Toulouse

Toulouse (pronounced {{IPA|/tuluz/}} in standard French, {{IPA|/tuˈluzə/}} in local Toulouse accent) (Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced {{IPA|/tuˈluz?/}}) is a city in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne River, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. With close to 1.1 million inhabitants in 2005, the Toulouse metropolitan area is the second largest in southern France and one of the fastest growing in Europe. It is the home base of the European aerospace industry, such as Alcatel Espace and EADS Space, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus S.A.S..

History

Main article: History of Toulouse. See also: Counts of Toulouse

Related Topics:
History of Toulouse - Counts of Toulouse

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once a major metropolis of western Europe, Toulouse sank into a sleepy regional-level status in the 18th and 19th centuries, completely missing the Industrial Revolution. In the 20th century, relocation of key military and aerospace industries in Toulouse by the French central government have awakened the city again. In an ironic twist of history, what was once a big liability for Toulouse has now become its best asset: no Industrial Revolution meant a falling economic status for the city, but it has spared Toulouse the environmental damages and painful socio-economic restructuring that are plaguing so many northern European industrial cities.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Benefiting from its status as Europe's capital of aerospace industry, as well as from the flow of population from the industrial belt to the sunbelt of Europe, Toulouse metropolitan area doubled its population between 1960 and 2000 (in the meantime the population of France increased only by 30%). With good prospects for aerospace and biotech industries, growth is likely to continue in the near future. Toulouse is thus recovering step by step its former rank as a major European metropolis, but it faces increasing challenges: how to accommodate such a rapid growth, how to upgrade transport and develop housing and infrastructures, in short how to reinvent the city in the 21st century.

Related Topics:
Aerospace - Biotech - Transport - Infrastructures

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~