Canada
February - August 2023
Montreal's Executive Committee commissioned the OCPM to carry out a public consultation on the state of development of the Griffintown neighbourhood's development.
The residents of the Griffintown neighbourhood.
Montreal is Quebec's largest city. A large island metropolis and port on the St. Lawrence River, at the foot of the Lachine Rapids, it is the second most populous city in Canada (with 1,762,949 inhabitants in 2021), after Toronto, and the largest French-speaking city in North America. Its urban area, the Montreal metropolitan region, is home to almost 4.3 million people, around half the population of Quebec. The Griffintown area, which backs onto Montreal's business district, has a unique urban character, marked by the Saint-Gabriel Locks and the Peel Basin.
The Executive Committee has mandated the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) to conduct a review of the development of Griffintown. This exercise is part of the review of the Programme Particulier d'Urbanisme (PPU) adopted in 2013, with the aim of evaluating the ten years of implementation, renewing the common vision of development between the city and its citizens, and identifying the means to achieve this while ensuring social acceptability.
After a decade of implementation of the PPU, the City of Montreal, at the request of the Sud-Ouest borough, commissioned the OCPM to conduct a participatory exercise with the public to take stock of achievements and map out the future of the area. The transformation of this industrial district into a true living environment requires the collaboration of citizens, civil society, government bodies and property developers, in order to pursue the vision of the PPU and the aspirations of the current and future population.
This approach is part of a broader reflection aimed at integrating climate, affordability and mobility issues, while renewing the social acceptability of the PPU.
The OCPM's public consultations take place in three stages: an information period, a period for expressing opinions, and an analysis period for formulating recommendations. The OCPM encourages broad participation and strives to ensure that all voices are heard.
To publicise the consultation process, documentation relating to the dossier was posted on the OCPM website and sent out by post. The information phase enabled the public to find out about the implementation of the PPU and to ask questions of municipal representatives. An information evening was also held, both in person and online, at which municipal representatives presented the report at a public session, followed by a question and answer session accessible in person, online and by telephone. A number of other activities were organised to meet with residents, shopkeepers and other groups, in order to provide food for thought and gather their opinions, including focus groups and individual interviews.
The hearings before the commissioners were held on 23 and 24 August 2023 at the OCPM. A total of 20 groups or individuals spoke at the two hearing sessions, in addition to 20 briefs submitted without presentation. In all, the OCPM received 40 briefs and 361 online comments. At the end of the consultation process, an exhaustive analysis of the opinions expressed was carried out in order to formulate recommendations.
Sources of information (in French):
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