Quartier Montorgueil: Today this is a very lively neighborhood where the residents of surrounding districts come to shop. Since 1990 the district has been reserved for pedestrians, but moveable barriers allow access for residents' cars so as to avoid a situation like that at "Les Halles,"-one big shop window with neither residents nor neighborhood life. The streets were paved with bricks made of Carrare marble (but they aged badly), benches were installed, owners were encouraged to have the facades cleaned...and since, prostitution, which has existed here for 8 centuries, has declined a bit. Residents have actively debated these changes, and two referenda were organized for individuals to express their feelings about their surroundings.