Shaping Neighbourhoods

Experience and Innovation

Shaping Neighbourhoods: Experience and Innovation is a series of “conference-experiences” intended to entice communities of a neighbourhood to rediscover urban planning projects that exist there and to engage in conversation about community projects, university research, and the municipal initiatives currently happening.

This series offers a chance to reflect, develop, and construct a neighbourhood that is resilient and tuned in to its citizens. At each meeting, the participants will have the opportunity to visit a noteworthy place in the neighbourhood and converse with local organizations that are working toward rethinking their living environment. University researchers will also be a part of the discussion, relating and comparing their own research to actions taking place locally.

Move

June 4, 2019 | Dendrites Sculpture (5:15 PM- 7:30 PM)

Beauty is a fundamental dimension of the public space and raises several questions: how do citizens feel and express it? Are these equal to beauty? What's the role of artists, municipalities, organizations, technicians and architects in creating and raising awareness of this beauty? Should it always be preceded by a clear intention, or is urban poetry born more authentically in spontaneity, when the patina of time arises, for example, on a heritage building and turns it into ruin? Is there a link, finally, between innovation and beauty?

Communicate

May 7, 2019 | DARE-DARE Centre (5:15 PM- 7:30 PM)

The questions associated with communication are at the heart of urban issues. Development projects within a neighborhood, whether they concern the neighborhood in a global way or from a micro perspective (specific projects, temporary projects, etc.), necessarily raise the question of communicative dynamics between the different sectors (public, private, associative, citizens, etc.). Beyond a "traditional" approach of the transmission of information from a source to a target audience, communication is also conceived in a broader, strictly social sense, engaging a plurality of actors mobilizing different postures. In this way, it brings together points of view, promoting discussion in the public space. In this respect, its upgrading conditions represent a central issue in establishing a democratic framework for citizen participation and ownership.

Belong

June 13, 2018 | Station F-MR

Have you heard about civic assets? Some buildings play a central role in the collective lives of their communities. Think of schools, community centres, hospitals and places of worship which contribute people’s sense of belonging.  Many of these sites of belonging are today in need of renewal. What strategies can be developed to enable civic assets to flourish in the face of rapidly changing urban landscapes?

Inhabit

June 5, 2018 | Projet Young | Griffintown

Between real estate speculation, rapid urbanization trends and the social needs of its population, a city is under tremendous pressure on the issue of housing. What are the innovative practices that a municipal administration, real estate developers or social economy enterprises can adopt regarding the development of living spaces? What kind of mix provides the best social and economic diversity for healthy communities?

Build

April 17, 2018 | Tour d'aiguillage Wellington | Projet Young

Why has place-making become necessary? Most places in most cities developed organically over time, as people and builders appropriated space, modelled it and gave it character. In this era where buildings and neighbourhoods are built and torn down, rethinking architecture has become essential.