Montreal: How Public Space Transforms a City

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TRANSCRIPT:

There’s a quote I love by the Danish architect and urban designer, Jan Gehl. He said that: "A good city is like a good party… people stay longer than really necessary, because they are enjoying themselves." And that’s really the only way to describe Montreal: it’s a party. When I say it’s a party, I don’t mean that it’s a "rager." But it feels alive, and that is due, in large part, to how the city has designed its public space.

According to the Project for Public Spaces, there are four criteria for how to measure a place. The first is access and linkages. Thankfully, Montreal’s public parks and spaces are well connected by bike and walking paths. The city boasts 876km of bike paths. Every year, a report called the Copenhagenize Index ranks the most bike-friendly cities in the world. Montreal ranks in the top 20.

Another criteria for a successful place? Comfort and image. Montreal is actually considered one of Canada’s greenest cities. In 2017, Valérie Plante was elected mayor. Shortly after her election, Plante released a new climate plan: The Climate Plan 2020–2030. The climate plan lists a bunch of key actions that will help Montreal become carbon neutral by 2050. But one of the big ticket items: the city has committed to planting, in the next decade, 500 000 trees in neighborhoods vulnerable to heat waves.

Tree canopies integrated into public space is essential in cooling a city. Urban heat islands refer to pockets of trapped heat between paved surfaces and densely packed buildings.
This effect essentially turns a city into an oven that keeps cooking after the sun has gone down.

It’s clear why the objectives of the Climate Action Plan must be met. Montreal’s climate projections for 2071 - 2100 are grim: by 2071, there will be a projected 74 days a year that are over 30 degrees celsius. I know projections can feel pretty abstract, especially in Southern Canada, where many of us eel removed from the effects of climate change.

But the city is already experiencing hotter summers. I mean, on Sunday it was nearly 40 celsius with the Humidex. In 2010, Montreal experienced a deadly heat wave. 103 people died. Many of those who died were in their 70s or older. By 2071, I’ll be in my seventies. The consequence of urban planning decisions made now will have an effect on my future.
So yeah, plant more trees.

But in places where there aren’t trees, like underpasses, it’s still possible to re-populate otherwise lifeless city space: skate parks. This ties to our third and fourth criteria for a healthy place: sociability, and use and activities. And to see a perfect example of how a mixed demographic uses public space, we have to hit up Jeanne Mance Park.

On any given night, Jeanne Mance Park is packed with all types of gatherings, from smaller, informal groups, couples picnicking and children playing, to larger, organized events, university students partying around fire pit grills and volleyball clubs competing in the park’s sand courts.

Montreal’s human scale turns it into an all-hours party. The city becomes an extension of your own terrace or front step. People really do stay in public spaces longer than is necessary, not because they have to but because they are enjoying themselves.

Видео Montreal: How Public Space Transforms a City канала Samphe Brulé