zone miséreuse

CONT: Des villes [...] modernes et puissantes, n'ont pas réussi encore à prévenir les excroissances irrationnelles de leur périphérie, ou à assainir les zones pathologiques qui déshonorent leur centre.

CONT: Thus he begins with an examination of downtown, looking first at the role of the skyscraper in the evolution of the central business district. Then he proceeds to ""the downtown frame,"" that gray area of cheap hotels, parking lots, pawnshops, and abandoned warehouses surrounding the central business district. He identifies two different types of downtown frame, the zone of discard and the zone of assimilation. The first is an area that once was part of the central business district but now has been discarded by investors and the second is an area that is gradually becoming part of the central business district and has a brigher future.