Old Quebec and its postcard decor inspire millions of tourists every year, but the beauty of the neighborhood is less and less enough to retain those who live there. The City intends to curb the exodus of residents by focusing on a better quality of life – and on stricter supervision of Airbnb-type housing.
The demographic decline goes back a long way: from the 10,600 inhabitants who populated the neighborhood in 1951, there were only 5,770 left in 2016. In this neighborhood which is one of the most beautiful in America, 28% of the dwellings today belong to people who don’t live there permanently.
The Marchand administration wants to stop the bloodletting by offering a better quality of life. The district enjoys an undeniable beauty, but does not offer any grocery store to its population. A few convenience stores and delicatessens offer the necessities, but they fit on the fingers of one hand, isolated between the theaters, restaurants and souvenir shops available to tourists.
Borough councilor Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc wants Old Quebec to attract families. To achieve this, it plans to green the walls and cobblestones of the historic district, slow down the speed of motorists and give freedom of the city to pedestrians and cyclists by developing streets that are more user-friendly.
“We are betting that by improving the quality of life of current citizens, it will make other citizens want to come back,” said Ms. Coulombe-Leduc when presenting the plan to revitalize Old Quebec. .
In consultation with the population
The town hall intends to survey the population of the district to identify their needs and compensate for the shortcomings of a sector in need of new blood. Old Quebec lives up to its name: the average age was nearly 50 in 2016, six years older than the average in the capital, and only 12% of residents were under 25. Elsewhere in the territory of Quebec, young people account for a quarter of the population.
To attract families, it will be necessary not only to increase the supply of local services, but also to harness the unbridled development of rental housing intended for short-term stays, according to the City. Lucrative for the owners, this trade is expensive for neighborhood life: it undermines social cohesion, leads to higher rents by reducing the number of housing units on the market and directs trade towards tourist customers to the detriment of residential ones. .
To curb the appetite of landlords who prefer to accommodate tourists rather than their fellow citizens, the City of Quebec intends to invoke the powers granted to municipalities under Bill 100. The latter notably grants cities the right to ask the Ministry of Tourism to withdraw an operating permit.
“The pandemic has shown that Old Quebec depends a lot on tourism to ensure its vitality,” said the adviser at a press briefing on Wednesday. “It is important to promote a fair balance between tourism and the living environment. »
The Marchand administration has set no timetable for reversing the trend, which saw 9% of the population desert Old Quebec between 1996 and 2016.