The Green, Active, Healthy Neighbourhoods project in Southeastern NDG aims to redesign streets and public spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. The plan, developed between June 2010 and November 2011, involved a series of participatory activities where residents met with the project’s team and discussed proposed design solutions for their neighbourhood.

CONTEXT 

The massive adoption of the automobile over the past several decades as the main mode of transportation and the designing of cities to accommodate automobiles, has contributed to major environmental and health issues, mostly within urban environments. In addition to the problems of air pollution and the increased risk of accidents, automobile travel enables more sedentary lifestyles, which have been linked to increasing the risk of obesity, especially among the younger population, which in turn, threatens the health of the entire Quebec population.

The shift to active transportation (walking, biking, public transit, etc) could contribute to the reduction of all of these threats while improving the quality of life in urban neighbourhoods. To make this transition possible, however, it is necessary to provide citizens with a physical infrastructure and built environment that promote safety and conviviality.

The Green, Active, Healthy Neighbourhoods project focuses on neighbourhoods in efforts to improve the environment for young people and is based on the collaboration of local stakeholders.

 Green Neighbourhood in Southeastern NDG

The Green, Active, Healthy Neighbourhoods project in Southeastern NDG aims to redesign streets and public spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. The plan, developed between June 2010 and November 2011, involved a series of participatory activities where residents met with the project’s team and discussed proposed design solutions for their neighbourhood.

Four priorities were established for improving mobility in the neighbourhood by Mobiligo, the initial partner organization, and the local neighbourhood committee.

-North-south connections in the neighbourhood
-Links between key destinations
-Integrating the district within Montréal’s cycling network
-Access to the Villa-Maria and Vendôme métro stations

The QVAS project for Southeastern NDG recommends various interventions for a specific sector of the neighbourhood (see map below). It is expected that these actions will eventually be extended outside of the initial limits of the project.

Map of the QVAS project for Southeastern NDG

About Green, Active, and Healthy Neighbourhoods

The project Green, Active, and Healthy Neighbourhoods in Southeastern NDG, or Green Southeastern NDG, aims to redesign neighbourhoods in order to prioritize walking, cycling, and other modes of active transportation.

The Green Southeastern NDG project is one of the first four pilot projects of the Green, Active, and Healthy Neighbourhoods project.

Green, Active, and Healthy Neighbourhoods is a project carried out by the Montréal Urban Ecology Centre in the collaboration with the Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids.

The Green Southeastern NDG is a project carried out by the NDG Community Council with the support of the Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Borough and the Montréal Urban Ecology Center.

For more information:  http://www.urbanecology.net/green-ndg

To consult the Plan' (in French): http://www.ecologieurbaine.net/plan-qvas-ndg-sud-est