Can city spawn dense, walkable neighbourhoods?
The city administration hopes to create dense, walkable neighbourhoods in project areas like the old Molson brewery site, Bridge‑Bonaventure and Place Versailles, in contrast to the random development of Griffintown when it was thrown to the sharks. Is it possible, will bureaucracy bog it down and will people enthusiastically adopt high‑rise living without so many cars in the mix?
su 10:04 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
Is that schematic cartoon of a crowded concrete square surrounded by cement sardine can high rises supposed to promote the project? One can only imagine the heat that design will emanate. How bout grass for picnics and cooling – maybe community garden space.
DeWolf 11:07 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
This article reads like something that would have been published in 2005, not 2025, when development was moribund and families were still leaving the city en masse.
All three of the projects mentioned are being led by private developers – they weren’t instigated by the city. Which means there’s market demand for dense neighbourhoods. When the article asks “can the city deliver?” it’s the wrong question, because it’s not the city delivering these projects, it’s for-profit interests who aren’t doing it out of charity or a sense of idealism.
The focus on Montreal’s net loss of population is weird too. Yes, more people move from Montreal to the suburbs every year than vice versa, but they are replaced by even more people coming from elsewhere. In terms of absolute numbers, Montreal’s population is growing every year.
Also the question of whether Montrealers are willing to live in dense housing – huh? Most Montrealers already live in apartments. A huge number live in relatively dense neighbourhoods like RPP and the Plateau (the combined population of which is larger than the West Island). And the downtown population — basically all high-rises — grew by 25% between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, making it one of the fastest-growing downtown areas in Canada.
So weird premise for an article.
DeWolf 11:10 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
Also, the whole “not another Griffintown!” thing needs to be put to rest. Griffintown is developing like almost any urban neighbourhood in history has developed: as a hodgepodge. How do you think the Plateau became what it is today? It wasn’t master-planned, that’s for sure.
If you walk around Griffintown today, there are nicely revamped streets, lots of new trees, quite a few parks and plazas — with three more on the way — and lots of people walking around. There’s too many chain stores, but even then, there are also quite a few interesting independent businesses.
Here’s a good video exploring why Griffintown isn’t the boogeyman it is made out to be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iiIaFRMg1E&pp=ygUbb2ggdGhlIHVyYmFuaXR5IGdyaWZmaW50b3du
Robert H 11:34 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
That “Vue de la Place Publique” looks wonderful! It’s certainly an improvement over the vast parking lot and strip mall that fills the Place Versailles site now. People claim to hate sprawl, but seem to hate density even more. It’s not as simple as land-gobbling subdivisions of pseudo-chateaux vs. “cement sardine can high rises,” but that’s the way some people would frame the matter. High rises are actually part of the solution, and I’m encouraged to see this project and the intensified Îlot Voyageur proposal among others, get the go ahead. Of course, I’m aware of the reservations people have had about these plans, especially relative to affordability: exhibit A, Square Children’s. But Iet’s not make perfect the enemy of good. I welcome these new developments.
Coincidentally, perhaps it’s time to revisit Griffintown as the preferred example of how not to densify Greater Montreal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iiIaFRMg1E
Robert H 11:37 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
Hello, DeWolf! Great minds watch alike!
DeWolf 12:07 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
I am willing to bet that in 30 years, Griffintown will be considered a lively, eclectic and interesting neighbourhood, while the Quartier des lumières and and Place Versailles developments will be rather dull, with a distinct sense of artificiality because their development was more centralized. A bit like the parts of Angus that were developed in the early 2000s still have a Truman Show vibe after so many years.
Nicholas 12:54 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
I had also just watched that video. Even before that, I was more anti-anti-Griffintown. There are a bunch of parks and car-free promenades, still lots of indie businesses on Notre Dame (leading into Little Burgundy) and the canal, obviously. The streets aren’t too wide, the reconstructed sidewalks are pretty wide, street trees are small but growing. Also there should be a REM station there in 2070.
I think the biggest knock from most people is that people like red brick, that is Montreal, and many of these buildings don’t have that. Also the dep that you never use is fancy rather than old. Oh and fancy local chain restaurants, but have you seen Mont-Royal lately? Even the homegrown restaurants are now chains: they have a L’Avenue in Toronto, and Saudi Arabia!
Lastly, even though this “rich” (it’s not that rich, and there is social housing) area may seem “new Montreal”, the developers made sure to put in the most quintessential “classic Montreal” place ever: a mob hangout that gets shot up and firebombed every so often. Where else in Canada can you get that kind of local flavour in a gentrified neighbourhood?
Mark 14:15 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
Long-term, I think DeWolf is correct in that Griffintown will evolve into the fabric of the city. My main concern has always been the lack of a school in the planning, and now, 10-15 years later, they are still trying to get that off the ground. Ok so maybe the condos are not great for families with 3+ kids, but honestly, most families are smaller now, and condo life with 1-2 kids is fine. But no school nearby really makes that a difficult sell for many people and has artificially created a less diverse population because of it.
jeather 14:52 on 2025-07-10 Permalink
The complaints I heard from friends who moved away were mostly about difficulties with public transit access.