I dreamed that I woke up in 2037, in my hometown, Quebec. However, she had changed so much that I did not recognize her.
The city had grown into the suburbs, but the downtown area looked like a ghost town. Shops were closed, residential buildings were poorly maintained and appeared empty. It was impossible to perceive the charm that previously emanated from these central districts, Montcalm or Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Only Old Quebec seemed lively.
The “Old”, as the people of Quebec called it, seemed to have lost its soul, the Old had become a place intended only for tourism, there were no longer any permanent residents living there, much like the residents of Venice bought properties outside the municipality to rent out their Venetian home to tourists.
I wondered why things had evolved in this way, and I was told that certain developments resulting from the installation of the tramway had made it difficult to access these neighborhoods, which have now become the equivalent of the “doughnut hole” , a well-known phenomenon in urban planning.
I hope that this dream will not materialize, that it will remain what it is, a bad dream. Urban development can be achieved in a human way. I know very well that a city is something living that must evolve, but it must materialize in respect of what exists in order to improve it, the quality of life for everyone remaining essential.
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