----salut Ce questionnaire d'association de mots est a mon avis celui qui montre les differences les plus marquantes entre le mode de vie francais et americain . Ceux-ci est du au differents modeles de ville entre nos deux societes . Aux U.S.A, le centre ville est un lieu de delinquence, un lieu ou l'on ne sort pas la nuit . Les gens aises vivent loin, dans les banlieues, tranquilles et sans dangers . En france, c'est tout le contraire, dans l'enorme majorite des cas, on parle de banlieue pour un lieu a probleme . Loin des centres ville qui sont les centres d'activite sociale (voir Arnaud Laffite), la population des banlieues est relativement pauvre, c'est un site privilegie pour les explosions de violence : emeutes, manifetations; un site principal d'exclusion . Voila mon point de vue . Je me demande aussi : que trouve -t-on aujourd'hui dans les centres ville americains ? des bureaux ? Y-a-t-il de l'activite, de l'animation ?

----Hi, ----It was really interesting to see how the response to this word could be on two totally different ends. It seems that in France, most people live in the city and the city also functions as a meeting place. In the US, we have several different types of meeting places. The most common being our school or college. It is here that I meet up with almost all of my friends on a regular basis. In addition, when I think of inner city, I basically come up with the same responses as the French did in response to suburb. I find this to be fascinating. I never really thought of a major city as a place to live in. I saw it more as a place of business. People work in the city, but live in the suburbs. I was also curious to know what is actually considered a suburb. Here, I may say that I live in Los Angeles, but what I really mean is that I live in a suburb of Los Angeles. When you say that you live in Paris, do you really live in the city of Paris itself? I am still not clear on this point.

----Salut a tous, ce qui m'a le plus remarque dans les reponses a ce question- naire, c'est le fait que les banlieues americaines soient synonymes de bien-etre, de joie de vivre, alors qu'en France les banlieues sont des endroits d'insecurite, ou regne le chomage et la drogue. Biensur, il ne faut pas generalise, il y a en France des banlieues sympathiques ou l'on peut vivre tranquilement mais ce sont souvent des banlieues pour perso- nes assez riches. Aux US, vues les reponses, les classes moyennes semblent habiter dans ces banlieues. Tout cela me fait penser que vous les americains, vous vivez loin du centre-ville, synonyme pour nous de lieu de rencon- tre, de bars et de magazins. Pour vous, il y a ces gros centres commerciales. Sur ce point, nos modes de vie divergent.

----In response to Arnaud Lannic's question about what one finds in American cities, I guess in some cities you do find crime and poverty. We call this area the "inner city." Places like the Bronx in New York are called inner cities. They are full of crime and drugs, and many of the people who live there are on welfare. It's sort of like a bad city in the middle of a big city. Not all cities are like that, but most big cities do have bad areas where you shouldn't go alone at night.

----Have you heard the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words"? I think it is easiest to tell the difference between French and American city centers by comparing pictures: ----(missing link) ----I also found a couple pictures which nicely illustrate the contrast between a typical American downtown and suburban neighborhood: (Missing link) ----I especially hope you like the picture of Seattle, Washington, because that's my home state! The observation tower is called the Space Needle, which "is to Seattle what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris."

----I really hate the term "inner-city" since a) no one EVER says "mid-city" or "outer-city" because it just sounds stupid, b) it seems somewhat new, this goes along with the fact that "South Central L.A" migrates, and c) it also seems very negative and maybe even dorogatory to those who ilve in the middle of a city or near downtown. ----Other than here at school, I have lived in 2 areas: a rural area in Southern California where my parents now reside and in Los Angeles, where I have quite a few relatives. Television and word of mouth have tought me what I know about suburbs. Well, the rural area does not match its stereotype: first of all I have neighbors. The land there is cheap so people there generally have a lot of land or are poor. This does not make it a "bad area." It is all valley so it has nice sceenery. What makes it bad is the lack of stores and public transportation. Oh yeah, and it is mostly dirt, so rain is horrible. The image of suburbs frightens me. Someone mentioned not being able to walk alone at night in certain areas. That goes for the entire United States. There are gangs everywhere. It seems people in suburbs are a little too trusting--a little too confident that no crime could ever happen in there town; or that if it does, it is domestic. I believe the Los Angeles area in which I once lived is now South Central, though I'm not sure it used to be. When I visit my relatives who live less than 2 blocks from where I used to live, I find peace on their porch. I have never seen a drive-by or felt any more fear walking the streets of L.A. than I do walking the streets of Boston or Cambridge. If I had a choice of all the cities in the world to live in, though I have not seen them ALL, L.A. would be #1 on the list. You should go there some time because it's really cool! ----p.s. No offense to those who say "inner-city." :o)

----I think that people are painting an incomplete image of what large American cities are like. Although it is very true that almost ever large city has crime, proverty and drug problems, there is much more to any large city. There are many different areas to a city. There are the financial districts, which are business oriented, usually very congested with large skyscrapers. There are also slums (which is the picture that I think everyone was sort of envisioning) where the streets are dirty, the houses/building are run down and there is usually a high crime rate. However, there is usually a couple additional areas besides these (depending on the large city). For example, there is almost always an expensive living area part of town. This part of town usually is merged with a commercial district, so in both of these areas it is usually fairly clean, with very nice apartments (expensive) and many different types of stores and shops. The final type of district that I can think of that is present in most large cities are large sports arena or civic centers where large events are held. There are man bars and restaurants in these areas and they are very lively whenever there is an even going on. ----I understand that everyone only gave a brief description of American large cities, but I didn't feel it really painted a good picture. American large cities are not much different than Paris. If you think about it, Paris looks very different depending on where you are in the city. The shops and restaurants are different depending on where you are. The only difference at first glance I would say between a city like Paris and American cities are the fact that there are many more skyscrapers in American cities.

----Salut ! Dans tout le questionnaire, c'est le point de vue sur les banlieus qui offre le plus de difference: tu as raison Leena,c'est fascinant. Pour repondre a ta question sur Paris: je suis parisien, et pour moi, quelqu'un qui n'habite pas a Paris meme n'est pas parisien. Par contre, les habitants de la banlieu parisienne diront qu'ils sont parisiens, parcequ'ils en tirent une certaine fierte, je suppose. Je voudrais aussi preciser que toutes les banlieus francaises ne sont pas invivables. Il y en a qui ressemble aux americaines, mais il faut de l'argent pour y vivre. Les banlieus "a problemes" en general sont peu agreables a vivre car leurs habitants sont pauvres et qu ils sont au chomage. On y trouve une majoritee d'etrangers, ce qui pose des problemes de comprehension entre cultures... En fait, j'ai l'impression que c'est exactement ce qu'il se passe dans les quartiers pauvres des villes americaines, est ce vrai ? Autre question: a quoi ressemblent les centre-villes en amerique ? est ce que des gens y vivent ? Quels genre d'activite y trouve t on? A bientot !

----A couple people have asked about "les centres-ville americains." This is what we call "downtown." It is the main business center of a large city, characterized by skyscrapers which house offices for banks, corporate headquarters, etc. ----Some of these buildings also have residential floors of "high-rise" apartments. There are very few of these apartments, though, and they are very, very expensive! Most of the people who live there are probably businesspeople and executives. ----In every downtown you'll find a region of several blocks (or more) dedicated to shopping. Here the ground floors of the buildings are occupied by upscale (expensive) department stores, restaurants, and boutiques. These areas are pedestrian-oriented and fun to walk around. ----Other things found in a downtown area can include performing arts halls, medical centers, government buildings, and hotels. The majority of the buildings are dedicated to business, though.

----Hallo... ----To answer the questions posed in the letter "banlieue-suburbs" from lannic I haven't seen very many large cities, but the ones I know have commercial zones, where there are many office buildings, stores, and other businesses, residential zones which are sometimes nice places to live and sometimes not, and a downtown area where people meet and there is a lot of activity. Many people live in the suburbs and commute to work in businesses in the city, so the suburbs are often made up of middle-class neighboorhoods. Several decades ago, real-estate developers started buying land around cities and creating "communities" with aesthetically-pleasing names and streets full of nearly identical houses. Living in these suburbs became a part of the American Dream for many people, but there was (and is) a negative side. One of the American responses to this survey was "cookie-cutter," meaning the conformity that the American middle-class and the suburbs came to represent. ----The American equivalent of the French "banlieue" would most likely be the "inner city." In big cities, there is often a part of the city where the houses and apartments are low-quality and the people who live there are usually not well-off; crime and drug use in these areas is often named as a national problem. -----robin