Arrondissements of Lyon

As the 19th century progressed, the area known then as Les Brotteaux started to be developed by Jean-Antoine Morand, and consequently, the population of this part of the 3rd arrondissement began to increase rapidly.

In 1894, the 6th arrondissement was expanded to include all of the Parc de la Tête d'or, which until then had been split between Lyon and Villeurbanne.

The development of Monplaisir and the surrounding area throughout the 20th century led to a further split, in 1959, when an 8th arrondissement was created to the east of the Lyon–Marseille railway line.

The seemingly arbitrary boundary (along Avenue Barthélemy Buyer and across Fourvière to join the banks of the Saône north of Saint-Paul), which does not follow the historical limit between Lyon and Vaise (which lay further north), was probably drawn for convenience's sake prior to the completion of the Champvert neighbourhood, which is now split between the 5th and the 9th arrondissements.

[3] Villeurbanne resisted annexation in 1852, only ceding its section of the Parc de la Tête d'or in 1894 in exchange for a considerable payment from its larger neighbour, and now has a sufficiently strong identity and sufficiently high population – 134,000 (2005 estimate), making it France's most populous suburban commune – for the prospect of annexation to be far off.