Our villages and towns, from the most rural to the most metropolitan, are more than ever the magnet attractor of our daily activities: cultural, student, economic, social and even residential. We, elected officials from city centers, wish to highlight the great need for investment in our urban and village cores.
The main street appears more than ever as a complete and essential living environment. On at least five aspects, investing in the heart of our main streets appears to be a winning recipe for Quebec society.
Firstly because, in the face of a vast social consensus regarding the protection of natural environments, development must logically take place… in already built environments! We must therefore foresee the end of human construction on natural environments rich in the biodiversity that we so need.
Then because the interpersonal relationships that our streets allow are essential. Human proximity uninhibited by cities is our best defense against social isolation, mutual incomprehension and technological anonymity. We must succeed in being around each other more and better, while public spaces appear to be the new coffee corner in a world enhanced by retirees and teleworkers.
Also because the bills for scattered developments add up, ranging from staggering costs of construction and maintenance of infrastructure to uncontrollable transport inflation, such is our dependence on the car. Rolling out more asphalt while potholes pile up is a dangerous accounting game. Favoring the maintenance of what already exists means, in addition, taking care of our heritage. Faced with a carbon footprint weighed down by motorized transport, we must also increase the living environments where walking is a mode of travel.
Fifth, medical advances are currently hampered by sedentary lifestyles in our unstructured territories. The best pill to combat illness remains a healthy, affordable, green, walkable and sociable city.
A good investment for all regions
All these reasons speak in favor of the hearts of our localities which, let’s be honest, have suffered decades of lack of love. During this time, our society has tried other models; but we must admit its limits. We think, for example, of peripheral commercial centers erected in seas of asphalt and sheet metal. These segregated, “unwalkable” and impermeable spaces result in many significant collective costs, particularly for municipalities.
More recently, the trend to promote teleworking may have caused concern about the capacity for local businesses to flourish. The winning recipe of the main street is a key, both for towns and village centers! During the pandemic, the government invested sums to revive certain city centers. This led to good, but punctual, results. However, the needs are still there!
The Quebec government must launch a centrality program, with at least five orientations. The exemplary location of public buildings, first of all. It must then provide a specialized envelope for the revitalization of local services, coupled with major investments in decontamination and requalification. An unprecedented housing and diversity effort will also have to be undertaken. Finally, it must support the continuation of event and cultural activities as supported during the pandemic.
There are plenty of avenues to consolidate (we assume the pun), if only to implement the “Better living and building our territory” policy and the development guidelines or facilitate the achievement of our sustainable mobility objectives. For example, by combining this revitalization with the desire for administrative decentralization towards the regions, which will necessarily be made through central location choices for jobs and public buildings.
It will be necessary to invest judiciously the 470 million from the fiscal pact for local services, in order to multiply the benefits and ensure that municipalities of various sizes benefit from them. Taking on the economic specialization niches specific to each environment will also be necessary. As well as acting as a partner of municipalities which are the best actors in the field of local urban development.
We want a plan and government funding that invests in urban redevelopment. A plan which includes, for example, sums to energize and revitalize main streets, to decontaminate and requalify aging commercial and industrial sites, or to enable the cultural animation of unifying, green and local public squares. Without forgetting housing, with even more voluntary enabling means and powers for centralities and their dense and mixed character.
The objective? May the centers become exemplary living environments for all ages and all means.
Replacing the dispersion of public (and private!) investments with concerted action to renew the hearts of cities and their main streets is one of the best works that can be done in regional planning. It is a local action and a national economic program.
We are putting pen to paper today because we believe that our main streets will remain magnets in our regions, with lots of benefits to come.