Green and cycling infrastructure | The best slice of the pie to the affluent quarters

It is primarily the residents of the most affluent neighborhoods who really benefit from investments in green and cycling infrastructure in the metropolis, shows a new study by the University of Montreal. Its main author calls on the administration of Valérie Plante to invest “in a more intelligent” and equitable way.

Henri Ouellette-Vezina
The Press

“We see the City investing in the canopy, bike paths, parks, green spaces. That’s good, but we also have to ask ourselves whether or not these investments contribute to reducing environmental and social inequalities,” says Professor Yan Kestens, principal researcher of the INTERACT team, which studies the impact of urban development on the health of populations.

His team’s data shows that cycling investments have “reversed” over time. “In 2011, 5.9% of the network was cycleable in gentrified neighborhoods, and 7.1% in non-gentrified neighborhoods. But since then, it has been reversed: this ratio is now 13.3% against 10.1%, ”notes the researcher.

Surprising fact: the gentrified areas are still “less green” in general, according to the researcher, who notes however that the difference with the neighborhoods which have not yet been the subject of gentrification “has diminished” during the same period. “The gentrified sectors have been greened more, and have therefore partly caught up. On the other hand, disadvantaged areas or areas with more visible minorities, already less green in 2011, did not benefit as much from greening as more advantaged areas. Consequence: either the differences have been maintained, or they have increased slightly, ”he observes.

These discrepancies can be explained by a historical reality. “Immigrant and working-class populations have settled in more industrialized and isolated neighborhoods. Wealthier neighborhoods were able to invest more in green spaces, trees and access to leisure activities,” continues the researcher. According to him, this trend has created significant health inequalities, because “people living near green spaces report better general health than those who live in more isolated neighborhoods”.

More equitable avenues?

Montréal-Nord, where the population has been calling for more safe bike paths for years, is one of the boroughs “which has[nt] fewer bike lanes compared to the rest of the city,” reads the report by Mr. Kestens’ team.

“Further south, in Longueuil, there are sectors that are also lagging far behind in terms of green spaces and bicycle paths. This contrasts with the more affluent neighborhoods that we know in the city center, such as the Plateau Mont-Royal, or even certain more affluent suburbs, ”he also advances.

One question remains, however: is gentrification really the cause of the increase in these infrastructures in the neighbourhoods?

“In fact, it looks like a chicken and egg story,” says postdoctoral fellow Behzad Kiani, a member of the research team. Whether gentrification is driving investment in the built environment or whether changes to a neighborhood’s built environment might encourage new communities to move in and enrich it is not yet certain. We are currently studying this relationship. »

“Investing smarter”

The study by the INTERACT group is continuing. The team is currently looking to recruit residents of Montreal to “understand how various segments of the population experience changes in their neighborhoods.” “This reflex of equity in investments, I think it is something that must be developed further. There is a way to invest in a smarter way,” concludes Mr. Kestens.

At the City of Montreal, the head of urban planning, Robert Beaudry, assures that the Plante administration has the “priority” of working on the “territorial equity” of green and cycling spaces.

“Not surprised” by the researcher’s findings, Mr. Beaudry says, however, that the City is already doing a lot to correct the situation since 2017, even if major inequalities still exist. “In local regulations, for example, we include park fees, so we make sure that there are parks before the development of the sectors,” he quotes, saying he wants to give more to green spaces in the city. East, with the project for a future ecotourism park on Île Sainte-Thérèse, for example.

With the collaboration of Isabelle Ducas, The Press