Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Paris, France

See it here.

At the moment of taking this photograph I encountered Sebastien, a genial man in (I suspect) his mid-thirties who asked me if I was looking for anyone in particular. I explained my interest and we had a chat about the area. He was born and grew up in the area and his parents still live in his boyhood home nearby (since 1981). He did move away (to another town, he said) as a young adult but, I gather, returned to raise his own children. In the context of talking about the green open space, Sebastien said he'd chosen his home via google map and a scientific calculation of the schools nearby - the position of his house allowed his kids ready access to a full education range. (He also suggested it had good proximity to the centre of Paris).

Of the open space itself, he says the children love it and he feels very comfortable about the security and safety of the space. His house is on the corner (I think that on the map below, it's just above the 'you are here' arrow) and he says he has a view into part of the space from his house, but agrees that the area is under casual community surveillance at all times. He is also enthused about the greenness of the suburb, suggesting that other older towns accentuate concrete more than this one.* A definite advocate for his area.

* By the way it is green, and there is green space everywhere, but this is one IR in this area that I saw that had a lot less lawn than most. It does have its fair share of trees, shrubs and hedges though.

Below: one walkway entering the space from the north.

Below: a walkway leading southwards

Moving west, the space narrows and becomes a pathway, still with some houses' gateways entering directly onto the path.

Below are some pictures of the Sentier des Érables (Maple Trail), which you will see from the map runs north-south through this section. In one instance there is a private housing area with a concrete open space (which I suspect is atop a car park, though the private property signs prevented me from exploring in detail).