symbol to the city"
%inally, the act that Paris was stitched by deactivated ,uarries and sewer pipes couldnt allow its soil to
sustain large buildings so it was created the 7a D8ense district, which is the economic center that holds the
tall buildings o the city"