Next City Vanguard Montréal 2017

[thelakelander]

These things get better every year. Currently hanging out with some of the brightest young urban advocates in the Americas in Montréal.  While it's in a different country and has developed at a totally different scale, there are some applicable lessons and outcomes for other port based cities in North America like Jax.  Here's a few random images and thoughts.


Interesting conversion of an old bank lobby into a coffehouse and co-working space.  I can't wait to see how the Marble Bank turns out.


The city is an excellent example of utilizing lighting as a method of economic revitalization.  This is something any place can do.


Don't have a ton of money and want to make a small space active?  Throw some swings in it.


Always cool to share what we're all involved in and getting feedback from others with a different perspective to the challenges we all face.


Montréal's revitalization of its downtown waterfront is definitely applicable to Jax.  They've found a way to blend industrial, green and cultural activities to make a pretty unique setting.


No matter the place, value what remains of your historic building stock.  Anyway, time to get ready for another day of urban exploring, catching up Vanguard alumni and networking with the 2017 class.

[Tacachale]

Very nice, Ennis, thanks for sharing.

[Adam White]

^yeah, I second that emotion.

[JaxJersey-licious]

Wonderful pictures and insight and look forward to more, but shouldnt this be on its own thread...or are you also trying to teach Houston a lesson as well?

[thelakelander]

Some more comparisons with Jax:



1. Several municipalities merged with Montréal in the early 2000s.  The one size fits all thing was a disaster and a few years later, the place was deconsolidated.



2. While most of our time was spent in the central business district of the city, the surrounding neighborhoods are seamlessly integrated at pedestrian level.  I'm definitely going to have to make a return trip to do a bit more exploring.  Jax could really use a district of multi-family housing and mixed use that consists of rowhouses and townhouses.



3. The discussion isn't mainstream in Jax but housing, health and social equity appear to continue being the major topics concerning most of our peer communities across the Americas, when it comes to urban core revitalization.



4. Some call Annie Lytle an eyesore.  We'll here's Montréal's largest vacant building and it happens to be right in the middle of its downtown waterfront.  However, demolition isn't being considered.  Since industry is an important part of the city's economic history, the desire is the preserve this old grain silo complex and retrofit it into a mix of new uses.



5. The type of food truck event that would make brick and mortars in Jax go bonkers....



6. Many streets are just as wide as State and Union.  People still cross them because there's a reason to cross....



7. Next City has really hit it big with the Vanguard class concept.  It's really grown since I joined in 2013. We had close to 25 or 30 alumni show up this year and another 40 join.  It's no longer a US group of 40 under 40.  It's definitely spread across the Americas and Australia wants in on the action.  An event there is being proposed for November 2017.

[thelakelander]

Oh yeah, also saw Jeff Speck get torn apart during his Q&A about Why Access is the New Mobility. The level of discussion in this group is well past road diets and adding bike infrastructure on streets.  Especially when this is seen as a form of gentrification in many communities that area light years ahead of us, in terms of urban revitalization of inner city neighborhoods. Speck struggled to answer questions regarding social equity when it came to the mobility planning process.  That's another conversation we should be having locally that we really aren't.