La Cité Napoléon, ou l’anti-Phalanstère ? Les fouriéristes face à un projet de cité ouvrière

An important part of the historiography of housing considers the Cité Napoléon, an ’’exemplary’’ cité ouvrière erected from 1849 to 1853, to be the first application of the concept of the Phalanstère in the French capital. In the aftermath of the 1848 revolutions, the term was used as a means of polemic by opponents of the project whilst Fourier’s disciples adopted a more nuanced position. Aside from this controversial use of the concept, comparing the architectural and ideological characteristics of both the cité ouvrière and the Palais Sociétaire underlines various contradictions between both models. The disciplinary objectives of this housing complex, much more akin to carceral architecture than to the fouriériste rue-galerie (or street-gallery), prove contrary to Fourier’s support of free association.