This text is part of the special section Municipalities
In 2022, more than one out of two Quebecers lives in a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, and this proportion will tend to increase over the next few years. How, then, can more and more people live in restricted territories? Can the densification of environments be an appropriate solution? Catherine Boisclair, urban planner with the organization Vivre en ville and project coordinator Yes in my yard! which aims to accelerate urban transformations with a view to combating climate change, sheds some light on us.
First problem: the housing crisis, underlying for several years in Quebec and in particular in Montreal, is accelerating. The shortage of available housing coupled with the health crisis has caused both purchase and rental prices to explode. This is what Catherine Boisclair observes. The urban planner is among the panelists of the conference The densification of environments, what for? Ways to optimize the occupation of our territorieswhich will take place on Thursday on the occasion of the 2022 meeting of the Union of Quebec Municipalities.
“In Quebec, the housing shortage is on everyone’s lips,” she says. To respond to this, more housing of all kinds, both privately initiated and social, must be built, and of all sizes to meet a diversity of needs. The detached single-family home no longer suits everyone, if only because of its exorbitant cost in several neighborhoods in demand, but also because many people now live alone or in pairs, especially young adults and many babies. -boomers, whose aspirations are changing. »
Building within existing neighborhoods
Densification and urban sprawl are two sides of the same coin, continues the urban planner. Either we build new housing inside existing neighborhoods, which increases the number of homes in a neighborhood: this is called densification. Either we build these dwellings on previously natural or agricultural environments: this is called urban sprawl.
“Both plans respond to the same imperative: the creation of new units to accommodate population growth and the formation of new households,” she points out. In other words, one or the other will have to be done, but something will certainly have to be done. »
The densification of urban areas is necessary to meet the growing demand for housing. We also have to deal with climate change. From this point of view, the pitfalls of sprawl are known: dependence on solo car use, destruction of wetlands and forests, high construction and maintenance costs. Residences are always further away from workplaces, in particular, and the construction of infrastructures and services to reach them is expensive and pollutes.
“To meet all of these challenges, and in particular the climate and housing crisis, all areas experiencing population growth are called upon to densify their neighborhoods rather than spread out,” continues Ms.me Clear wood. Even communities that are experiencing little or no growth must meet the changing housing needs of their aging population, and to do so, they have everything to gain by building these units within existing neighbourhoods. »
Changing mobility habits
However, this densification continues to have bad press within Quebec society. Multi-housing still suffers from a negative a priori. These legitimate apprehensions about the appearance of taller and wider residential towers, however, must be qualified on the eve of current progress in terms of construction and the need to fight against climate change.
“We find that uniformity in our neighborhoods is highly valued, both architecturally and socially, which is a questionable goal. Climate and social issues should indeed concern us more. In many circles, each additional dwelling means one or even two or three more cars. Whereas if we build near public transit, services and jobs, we can take advantage of densification to transform the mobility habits of residents,” observes Catherine Boisclair, who adds that densification can take several forms.
It evokes forms of soft or invisible densification, such as the transformation of a former convent or a presbytery into housing, the subdivision of a single-family house or the construction of a tiny house in the backyard. to add an accessory slot. But the most significant densification, that which consists in building in height, is sometimes welcome when it is a question of increasing the supply of housing near jobs, businesses and stations of the structuring network of public transport when there is one.
Mme Boisclair recognizes, however, that this form of densification calls for greater attention for successful insertion. Parking must be limited, for example, and it should not overlook balconies or windows in order to promote privacy. It also insists on the need to green buildings as much as possible.
“Quebec’s urban and ecological future depends on taking all of these considerations into account,” she concludes.