Viewed from the top of the Arc de triumph in the centre of Paris, the French capital, we see tiny human figures going about their daily business, a hurried frenzy of activity at street level far below. This street is the Avenue des Champs Elysees, one of the most famous of European boulevards and the multi-lane road that stretches away into the distance – from l’Etoile to Place de la Concorde – is dissected with zebra crossings over which more pedestrians negotiate the Parisian traffic that has stopped on a red light. Otherwise small figures walk along the pavement (sidewalk) and some disappear into an underground Metro entrance.