Henri Prost

Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner, renowned as a pivotal figure in modern urbanism. Born in Saint-Denis, Prost co-founded the Société française des urbanistes in 1911 alongside notable architects and landscape planners such as Donat Alfred Agache, Eugène Hénard, and Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier. From 1932, he co-edited the journal Urbanisme and was elected to the Académie des beaux-arts in 1933. Prost served as the director of the École spéciale d’architecture from 1929 until his death in 1959.

Prost’s urban planning philosophy emphasized respect for local cultural heritage. His projects in Morocco, under the colonial administration of Marshal Lyautey, exemplified this approach. He designed cities like Rabat with clear urban structures that allowed for dynamic densification without disrupting public spaces, a method later hailed as a model for intelligent urban growth.

Prost strongly advocated for urban planning to transcend a purely advisory role. His ambitious projects included plans for Moroccan cities like Casablanca and Rabat, as well as initiatives in France that reimagined Parisian suburbs as gateways to the capital. He championed a blend of aesthetics, functionality, and the involvement of local stakeholders. His innovative use of aerial photography to analyze urban structures, particularly for less accessible interior blocks, was groundbreaking.

In Turkey, where he undertook significant projects, Prost worked closely with local experts, training them to take on future urban planning responsibilities. In France, he established urban planning departments, beginning in Metz, and emphasized the importance of regularly updated surveys as a basis for urban development.

As a professor at the Institut d’urbanisme of the University of Paris, Prost inspired a new generation of urban planners. Many of his ideas and practices continue to resonate through the works and writings of his students, who carried forward his legacy.