In search of larger lots and more affordable homes, people are settling farther and farther away, pushing urban sprawl to unprecedented heights. As proof: the demographic growth of the outer suburbs of the Montreal region (Mascouche, Mirabel, Varennes, etc.) was 7% from 2016 to 2021, compared to 4% for the intermediate suburbs (Belœil, Rosemère, etc.), 3.4% for the inner suburbs (Longueuil, Laval) and 2.1% for the central districts of Montreal, indicates Statistics Canada.
This mode of development has serious consequences for the climate and the environment. To make subdivisions, natural environments are destroyed and agricultural land is reduced. In addition, new neighborhoods do not have access to public transport, which increases dependence on the automobile. Result: urban sprawl is an obstacle to achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets.
But the sprawling suburbs will remain, with the consequences that come with it. What can be done now to make them more climate-friendly? Here are five possible solutions.
1. Revitalize commercial streets
Create an alternative to the suburban shopping megacenters that have sprung up near highways, i.e. “friendly commercial arteries conducive to active mobility and shopping in local businesses, two key levers in reducing GHG emissions”, maintains Véronique Fournier, Executive Director of the Montreal Urban Ecology Center (CEUM), whose mission is to develop greener and healthier cities.
How do we do? Bye Bye, oversized boulevard! The CEUM proposes to redesign the commercial arteries by implementing traffic calming measures, widened sidewalks, corridors for active transportation and street furniture that encourages relaxation and socialization.
2. Rebuild the suburbs on themselves
Zero sprawl is the objective that we should collectively aim for, because it is possible to grow without spreading. “Rather than encroaching on natural environments, there is plenty of land to maximize in the suburbs, such as surface parking lots, which form a huge land reservoir to densify and green,” says Christian Savard, general manager of Vivre en ville, an organization that works to develop viable communities in Quebec.
Another way to grow without spreading out is to stimulate the addition of accessory housing in existing neighborhoods – private independent apartments in a house – such as on the roof of garages, or to promote the development of intergenerational houses. A gentle densification that can be done on a large scale.
3. Make forests indispensable
Trees play a crucial role in the fight against climate change by capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it. Despite everything, they are among the first victims of urban sprawl.
“We must highlight all the ecosystem services that forests provide us free of charge, such as the capture of rainwater, the cooling of the ambient temperature, the purification of the air and the protection of biodiversity”, explains Alain Paquette, professor holding the Urban Forest Research Chair at UQAM, who proposes a change of discourse concerning the importance of forests in urban areas.
“Woodlands also serve as places of relaxation and recreation, contributing to our physical and mental health,” adds the biologist.
By making trees indispensable in the minds of people and decision-makers, it will become more difficult to destroy them at the slightest opportunity. By developing the Laval woodlands, the Canopée organization is doing exemplary work in this regard, emphasizes Alain Paquette.
4. Build the houses in the right place
The construction of more low-carbon housing requires not only increased densification, but also optimal location. “We must build on sites that promote active travel, close to shops and services, and close to public transport axes,” says Yann Omer-Kassin, development officer at Bâtir son quartier, an organization involved in the construction of eco-responsible community housing.
Other means exist to reduce the carbon footprint of new constructions, such as reducing the number of parking lots, adding indoor and outdoor bike racks, installing charging stations and integrating a car-sharing service.
5. Changing behaviors and uses thanks to eco-taxation
Suburbs can stimulate the ecological transition by leveraging the powers of ecofiscality, that is, tax measures that encourage the adoption of practices that are less harmful to the environment.
Tax on non-residential parking spaces to encourage densification; payment of royalties by real estate developers on new constructions, whose contributions would be modulated according to several criteria, such as the energy efficiency of buildings (eg Mascouche); landowner tax on the land occupation coefficient, i.e. the measurement of the floor area of a building in relation to the size of the land, in order to promote densification (ex. Varennes), etc
Here are some suggestions of eco-fiscal tools that can have direct and indirect effects on CO emissions2according to Fanny Tremblay-Racicot, assistant professor at the National School of Public Administration.
The low-carbon suburb, a dream that could come true.