Haussmann's Renovation of Paris
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Paris was in pretty rough shape. In fact, Paris's look hadn't changed since the middle ages. The streets were crowded and narrow, the blocks were cramped and the city was very unclean.
Baron Haussmann was a civic planner during this time and was asked by Napoleon III to help rebild Paris. Haussmann's plans were to tear down the slums and old neighborhoods to pave the way for big boulevards, opera houses, and public buildings to put in it's place. He also made a new water and sewage system for the city, which saved many citizens from disease. He brought a whole new quality of life that Paris had never seen before, and created the Paris we know and love today.
Although Haussmann created such a wonderful new city, he was still criticized by many for ruining the "Old Paris". The renovation brought up the controversy over gemeinshaft vs. geseleshaft. Gemeinshaft refers to the social aspect of the city. The "roots", one could call them. People argue that after this change, the city became more focused on it's economy and it's economic well being than the people itsself. It became disconnected and impersonal. Which leads me to geselshaft. It is the basis of economic activity, and the flow and circulation of the economy. After Haussmann changed Paris, they say the people changed as well.
Haussmann did wonderful things for Paris to make a better quality of life for the people, but not everyone would agree with that. To some, his plans would be a social design issue, but others would call it a social design accoplishment.