Are you happy at home? Or are you dreaming of moving? In the midst of a housing crisis, The duty has called for reader stories, which will be published over the summer. Some point out that quality of life is not just about housing. Neighborhood life and urban planning can contribute to the happiness — or unhappiness — of being at home.
At 81, Geneviève Hut reigns over a corner of paradise. The back wall of her house, entirely made of glass, opens onto a Japanese garden that invites us to stroll. A stone Buddha contemplates the water basin, where a mini-waterfall trickles. A small red bridge leads to a shaded area, where you can have tea.
The interior of the house is similar. Sculptures and paintings brought from all over the world adorn the rooms of his bungalow. It would be difficult to dream of a more idyllic home. But there is a but.
The retiree sometimes feels like she lives in a gilded prison. This dynamic woman, a former manager for the World Health Organization, finds herself isolated. She is in good shape, but a degenerative neurological disease prevents her from driving a car. She walks slowly. A specialist in home care for the elderly, she finds that Quebec is missing the mark in this area.
“My neighborhood is not designed for an 81-year-old woman who lives alone and without a car,” laments Geneviève Hut, whom we met in the living room of her small house. The elegance and eloquence of our hostess are reminiscent of Louise Latraverse or Dominique Michel, women of the same generation who are unstoppable.
We are in the Bourg-Royal sector, north of Charlesbourg, in the suburbs of Quebec. We are a little bit in the suburbs of the suburbs. This historic district, founded in 1666 by the Marquis de Tracy, has kept its country feel. But the city is inexorably getting closer…
No car? Good luck
When she bought the little house two years ago, Geneviève Hut forgot to check the state of the bus service in the area. She’s kicking herself. This is the kingdom of the “char.”
“Without a car, there is no possibility of having a normal life. Here, everything is far away. There are no nearby neighborhoods, no bistros, no cafes, no libraries where people can meet,” she says.
This French woman who has lived all over the world arrived in Quebec 25 years ago. Quebec is her home. She wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. But she finds that her adopted neighborhood is poorly adapted to her reality.
Buses run on average once an hour, the stops are far from her home (for an 81-year-old woman with limited mobility) and transfers are required to get into town. She calculated that a twenty-minute drive would take her over an hour and a quarter by bus, including the walk to the bus stop.
Without a car, there is no possibility of having a normal life. Here, everything is far away.
Geneviève Hut has friends who come to visit her and who can help her with her shopping, but they don’t have time for that. “I’m lucky to have a head that still works well, but sometimes the days are long! It’s no wonder that elderly people end up depressed if they’re not offered normal living conditions.”
She has signed up for a “young retirees club” that organizes activities, but there is just one problem: “How do I get there? I can’t take a taxi for all my trips, I’m retired, not a millionaire!”
Urban sprawl
Geneviève Hut’s neighborhood is changing rapidly. The fields and surrounding forest are being eaten away by urban sprawl. A new residential “development” of 150 homes in shades of gray and brown has emerged in recent years. And another project of 350 homes has been announced in a forest located 300 meters away.
With the imminent disappearance of part of the wooded land, the retiree will lose one of the few attractions in the neighborhood that is accessible to her. She loves walking in this forest where she feels good. And these 350 houses and apartments will bring hundreds of additional cars into the neighborhood.
Geneviève Hut’s once quiet little street is already overrun with vans, school buses and other motorized vehicles. As if that weren’t enough, the street has no sidewalk. Children walking home from the nearby elementary school (and a few elderly people) are brushed by hurried drivers.
The day we met, Premier François Legault announced his plan for public transportation in Quebec City (yes, the famous plan that resurrects the third highway link with the South Shore as well as the tramway). Geneviève Hut had no expectations. She did well, because her hopes would have been disappointed. In the suburbs of the suburbs, we have not finished traveling by car.
The secret of autonomy
She is also disappointed by the way Quebec treats seniors. For her, the seniors’ homes created by the Legault government are not revolutionary. In her experience, the secret to the well-being of the elderly is simple: we need to develop intergenerational buildings, where the elderly share a yard with young families with children.
Other Quebec cities offer on-demand public transportation. Minibuses or minivans pick up residents at their homes or at an easily accessible bus stop. Geneviève Hut used a service like this in Château-Richer and L’Isle-aux-Coudres.
“It is possible to make life easier for the elderly. It’s not rocket science. You just have to have the will to do it.”