CAPS-ACÉAU 2013 in a nutshell

Windy stairs of Montréal, Rue de Rouen

A few weeks ago I had three days to explore Montreal while learning about its history and planning policies. I happened to make new friends and visit family too. This is what I call good study/fun balance!

Norma Rantisi talked about Montreal as a cultural metropolis. The Mile End, home of rivals St. Urban and Mont Viateur bagel shops, are particularly attractive to artists."Buildings, infrastructure, iconography and public space shape creative production."
She also spoke of an unprecedented piece of legislation protecting artists in Montreal: a new zoning ordinance that guarantees artists affordable workspaces for the next 30 years.

After the talk, we had a lunch break long enough for a drive through the Mile End. It great being able to see all the places Norma had been talking about.

David Hanna told countless entertaining stories about Montreal's past in our visit of Griffintown, a place named after a woman which is quite rare. An especially good tale consisted of a murder with an axe and prostitutes, which you can read about here.

New City Gas. A heritage factory building converted into a nightclub. 

Protests written on the entranceway that was historically used by horses. A recent condo development next to the stables disrupts the traditional route of the horses that pull carriages in the Old Port.  

Jacques Besner gave an interesting stat: only about a 3rd of CIP members included climate change measures in their work. This suggests that there is still a very long way to go before our cities become resilient and adaptive to the uncertainty of climate change.

UQUAM conference hall. Instant translations provided for anglophones in headphones.

Dinu Bumbaru amusingly stated that "walkability is good, but strollability is better. Cows walk, people stroll." Berlin includes flanâge in their transportation plans, why can't we?

Another good reminder for planners: "une société de quartier c'est une société de voisins." Good relationships with neighbours is an important aspect of communities.

Cool fact: Frederick Olmsted, designer of New York's Central Park, created the plan for Mount Royal Park in 1874.  Olmsted was convinced of the therapeutic value of nature on people and prioritized making parks accessible to every social class. It was his only commission outside of the US.

Mount Royal Park / Olmsted map (1877)

Panorama from Mount Royal Park

Also, Montreal has a surprisingly endearing giant milk pint of which they are very proud.

Mathieu Demers described the interesting project of greening alleyways in Montreal. Key point that I took away: "une vigne grimpante est beaucoup plus économe qu'un toît vert." With similar benefits, it's a lot easier and cheaper to grow vines on walls than it is to install green roofs.

The conference was a great experience, and I'm really looking forward to attend more. To end this post,  here's a sample of montréalais humour that entertained me on the bus ride home.

I used to have hamsters named 'Ti-nono and Gros-nono