Building a greener city, one block at a time

What would a green neighbourhood look like on the ground? For the past two years Éco-quartier Peter-McGill has been hard at work building a showcase project for what sustainable development on a small scale should look like. The idea behind the project, dubbed Quartier 21, is to concentrate as many small scale green projects in one spot to serve as a showcase for how we can make our cities greener.

This initiative has its origins in the Agenda 21, which was adopted at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. This is a global action plan on sustainable development, and one of its key ideas is that environmental change has to come at all levels. It has to come at the international level, with agreements such as the Kyoto Accord; but also at the local level with small-scale, everyday projects. It’s in this persective that the concept of a Quartier 21 was born.

The Éco-quartier chose to work in a specific downtown block, bordered by Sainte-Catherine, de Maisonneuve, Saint-Marc, and Saint-Mathieu. This block is notable because it contains all of the three main land uses of the downtown area: residential, commercial, and institutional. In just this one block there is a 200 unit apartment tower, low-rise heritage housing, a commercial parking lot, retail stores, restaurants, as well as the former Victoria School (slated for redevelopment as a tourism school), and the Montreal Curling Club. Since the spring of 2009 the Éco-quartier has been putting in place sustainablity measures within the block.

The most visible parts of the project are greening initiatives, on both public and private land. Splitting costs, the Éco-quartier has worked with local businesses to green the areas in front of their properties, spaces which previously had been paved over. Patches of plants have also been planted in the laneways and around trees in the sidewalks.

Urban agriculture is also being promoted to beautify the neighbourhood and give residents a way to have easy access to fresh produce; especially important in this neighbourhood where there are no community gardens. Residents in apartment buildings as well as business have been provided with recuperated plastic barrels and plants (tomatoes, peppers, beans, etc.) for urban agriculture on balconies.

Another aspect is facilitating the sustainable disposable of waste. Last spring, the Éco-quartier installed wooden community composting bins in the laneway behind Sainte-Catherine. Eventually they hope to install large format composters (like those just south of Parc Jeanne-Mance) on the Victoria School’s grounds.

Regarding conventional recycling, many local businesses have had difficulty recycling their waste as a result of the collection schedule and a lack of space in their buildings. To help correct this problem, a recycling drop-off box was installed in the laneway behind Saint-Mathieu. Merchants can now deposit recyclable materials at their convenience.

Finally, promoting active and public transit is another important facet of sustainability. In the commercial parking lot, Éco-quartier got Communauto and the lot owner together to arrange the installation of two parking spots for Communauto cars. A bixi station has also been installed at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Marc.

The project has not been fully implemented and there are many future features coming down the line. One key aspect is encorporating environmental measures such as green roofs in the Victora School’s upcoming renovations. Other possibilities include creating indoor bike storage spots and enlarging the sidewalks near the intersections (as has been done on Bernard in Mile End).

Even though the project has yet to be finished the effects are starting to show. In an area so starved for green and so heavily asphalted it was a pleasant change to see lush foliage last summer.  Many of the projects have been innovative, yet simple, and have helped bring people together to improve the neighbourhood. That said, these sorts of initiatives are not going to solve the major environmental problems of our era. No amounts of extra greenery in Montreal will undo the damage of the Tar Sands oil production,  the car-dependant urban spawl of the 450, or the general crisis of overconsumption in the developed world. The biggest and most threatening issues are on the macro-level, and our governments have been wowefully laking in political leadership.

Nevertheless, projects like Quartier 21 need to be part of the solution. Rebuilding the links between city people and the environment is an important task, and one key for improving the quality of life in urban areas. They are positive additions to the urban landscape, as long as we aren’t fooled into thinking that if we recycle, compost, and plant a tree we’ve done our part. The changes will need to be profound and structural. Without a concerted effort at the regional, national, and international level, local actions will be a moot point. But even if you’re not single-handedly saving the world, it’s still nice to have a lush, inviting laneway behind your apartment and fresh tomatoes on your balcony.

Photo credit: Karine Gagné