Montreal's Urban Sprawl

[Faitlemou]

Je peux t'assurer que mon terrain en face de maison dans la banlieue de Boisbriand contient assez d'espace pour y construire quelque chose.

[vivreenrégion]

il y a 16 minutes, Faitlemou a dit :

Je peux t'assurer que mon terrain en face de maison dans la banlieue de Boisbriand contient assez d'espace pour y construire quelque chose.

les gens qui achètent des mini-maisons ne veulent pas habiter dans un quartier résidentiel entouré de grosses maisons de banlieue. La majorité des mini-maisoneux en veulent une pour habiter loin de tout. Il faudrait aussi que tout le zonage soit accepté à changer car tu as beau vouloir permettre une mini-maison sur ton terrain, les voisins du quartier seront probablement contre. Il est aussi illégal de construire 2 bâtiments ''principal'' sur le même lot.

[_mtler_]

Theoretical question:

If the train/metro systems never expanded offshore i.e. remained on the island of Montreal, would sprawl have been contained or significantly reduced?

[montreal67]

7 minutes ago, _mtler_ said:

Theoretical question:

If the train/metro systems never expanded offshore i.e. remained on the island of Montreal, would sprawl have been contained or significantly reduced?

No, the highway system is the most important vector of sprawl, in Montreal and elsewhere

[MtlMan]

il y a 3 minutes, _mtler_ a dit :

Theoretical question:

If the train/metro systems never expanded offshore i.e. remained on the island of Montreal, would sprawl have been contained or significantly reduced?

I think it would only accelerate the development of autonomous suburban communities, i.e. with their own cultural centers, economic downtowns, etc. You don't convince people to come to you by not offering them efficient transportation amenities, i.e. roads and public transport. People will stay in their suburban centers and go to their own little downtowns and so on.

Can't beat them, join them. Make the damn transport systems, and then creat those unique experiences that they won't have ine Ste-Therese or Brossard. If it's easy to bring them to you, and if you have good things to offer, they will eventually come.

NY and Paris have huge public transport systems, reaching very far. Their cores have not emptied out. If you have a weblike network, the center will always have that aura of "being special", being the most important part of the whole thing.

[montreal67]

1 minute ago, MtlMan said:

I think it would only accelerate the development of autonomous suburban communities, i.e. with their own cultural centers, economic downtowns, etc. You don't convince people to come to you by not offering them efficient transportation amenities, i.e. roads and public transport. People will stay in their suburban centers and go to their own little downtowns and so on.

Can't beat them, join them. Make the damn transport systems, and then creat those unique experiences that they won't have ine Ste-Therese or Brossard. If it's easy to bring them to you, and if you have good things to offer, they will eventually come.

NY and Paris have huge public transport systems, reaching very far. Their cores have not emptied out. If you have a weblike network, the center will always have that aura of "being special", being the most important part of the whole thing.

I partly disagree, because these suburban communities would have never reached a large enough population to justify new economic and cultural centers if their growth was not fed by an over-sized highway system and drastic zoning laws in the central neighbourhoods (thus making it impossible to develop enough housing on the island to keep prices low). Many suburban communities started out as "banlieues-dortoir" (providing cheap housing close enough to the major economic hub) and only recently began to diversify and become complete communities, with their own cultural and economic opportunities. 

[MtlMan]

Il y a 22 heures, montreal67 a dit :

I partly disagree, because these suburban communities would have never reached a large enough population to justify new economic and cultural centers if their growth was not fed by an over-sized highway system and drastic zoning laws in the central neighbourhoods (thus making it impossible to develop enough housing on the island to keep prices low). Many suburban communities started out as "banlieues-dortoir" (providing cheap housing close enough to the major economic hub) and only recently began to diversify and become complete communities, with their own cultural and economic opportunities. 

You have good points. But I maintain that, maybe with more time than what actually happened, the situation would have come to the same end. Especially with housing prices soaring faster in Mtl than in the suburbs. For many people, it's the only way to be able to aford a house. Don't forget, for example, that Laval attracted lots of former montrealers way before the arrival of the subway. It accelerated the movement, certainly, but the trend was there before.

Anyways, now, what real choice do we have? Not building Public transport structures and see all those small cities becoming cut off from the metropolis? I don't think it would be good for Montreal. Like NY or Paris, let's make an efficient and strongly integrated metropolis. Of course, that being said, while starting to seriously limit the urban sprawl. Let's accept what is, but let's try to freeze it as much as possible and densify the center with new policies.