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VilleurbanneVilleurbanne is a city in eastern central France. It is directly to the northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second largest conurbation in France after Paris. History The current location of downtown Villeurbanne is known to have been inhabited as far back as 6000 B.C. Its current name comes from a Gallo-Roman farming area, established at about the same time as Lyon (then Lugdunum) and known as the Villa Urbana ("town house"). It would then become Urbanum, then Villa Urbane and, ultimately, Villeurbanne. Villeurbanne has belonged to the Royaume de France since 1349. It was then separated from Lyon by the river La Rize, a former branch of the Rhne river. Until the nineteenth century, the city was merely a patchwork of distinct villages separated by fields and undevelopped land. These villages have mostly survived, and nowadays form the neighborhoods of Charpennes, Cusset, Croix-Luizet, Maisons-Neuves, etc. With the industrial era, Villeurbanne economy soars: the textiles industry is the first to bloom, followed by mechanical and chemical ones. The factories lured in numerous immigrants, most notably Italians. Transforming from a rural community to an industrial town, Villeurbanne undergoes a tremendous demographic boom. From 3,000 inhabitants in 1928, its population rockets to 82,000 in 1931. Mayor Lazare Goujon (elected 1924) thus engages the city in a vast public works initiative. Arguably the most visible heritage of this program is the Gratte-Ciel, a housing complex made up of two Art Deco towers and annex smaller buildings, lining up along the Henry Barbusse avenue. These structures are the work of architect Mrice Leroux, and one of the most notable Art Deco structures in France. Having undergone thorough renovation, the 19-stories high twin towers have become the emblem of the city. Nowadays, with about 130,000 inhabitants, Villeurbanne is the second largest city in the Rhne dpartement. Education Many colleges and universities usually listed as part of the "Lyon area" are actually located in Villeurbanne. This is most notably the case with the La Doua campus, home to the Claude Bernard University (Lyon I) and the Institut National des Sciences Appliques de Lyon. Transportation Villeurbanne is well deserved by the Lyon area public transit system, the TCL (Transports en Commun Lyonnais). The east branch of subway line A runs through the city heart, and the new tramway line T1 connects the La Doua campus to the Lyon business and commercial district of La Part-Dieu and the Presqu'ile downtown.
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