Density in planning is taught in town planning schools and assumed by politicians. But what about the citizens? The concept is increasingly accepted by the population, but resistance remains and citizens have more powers than before. Citizen acceptability is therefore crucial in cities’ strategies to become denser.
For several cities on the South Shore, densification is a fairly recent concept.
“We haven’t been talking about it for 10 years. Before in Varennes, the tallest building there was 3 floors […] “To increase density in a municipality or a region that has not been used to that is a hell of a challenge,” underlines Martin Damphousse, mayor of Varennes and president of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec.
This refers in particular to a certain form of resistance from the population to these more imposing projects. He believes that entrepreneurs today must have this concern for social acceptability.
“15 years ago, there was no Facebook, social networks, so the citizen who opposed had no reach. Today the same citizen is on the Spotted Cities and it looks like there are 10,000 of them, but he is alone! And as it has a wide reach, it can influence elected officials, make them reconsider a decision,” he maintains.
We take a deep breath
The mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Miguel Lemieux, sees citizen acceptance as the main challenge to the implementation of multiple housing projects in his city.
“Every time something taller than 2 stories is built, there are protests. There is really a big challenge in making people understand that, when there is a lack of housing, the solution is to add more,” he explains.
A reality shared by many elected officials in the region, including in Delson.
“At home, there is a retirement home which will be announced shortly. We are talking about 14 floors. I don’t know if you know, but let’s take a deep breath. Yes, there are no houses nearby, social acceptability should be there, but it is still a high density for a town like Delson, which, 7, 8 years ago, a bungalow was demolished to make a cottage or duplex. Today, we are demolishing 3 houses and building 52 units,” explained Mayor Christian Ouellette in the spring.
Legitimate concerns
Among the concerns often raised by citizens: the capacity of the city’s infrastructure to accommodate all this new housing, fractures in the landscape, increased traffic and a reduction in parking spaces.
“100% legitimate” concerns, believes Laurence Pelletier, who coordinates the project team for the next Metropolitan Planning and Development Plan (PMAD), a plan which will impose even greater density targets in greater Montreal.
She also ensures that these were taken into account in the development of the PMAD.
And on certain aspects, Laurence Pelletier sees density as a way of responding to these concerns, particularly that of parking. “Density can be used to absorb costs like building underground parking. “It often frees up space to create green spaces,” says the research advisor.
Exceptions to density targets have also been integrated into the PMAD, for example on the issue of infrastructure.
“The importance of densification is still understood by a significant proportion of the population.”
– Miguel Lemieux, mayor of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
Water, aqueduct and electricity
If the cities of the South Shore are today more inclined to density, they are also more aware of the importance of the capacity of their infrastructures.
Several have set up a system of fees on new construction, precisely to finance infrastructure projects.
“We never had to worry about the sewers, the water, the electricity. There, today, we go oh oh oh! Despite what this brings us, I don’t hate this whole discussion. This leads us to develop reflexes to be careful with water and electricity,” indicates Christian Ouellette.
He is also prefect of the MRC of Roussillon, which not only achieved the density targets established in the first PMAD in 2011, but even exceeded them. If the prefect understands the imperatives of density, he also understands the weight that this brings on infrastructure.
He mentions the Candiac filtration plant, which serves seven cities, and which is at 95% capacity at certain peak hours. “A new filtration plant, Candiac has the figures, it’s $150 million. “It’s not done by shouting scissors,” he expresses.
A big deficit
Martin Damphousse explains that the municipal sector in Quebec has an infrastructure deficit of $45 billion.
“The challenge is colossal. Prices continue to increase, but above all adaptation to climate change is shaking up our priorities. For two years, we’ve only heard about that. The torrential rains, it’s crazy how it showed us that we are more at risk than we thought. Add to that forest fires, ice, bank erosion, extreme droughts,” he mentions.
The mayor of Varennes also believes that it is not “a sexy expense” for an elected official. “We tend to wrongly postpone these expenses. So those who plan poorly find themselves in trouble.”
Hence the importance of a measure like construction charges. A way, for him, that new residents contribute to existing infrastructure.
For the rest, there will always be some form of resistance to new projects. “There will never be unanimity, it’s impossible,” he maintains.
