On May 30, the Quebec government unveiled new government guidelines for land use planning, called “OGAT” in local jargon. Technical in nature and therefore little known to the general public, OGATs nevertheless play a central role in land use planning in Quebec. They constitute specifications for municipal planning, listing guidelines and concerns that development plans must respect.
The new OGATs constitute a small revolution, given that they replace documents which date back thirty years. Planning will now have to take into account several critical issues of our time, including the fight against urban sprawl, adaptation to climate change, the housing crisis, the protection of ecosystems and sustainable mobility. These renewed OGATs represent a complete overhaul of expectations in terms of development management, with the objective of putting an end to diffuse urbanization and encouraging the creation of denser neighborhoods, equipped with local services.
To achieve this, these orientations must be supported and supported by all stakeholders in land use planning. Only time will tell whether OGATs will truly mark the beginning of the end of sprawl, but they are undeniably a paradigm shift.
The government is also asking municipalities to plan development in a way that reduces dependence on automobiles and facilitates sustainable mobility. This must be done in particular by concentrating development in areas well served by public transport. It is an approach that makes sense, both for sustainable urban planning and for providing the population with access to more transport options. There still needs to be efficient public transport!
However, in recent years, we have witnessed a succession of developments linked to projects. In Quebec City, the tram project is stalled. And this, at a time when developers have started to design densification projects based on this new infrastructure. From the REM de l’Est in Montreal to the Taschereau Boulevard tramway on the South Shore, false starts are accumulating, while we should be accelerating, not only in the two major centers, but in all cities of Quebec. In addition, financing difficulties threaten to cause reductions in services in existing networks, which would be dramatic.
The structures and processes in place simply cannot meet expectations. And it’s not just the problem of cities, because at a time of the climate crisis and the National Architecture and Land Use Planning Policy, it’s a national problem. It is clear that our system of financing, planning and carrying out public transport projects needs a serious overhaul.
If Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s intention to optimize the completion of projects is encouraging, the choices to be made in terms of financing seem to be postponed, which leaves doubt about the real desire to turn things around. It is also essential to depoliticize transport projects and ensure that they are truly aligned with land use planning. The government must show leadership in resolving these issues if it wants these new OGATs to be reflected on the ground.