Does ‘insecurity’ keep people from downtown?
Business guys say that a “feeling of insecurity” is keeping people away from downtown. Or rather, from downtown offices. Funny how these “representatives of Montreal’s business community” will latch onto anything rather than admit that a lot of people hated office life and don’t want to go back to it.
In addition, people are facing rising living expenses so they don’t take the same pleasure in casual shopping and eating out as in the past, and a lot of purchases are made online.
We’re not afraid. It’s just that the whole purpose of downtown’s existence has shifted, while business guys think it’s unfair that we don’t want to return to 20th‑century habits. What they need to ask is how downtown can meet 21st‑century needs – and what to do if it can’t.
Ephraim 20:08 on 2024-01-17 Permalink
I find it interesting that in many European cities you have these suburban satellite business neighbourhoods, where people work in their neighbourhoods rather than have to go all the way downtown. But the reality is that jobs are no longer tied to buildings and the sooner we realize that, the better.
You wonder how much Quebec politicians have invested in this… If your central office is in Toronto and you are working in Montreal, do you have a right to work in French? And if you decide that they do have that right, how that will affect salaries and the ability to be hired. Sure, you can do a job in Paris, but there are more French speakers in Africa that can compete. There are almost as many French speakers in Kinshasa as there are in Paris and Abidjan isn’t that far behind.
Kate 21:56 on 2024-01-17 Permalink
In Kinshasa and Abidjan, though, as I understand it, French is something of an official language, but most people aren’t speaking it at home. Of course, that also applies to some extent to Montreal as well.
Kevin 23:32 on 2024-01-17 Permalink
There is a lot of money invested in commercial real estate estate in Canada and it’s going up in smoke.
It’s like in movies where people ask where the money went, and someone tries to explain that the money only existed in account balances and assets, it was never really real.
The head of RBC has been saying for more than a year that this is affecting nationwide productivity—but he’s not talking about the work produced by labour, he means the value of assets is crashing.
Robert H 09:12 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
Relative to the health of downtown, I take your point, Kate that there was always a general dissatisfaction with office and commuting life that predated the pandemic. The coronavirus didn’t cause the current struggles, but simply accelerated already established trends, technology and the economy did the rest. The business community is still leaning too heavily on the idea of an office revival. I think centre-ville is in an awkward transitional phase, no longer what it was but not yet settled into a new purpose or environment.
But central Montreal still has fundamental strengths not found in most North American city centres. The area will have thousands of new residents as people fill the rising condominium towers and apartment buildings. The foundational institutions such in arts and education are still there (demagoguery from Équipe Legault notwithstanding). The public transport system converges there and it is far from the semi-abandoned zone found in cities around the continent.
I’ll expand upon Ephraim’s comment about suburban satellite business neighbourhoods in European cities by noting that the gleaming towers of La Défense outside Paris’ Périphérique or Canary Wharf in London’s east end haven’t sapped the vitality of either city’s historic centre. I think central Montreal has good bones, and I’m hopeful that each threat to it would be met by innovation leading to a positive evolution.
Dominic 10:46 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
Having lived downtown, and since Covid moved back to the suburbs, what’s on Ste Catherine’s street that I cant get at Fairview, or DIX30, or Carrefour Laval? Apple store, Starbucks, Sports Experts, Cineplex, Indigo, and the Bay? I can get to those places anywhere.
What’s the draw to go downtown unless its for an event, or museum, or a “special” dinner?
DeWolf 12:04 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
There’s a ton of interesting independent businesses all over downtown. Plus, unlike the suburbs, you can actually walk places without needing a car.
I’m currently in Chicago and while there is a lot of spectacular architecture here, downtown is generally much less interesting than Montreal. The mix of businesses is especially bad – there’s a few interesting independents here and there, but it’s overwhelmingly chain stores and restaurants. And not as bustling as I would have expected given Chicago’s size.
The universities and colleges, plus all the cultural venues, go a long way in making downtown Montreal a pretty dynamic place even if it definitely needs some love and attention in terms of urban design and management.
Kevin 12:40 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
I think Legault and Roberge have this idea that by crushing McGill, Concordia, and Dawson that 30,000 anglos will vanish and rushing into the vaccuum will be 30,000 francophones flocking to the internationally renowned bastions of education, UQAM and Cegep du Vieux.
qatzelok 13:03 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
@Dominic: “what’s on Ste Catherine’s street that I cant get at Fairview, or DIX30, or Carrefour Laval?”
A streetlife full of spontaneity that goes beyond shopping. Public life and community are not the same as shopping at malls.
Ian 14:20 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
I used to work with a guy from Laval who said much the same – why should I leave Laval? We have at least one of everything Montreal does. My response was that sure, there is one of everything – but where you have maybe one of two good Indian places, we have entire neighbourhoods. You can get ramen at the mall, we get Kazu. His response was “well I don’t like any of that weird stuff anyway”.
Good riddance.
If all you want is chain stores, yeah, go live in Laval or Missisauga or wherever. You won’t be missed. Going to a McKibbin’s at a mall is not the same as going to the St Patrick’s parade. I could go on.
Of course downtown there are also museums, libraries, cafés, art galleries, bookstores, etc. each of which are unique – and exist in much higher concentration downtown than in the sticks.
EmilyG 15:24 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
I currently live in the suburbs.
I don’t go downtown much because it takes a while to get there, and a bit of planning. And I often don’t have time in my day. It isn’t because I’m afraid. I don’t tend to feel insecure downtown.
I’d love to move closer to the city centre.
Blork 16:46 on 2024-01-18 Permalink
In pre-pandemic times, when more people worked downtown, downtown had the advantage of bringing people together from all over the city, every day. There are all sorts of good things that come with that, but the most obvious is the social one. Specifically, the ease of socializing (whether it’s a coffee break, lunch, or drinks/dinner after work) with people who don’t live in your neighbourhood and who you would otherwise probably never meet.
Personally, I miss this. My so-called “book club” (essentially a euphemism for four middle-aged guys drinking and eating pizza) used to meet every month, which was easy to set up because three out of four of us worked downtown, with the fourth working in NDG which was close enough. Now we have me in Longueuil, another guy in the West Island, one in NDG, and one downtown. The only one who works downtown now is the guy who also lives downtown. Arranging after-work drinks/etc. with this (now) geographically dispersed group is a lot more difficult than it used to be.
And that’s for a well-established group of friends. Meeting and socializing with new people who you work with when everyone works from home is even more difficult since every meet-up has to be deliberate and intentional instead of spontaneous and serendipitous.