Move over Paris. The world wants to be Brooklyn

For centuries, Paris has been what other cities have aspired to. For instance, Bucharest, Prague, Istanbul, Beirut and Shanghai have all at some point claimed to be “the Paris of the East.” In North America, Montreal makes a claim to Parisian sophistication, while the Paris of South America is Buenos Aires. But now there’s a new standard for global cities: Brooklyn.

These days every neighborhood with a mass of bearded hipsters, bike shops and vegan cafes calls itself “the new Brooklyn.”

Ballard is the Brooklyn of Seattle. Oakland, Glasgow and Melbourne all claim Brooklyn status. Even Paris has a Brooklyn: the once-gritty suburb of Pantin, according to the Associated Press via Crain’s.

“It may have a way to go before it’s on a par with Brooklyn, but I expect it will continue to develop, considering how much investment and risk-taking is going on there—alongside the natural flux of artists toward the area,” said artist Oliver Beer, who works both with a gallery in Pantin and with the Museum of Modern Art’s contemporary arts outpost, PS1, in New York City. [Crain’s] – Christopher Cameron