Outstanding urban planners in Quebec

By Louis-Michel Fournier, Urban Planner

La Cité-jardin du Tricentenaire circa 1954
Source : http://archivesdemontreal.com/2013/07/02/la-cite-jardin-tricentenaire/

This year’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ordre des Urbanistes du Québec will conclude at the end of the month with the OUQ’s annual congress, under the theme of ” 50 years of civilizing change “. A look back at the great planners who have shaped the development of Quebec’s cities is in order.

At the beginning of the 20th century, even before the Order was established, a number of urban planners made their mark with large-scale projects. Indeed, Frederick Gage Todd (1876-1948) left his mark on Montreal urban planning by designing a veritable model city: Ville Mont-Royal. This ideal city was inspired by the principles of Ebenezer Howard’s “Garden City” in England. Today, the Town of Mount Royal can be described as a model example of TOD before its time! So Frederick G. Todd not only had the right name, he was also a visionary urban planner.

A few years later, in 1940, urban planner Samuel Gitterman wrote another page in the history of urban planning with the Cité-Jardin du Tricentenaire. He demonstrated that the Cité-jardin concept could be reinterpreted to specifically target the interweaving of city and nature. This method of development, which prioritized cul-de-sac streets with a complementary green network, would become a source of inspiration for many suburban developments of the following decades. Even today, the cluster subdivision concept advocated to preserve ecosystems continues the legacy of urban planner Samuel Gitterman.

On a larger scale, Aimé Desautels is also one of the greats of the profession. He was at the head of the city of Montreal’s urban planning department in 1967, when the very first metropolitan urban plan was tabled: Montreal Horizon 2000, which involved dozens of planners. This ambitious plan predicted that by the turn of the millennium, the region would have between 6.7 and 10 million inhabitants. Today, although the numbers are not there, the star-shaped growth pattern structured by satellite centers polarizing development has been respected almost in its entirety!

An audiovisual document has also been produced to disseminate the contents of the plan, which can be viewed at the following address:
http://archivesdemontreal.com/2011/10/07/le-film-horizon-2000-devoile-en-1967/

” Cities bear the scars of the passage of time, occasionally the promises of future eras. “
– Marguerite Yourcenar