Opinion: Toronto and Montreal can learn from each other
There is much Toronto and Montreal can learn from each other. Here are some of the themes we plan to cover in our public conversation at Concordia University Thursday:
Montreal as seen by Toronto’s Ken Greenberg:
There is so much to appreciate in the omnipresent echoes of Montreal’s longer and more extensive urban history: the grandeur and power of its dramatic setting on the St. Lawrence River, the magnificent Olmsted park on Mount Royal and the vibrancy of its street life.
But the area that still attracts me most in human terms is the Plateau, the seam along “the Main,” where east and west, French and English, overlap and mix.
New treatments of the public realm like the Quartier des Spectacles, the planned overhaul of Ste-Catherine St.’s sidewalks and the embrace of cycling infrastructure are also impressive.
Walkability, however, is still patchy between downtown and adjacent neighbourhoods and the allure of the automobile still seems very strong.
Can Montreal not work on presenting a more welcoming face to visitors arriving from the airport? In fact automobile “caverns” greet new arrivals from any point other than the South Shore.
The major construction in progress will only partly overcome the brutality of the highway divides: Ville Marie, Décarie and the truly monstrous Turcot Interchange. These monumental highways are relics of another era that have sadly eviscerated the city.
Elsewhere, there is still lots of room for infilling and ongoing neighbourhood building in obsolescent no man’s lands like Griffintown and along the Lachine Canal.
Toronto as seen by Montreal’s Carmela Cucuzzella:
Toronto’s accessible waterfront, the eclectic Kensington Market, Spadina Avenue — such vibrant places, alive with people and chance encounters! The cultural diversity of Toronto’s neighbourhoods is a sheer delight. Every time you turn a corner, it’s like entering a new world.
The city’s art scene is also incredibly rich. Art Toronto, Canada’s international fair for modern and contemporary art, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the galleries, the museums and the theatre scene are truly world class. So many lively public places and cultural events make Toronto a city of terrific energy and vitality.
And it’s always so clean and orderly. I can actually sit on a curb, even cross a city street without risking my life there. Plus the downtown streetcars are so attractive and convenient.
But I suspect too few Toronto dwellers fully benefit from downtown’s delights. Sky-high real estate prices have driven so many out to the suburbs.
The city occupies almost double the land mass Montreal does, while its population is just one-third greater. The result is horrific congestion every day as millions of people drive long distances into the city. No wonder the average daily commute in Toronto is the longest in Canada.
Taking the streetcar, subway, bus or GO train is a challenge given sparse connectivity between the many types of public transit.
One way to address this suburban sprawl is to listen to Jane Jacobs, one of Toronto’s most beloved adoptees, and rethink density. The single and semi-detached house is the prevalent model in the Greater Toronto Area, accounting for almost 75 per cent of housing completions since 1996.
Clearly, Torontonians like their back yards. But curbing the sprawl would require a shift to building row houses or denser low-storied homes instead of divided houses. Montreal’s distinctive duplexes and triplexes could serve as inspiration. Encouraging people to buy smaller homes requires reversing current trends and harnessing our collective intelligence to make this socio-cultural shift.
Confronting these challenges lies at the heart of conversations about how to improve life in our cities.
Urban designer Ken Greenberg and Concordia University’s Carmela Cucuzzella, Canada Research Chair, Integrated Design Ecology, and Sustainability hold a public conversation about cities, design and our urban futures, Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. at the D.B. Clarke Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Registration at https://www.concordia.ca/events/conversation-series/thinking-out-loud/live-events.html
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