{"id":1900,"date":"2009-03-27T08:46:36","date_gmt":"2009-03-27T12:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingmontreal.ca\/2009\/03\/27\/what-is-a-neighbourhood-le-coeur-du-quartier\/"},"modified":"2013-01-21T11:23:17","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T16:23:17","slug":"what-is-a-neighbourhood-le-coeur-du-quartier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2009\/03\/27\/what-is-a-neighbourhood-le-coeur-du-quartier\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Neighbourhood? – Le Coeur du Quartier"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Elliot the the dog out for a romp in the alleyways of a not-yet-definitively-named neighbourhood.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every once in a while I overhear a heated debate about where exactly the boundary between Mile End and the Plateau is to be drawn. More than once, I have shocked Mile Enders by suggesting that there is no absolute answer to this question because, geopolitically, Mile End is of course part of <\/em>the Plateau borough. Except for the bits that are in Outremont.<\/p>\n

Because Montreal’s boroughs are relatively small, (by comparison, New York’s 5 boroughs are each home to between 1 and 2.5\u00a0 million people) I think we tend to refer to them as neighbourhoods, especially in parts of town that we do not know very intimately. This blog is guilty of listing the likes of “Hochelaga-Maisonneuve”, Centre-Sud, and of course The Plateau as neighbourhoods, even though they are really collections of places.<\/p>\n

So what is<\/em> a neighbourhood? And why have some, like the Mile End, retained or renewed a strong identity, while others seem to lack a sense of place, or even a place name?<\/p>\n

I’ve been thinking about these questions a lot since I started reading a blog called “Le Coeur de Sainte-Marie<\/a>.” The author, Eric, writes in his first post:<\/p>\n

\n

“I live in the part of town the city calls \u201cVille-Marie\u201d, locals call this area \u201cCentre-Sud\u201d (which is more of a general area rather than a neighborhood), we\u2019re on the other side of the tracks of \u201cHochelaga Maisoneuve\u201d … and what\u2019s confusing is that when there was a fire on my street, CTV News said it happened in the \u201cHochelega-Maisonneuve\u201d district.\u00a0 <\/span>We have other names for our federal and provincial ridings, when online I found the mention of \u201cSainte-Marie\u201d and on the map I found \u201cSt-Eus\u00e8be\u201d listed right around where we live…” <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/span> As the blog unfolds, Eric and his dog Elliot set out to discover the heart of the area South of Sherbrooke and East of the Jacques Cartier bridge. (“By \u201cHeart\u201d, I mean that \u201cthing\u201d that makes a neighbourhood have soul: its stores, its bars, its parks and its community,”<\/em> he writes). He begins by checking out local caf\u00e9s and chatting with neighbours<\/a> but before long he finds himself hitting the local library up for info about the origin of Montreal’s boroughs<\/a>. The blog’s title even changes once or twice as he tries out new names for the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

As a place that has suffered a number of scars<\/a> (including the Jacques Cartier bridge, Expo-67 circulation planning, the demolition of the Faubourg m’lasse<\/em>, and a number of local fires during the ’74 Fire Department strike), this neighbourhood does not wear its heart on its sleeve.<\/p>\n

But I admire the author’s faith that the place is worth getting to know, even if it is not a spot likely to be written up in the glossy pages of Nightlife Magazine or gushed over in a guide book.<\/p>\n

Its an interesting experience to follow, especially when so many Montrealers simply seek out the ‘hood that best resembles themselves (or their desired identity) and rarely venture beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elliot the the dog out for a romp in the alleyways of a not-yet-definitively-named neighbourhood. Every once in a while I overhear a heated debate about where exactly the boundary between Mile End and the Plateau is to be drawn. 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