What Makes a “Livable” City (And Why We Moved Back to One)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video we give some news about our channel and talk about what makes a "livable" city.
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“Urbanists spend a lot of time focusing on superstar cities…” love your response to this. Content that is relevant to a skeptical North American audience has to include nearby cities they enjoy and relate to- not just Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam. Congrats on the move!
-Mike
I saw an argument once saying "BuT mOnTrEaL sPeAks FrEnCh!", then proceed to dismiss all the arguments based on language.
And not just expensive cities. There's a myth in North America that urbanism makes a city expensive but it's more like urbanism is the only way to make the city work for all the people who want to live there.
Oh wow, we had very similar comments. Interesting :)
@@Max_ZK I suppose what one could really mean is that Montreal/Quebec is more European than the rest of Canada/USA so it's still too different. Still hogwash though. Quebec is just as old as the rest of the country so the age argument gets thrown out the window. Culture wise? Quebec is still very much in NA, it's not like Quebec is just another European country lol
@@machtmann2881 We may have had a cutural difference in housing policy in the past, as well as having Old Québec being straight outta Europe, but we still wrecked our cities with urban freeways and suburban sprawl.
Look at the Henry IV and Félix-Leclerc highways in Québec City slicing up the city apart, Montreal's urban freeway network, or A-40 going up to downtown Trois-Rivières. Our highway building wasn't that much different from the rest of NA.
And as with shifting our thinking into 21st century and the controversial "3ème Lien" that aims to build an 8 km long tunnel under the St-Lawrence to link both downtown QC and Lévis being just another freewway link, suburban sprawl is heavily talked about.
I really do love this channel. Urbanism without the cynicism. I really love how you guys talk about such complex issues within cities, without being too negative. In an age where cynicism & negativity gets more clicks, it's channels like yours that give people hope, and a passion for change. Thank you for this video :)
I think this is really important! Most people are not urbanists, and the majority of them never will be. Those people aren't idiots - they have their own reasons for objecting to common urbanist principles or feeling that they are incompatible with their own lifestyles. An urbanist vision which doesn't work for them isn't going to persuade them, so it's important to actually talk about the trade-offs honestly, and make it clear it's not some ideological crusade.
(Of course, there's also a lot of reflective/selfish attritudes against urbanism as well, but they were never going to be persuaded anyway.)
There’s a lot to be cynical about as urbanists in North America though.
Big Urbanism channels that are cynical and 100% off putting to the average person? No way! I can't think of anything like that!...
I'm excited for the REM to become operational 🤗 It sucks living in the western part of Montreal and being relegated to using a car to get around. At least the REM will reduce the amount of driving I will need to do!
The western of Montréal is not even Montréal. It is the 'ghetto anglais ' where people refused and voted to be out of Montréal
I really like your point that the quality of urbanism in a city is irrelevant if that city’s rent is unlivable.
IMHO almost every CITY has an awesome urban area BUT often is FAR OUT OF REACH
This is a bad argument. We can't control prices without incurring some other externalities. Id love to live in Manhattan but I can't afford to. Its still the greatest city in America tho. The notion that we should be able to live anywhere we want is goofy.
@@thomasmcroy1756 Overall it's a good argument. Most cities in America are not building enough dense housing to keep up with the demand for people wanting to move in and for population growth. Cities like Boston, Brooklyn, Queens, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, etc. Places like Manhattan are already pretty dense and have a really high demand for people to live there, so it's not the best example.
For even more extreme examples, look at what's happening in Toronto and Vancouver, where there has been a drastic shortage of dense housing for decades (due to restrictive zoning, which I'd argue is anti-free market and anti-capitalistic), and rents are incredibly out of control. Building more housing also puts less pressure are lower income people, as housing will become less of an expense.
@@marvellous9652 Agreed👍🏻
@@thomasmcroy1756 yes in this world we live in that isn't possible. Most people can't live in Monaco, Italy but ok, so what. Visit and go on to somewhere else that is similar and cheaper. And sometimes it is ok if folks have their own community, and above all of this as long as the world revolves around money they'll get their way
It also doesn’t help that Ottawa, at every opportunity, finds a way to double down on its mediocrity (e.g. voting to reopen Wellington instead of even trying something more pedestrian friendly because a few small businesses not even on that street complained). The urban core of the city has good bones but the suburban stranglehold really limits its potential.
Yup. Almost no leadership. I've lived in Ottawa for over 50 years and the local politicians as a whole tend to have no vision beyond decent services and low taxes. There have been a few small improvements here and there, bike lane projects, complete streets makeovers, an art budget included in the LRT project. But those are the exception, not the rule.
I admire the civic attitude in Montreal, where expectations are much higher for politicians to lead and improve things.
@@PeterDrake I'd question "decent services". Ottawa is killing itself through austerity to avoid raising taxes on suburban developments. The result is an LRT that will fail in all weather, multi-use paths that don't quite line up, and services cut to the marrow to appease suburban sprawl.
Yeah, I feel that, not just for Ottawa, as I don't live there, but have visited, but for most Canadian cities, including my own. The potential is there to build great smart, livable cities with walkable/bikable neighbourhoods and supporting infrastructure - but the city council along with big business interests tend to go in the disturbing car-dependent, spread out, suburban route!
At some point we got to get a People's Council together in our cities to push for and contribute to a better built community. (Like One Small Town idea from Michael Tellinger)
There are no small businesses on wellington street and the NCC already tried a pedestrian walkway 'filled with small businesses.' It's called Sparks Street and it failed horribly.
@@77Redwood Spark street is not the rule.... and Sparks has its own problems, not serving any local intrests, having no real access to to or from surrounding destinations, tourist or otherwise and not anything to see or do there in general doesnt help... that street is in line for a full redsesign as well which will help potentially, addisnd more green and visual intrest, but without routes of access for peopel on foot )Withouit crossing a busy wellington or elgin multi lane crossing) or points of intrest internally, it was doomed to fail from the start.
This really hits home- people who aren't urbanism fans mostly really don't care about Amsterdam or Tokyo. In my experience, they see it as elitist to bring up case studies from abroad. I think it's much more compelling to the average person to use examples of good urbanism that are closer to home.
Congrats on the move!
It's really hard when domestic case studies aren't allowed to be built though >.<
In my American education, I was always taught that America took the best ideas from the world in one place (lots of foreign nationals come to do research at our universities for example). But as I grew up, turns out that wasn't true. We make our own mistakes, they just cost more money hahaha.
That's the thing, it isn't just international cities that get dismissed. Here in the US, cities like New York and Philly get dismissed all the time by US citizens. It's as if people think that, because their neighborhood has been a certain way their entire life, it has to remain that way. Even when they do apply experiments from other areas, they do it in a different way or different order, and when it fails they blame the concept rather than the way they applied it.
@@karikling6751 This so much. This should be a top comment. Even when presented with North American examples of urbanism, the examples are brushed off as being too foreign for someone raised in car dependent suburbia 🤦
Perhaps it might be better to focus on smaller towns with good urbanism? Sure a lot of those examples would be from Europe, but then they could at least see that walkable spaces don't have to mean big cities like "New York" or "London". Of course I could see people using age as an excuse for any European examples...but there are at least some small towns in the US that haven't been (completely) bulldozed for the car.
You are right. My wife and I moved from an urban to a suburban neighborhood two years ago and while there is much more beauty here, I used to want to go for walks just to explore and see new and various streetscapes. I don't know how, but now since the sidewalk is divided from the homes by front lawns it feels very isolated and conspicuous to walk on the sidewalks. The truth is that I don't miss the graffiti and I don't miss the trash or the rare gunshot but I miss very much the ability to enjoy walking to go where I needed or wanted to go.
also I assume the suburban walk got you nowhere and just passed a lot of "dead" properties with "properly manicured" lawns and "abandoned" cars in driveways
My wife and I moved to Hamilton in 2016 after buying a house in a 1950s suburb. I couldn't stand the monotony, sameness and odd silence of the area. Everyone had the exact same routines every weekend, the same polite conversations, everything was just...blah. It was like being in Pleasantville before the color.
To make a long story short after five years of that nonsense we sold in the middle of the pandemic, took the profits and moved to a condo in downtown Hamilton in a walkable neighborhood with restaurants and coffee shops less then a 5min walk. We also put a down payment on a Toronto condo to move back into the city.
Never again will I live in the burbs.
"there is more beauty [in suburbia]"
"the truth is that I don't miss the graffiti"
this is the targeted fan-base of this channel? How disappointing
@@Boozer42069 Some folks just don't find beauty in the scribblings of bums and junkies. Weird.
@@jasonriddell You can also assume that he didn't get mugged or panhandled while he was out walking.
Congratulations on the move back to Montréal.
My family lived there for 2 years in the early 70s (I was 10 when we left). For the longest time I always wanted to move back. It never happened. Life’s journey just never led me there. But, the city does hold a special place in my heart, just like for the other folks you mentioned.
Très heureux de vous savoir de retour ici et de votre perspective unique en ce qu'elle montre Montréal comme l'exception du « missing middle» en typomorphologie d'urbanisme.
I've been weighting a move from Ottawa to either Toronto or Montreal, for the livability reasons outlined here. I also am francophone and so Montreal is becoming more and more the obvious choicer when you consider that it'd be closer to my family in Ottawa and the better affordability...
Rebienvenue chez nous!
I had a lot of fun chatting with y'all at your event with Paige and Uytae, hopefully your being here will make things like that more frequent!
I'm glad you're back, your positive tone and data driven approach make you probably my favorite urbanist TH-cam channel.
Did a road trip that centered on Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Niagara Falls and only stopped in Montreal for a few hours but really enjoyed the little bit we saw. This channel has made me realize that I really need to go back.
This video put a smile on my face. Welcome back guys!
Thank you!
You two are quickly becoming my favorite urbanism channel due to the constructive commentary and optimistic outlook that you exhibit. Your content always makes my day better and Im happy youre back somewhere you love being. Keep being great!
I am SOOOO happy you moved back !! I was sad when I saw your video when you went in Ottawa.
Montréal est définitivement chanceuse de vous avoir et j'ai bien hâte de voir vos prochaines vidéos ainsi que de voir vos explorations de l'ile et de la région (c'est vraiment cool que vous cherchez à explorer et aller plus loin, de ne pas seulement rester dans les endroits centraux de Montréal). Rebienvenue chez vous !!
Me too!
I was worried about them more than for my personal life:)
I live next to the botanical garden. As someone from the regions north of Montreal, I feel really happy here. Cross country skiing in the Parc Maisonneuve, multiple big parc next to me and the botanical garden offer an escape in nature. Living here with the benefits of the city really opened my mind to why people live in cities.
That being said, the extreme presence of socio-economic struggles in our "quartier" and the landlord problem is growing in this city and its regions and it is drainning my energy and love for this place.
Rebienvenue à Montréal guys ! Glad you came back. I love watching your videos, they make me appreciate my hometown even more.
Could you guys do a video on South American urbanism? I feel like each time a Latin American city is mentioned, poverty always dominates the discourse. I feel like many Chilean, Brazilian or Argentine cities are a lot more pleasant to live in than some North American ones, despite their social-economic issues. I say this as someone who's lived in both continents.
when you were describing all the features of Montreal that drew you there, I kept thinking of my own beloved San Francisco ... and then you mentioned it!
I was lucky enough to move here in the '90s. First thing I did was join the Tenants Union, and still doing what I can to advocate for more _affordable_ housing.
It's so great to hear about Montreal. Having grown up in Ottawa, the big city to me was Montreal, and loved just going for a day and coming back. Now, I live in Toronto, which is great, but lacks the 'plex' housing among other things you mentioned about MTL. It is definitely top of my list if I decide to move.
Thanks! Some of the best, lived, sensible, love of life urbanism I've seen on TH-cam.
Appreciated, thank you!
I really appreciate the positive vibes from this channel - other channels that I won't name come across as very condescending, negative, and mean-spirited. Keep it up
100%
They are VERY nasty, rude, talking of their opinion as if it should be gold. Can't stand them. Hostile.
This channel is nice so far and I hope they stay this way.
As a former Montrealer, I have to agree. So happy for you moving back! Congratulations.
It was nice having you based in my home town of Ottawa, but I sure am looking forward to more shots of Montreal streets! Love the videos!
Congrats on your move back to Montreal. My wife and I just moved to Chicago and our reasons are very similar. I think most North Americans really don’t realize there are some cities here that have so much going for them. Are they perfect? No, but it’s a good start and they have so much potential.
In Vancouver, it's sadly rare to find people who have been to Montreal. It's far! But I certainly wish more people would
I highly recommend taking the Amtrak through to Brattleboro, VT, and/or the Portland - Boston line in New England. Lebanon, NH has a great town center along the way (right over the border from White River Junction, VT) and Brattleboro has a very similar mindset to Montreal (from what it sounds like to me).
I love montreal so much! I just moved away with my wife because she has an amazing opportunity studying abroad but our true dream is to come back and have a family! seeing your videos really pulls at my heart strings can't wait for the day i come back.
That hug at 2:10 spoke volumes, and made my day. Thank you for what you do.
I am so happy you have moved back. Since you left my son has started urbanist studies at McGill and I now have even more excuses to head back to my favourite urban space. I bought a folding bike and my next adventure is to attempt a ride to the nearest via station, about 40km away from my house north of Cobourg so I can do my visit all by bike. Would love to cross paths with you some time in MTL. Really happy for you.
Great that you’re back and I’m glad your thumbnail shows why Montreal is so awesome: we have our own Stargate 😛
Bienvenue à la maison!
As an Ottawan this hurts but I understand.
Montreal is awesome. Love your sing song tag team narrations - very unique!
Heureux que vous soyez de retour.
Hope you guys succeed. Big thank you for your videos.
This was a perfect video. I visited both Ottawa and Montreal numerous times. From a single point of view I would have chosen Ottawa to move to. However as a parent I would choose Montreal as well.
Visited Montreal recently for the first time in a few years. I was shocked by the availability of bike share stations, the frequency of the metro, and the cautious attitude of drivers. People were about everywhere in the rainy, cool spring weather. Neighborhoods and downtown alike teeming with energy, not just the Old Port. It was delightful.
Love this channel and all your content!! Happy to hear you're both back in Montreal as it is an amazing city.
I live in it's biggest surburb (my whole life) and I have got to say that Montreal's advancements and shifts in urban planning, cycling, snow management and other things are resonating with surrounding cities. Changes for the better are popping up more and more, and I am noticing more ever since I follow your channel! It's cool to see the data and analysis on a larger scale from you guys and the actual changes being implemented in cities. Keep up the great work and rebienvenue à la belle province :)
Welcome back! :)
Really glad to see you guys moved back to Montréal. Your channel along with Paige's has scratched my Montréal itch, but I also look forward to seeing you visit other cities (I loved the SF video). Visit Chicago next!
Happy to hear you're back!
Hope to see you guys at the REM launch this Spring! ✌️
Hey, I was born & raised in MTL and moved to Vancouver 27 years ago in '96. The city of Montreal has a vibe to itself and the people stand out as warmer in general.
Yeah!! I hope Montreal will treat you right and that you’ll find plenty of opportunities here!
I’m from Montreal and I have now been living in Dublin, Ireland for the last 3 years and I miss MTL a loooot! Such a great city. Long winters though!
Very happy to have you guys back fellow neighbours. I'm happy that you guys are rectifying the urban design trope that every city in north america has shit urban design *except montreal* and a few others. Amsterdam is nice and all but there's progress right here too
thank you for the great videos. Welcome back!
Much appreciated, thank you!
Yaaassss welcome back to MTL guys!
You hit the nail on the head I didn't care about urbanism until I visited Chicago and Philadelphia. cites that aren't 100% out of the possibility of me living in while doing a lot of the things the TH-cam urban crowed preaches about so much. It just made these things feel more attainable knowing that the US has built cites like this and can make more cities like this.
Glad to see you figured out your job situation! Welcome back.
Great news! Would love to see a future video/trip to Savannah and discussion around the city's existing urban form and efforts to maintain it!
Greetings from Winnipeg!✌️
I visit Montreal often. I live in Massachusetts and I love Boston, but I love Montreal the most. I immediately fell in love with Montreal the first time. I wish I could more easily immigrate to Montreal.
Just remember next time to wear your bruins jersey & bring an umbrella also.
I love the way you guys narrate the videos without lame jokes and random distractions. It's informative, clear, and very interesting. Please don't change your style.
We definitely do lame jokes sometimes too
Moi, je peux voir Montréal de mon balcon! J'habite Saint-Lambert, sur la rive-sud! Merci pour la vidéo! Bonne continuation!
Welcome back to my home base of Montreal! Enjoy your stay (again).
Awesome Montreal video; look forward to more Montreal videos!! Keep up the great work 👍🙏
So excited that you were able to move back to your happy place! Super excited to see the channel grow and you cover more and more cities! This was a really well though out and written episode
if you happen to come to the Philly area, make sure to check out Media, PA. We are a small town that checks all the boxes for new urbanism
That's great news! Congrats! Hope your channel will grow tremendously too!
Je pense je suis remercié dans le vidéo pour avoir aidé à porter une table à l'étage dans un blizzard?
Turtle power!
🐢
Congrats on moving back to Montreal! I’d love to see you guys visit Victoria and do a dive into our corner of the country. I think you’d really love the bike culture here that’s constantly expanding. They’re also really doing a lot to bring medium density housing to the city, with the new council approving a new missing middle housing initiative for the entire city. Come check it out!
We wanted to get to Victoria on our trip to Vancouver last year but unfortunately couldn't make the timing work!
@@OhTheUrbanity hopefully you can make the timing work for a StL trip because I am so upset you forgot to put us on your list of good urbanist cities in this video. Please shout us out in one of your great videos soon so we stop getting overlooked :/
As a Bytowne Booster, I get it. Montreal is also just fun; there is something delightful around every corner.
But please keep talking about what Ottawa can do to improve. We are saddled with some features that historically have limited what we can do here (i.e., being a capital city, amalgamation), but it can still be a lot better. Your ideas are really useful. Keep posting.
Glad you moved back! And you're right, cities should be for everyone not just the rich or the old or the tech workers. Most importantly, cities should be for people who want to be there.
I lived in NDG got about 8 years, in the late 50’d and early 60’s. I have fond memories of my time there. My parents moved us to Fort William, now Thunder Bay, and the shock of the vast differences of the two cities caused us to think we’d died, and gone to hell.
Congratulations on being back in a place you live!
Great job. Looking forward to checking out more of your videos! We loved living in Montreal (when I was at McGill). We now live in a city that offers areas of great walkability - Savannah, Georgia.
Thanks for all the Philly love on this video too! I’m originally from Philly (in Seattle now) and you’re so right that it’s a great US example of human scale urbanism. I’ve also visited Montreal before and I love it! I would love to visit again or even live there someday, who knows! If I go again I want to try biking, I walked everywhere on my last trip
Just curious to hear your take - How do Seattle and Philly compare? which of the two is more vibrant lively and pedestrian orianted? Thanks
You're awesome, 🥺 thank you for the content
Ex-Montrealer here now in Toronto. I love watching your videos and seeing the nice changes in bike infrastructure. I don't miss the winters with too much city snow and sub zero temperatures Now able to bike the twelve months of the year on dry streets.
I just recently discovered your channel, and I got to say that I absolutely love your videos!
Montreal has been my home for 7 years now and I don't see myself moving anytime soon! You did a good job in putting into words the reasons why living here is so great. I'm happy to hear that you moved back :)
We can only accomplish our dream of operating our businesses by bike only in Montréal! Keep up your great work and see you on the street!
Thank you for mentioning Minneapolis. The city is often dismissed by the majority of people who don't live in the Upper Midwest.
Thanks for calling out the mindset of some viewers who don't like comparisons to foreign cities. It really is important for Americans to understand what good urban planning can be from a TH-camr on another continent.
Yay! Welcome back!
Beautiful, I would like to visit both sometime. Great video
Welcome back to Montréal. I'm looking forward to your next videos about our beloved city.
Welcome back!
I really enjoy your videos. Helps me understand the challenges of building a human city. I’m living in Ahuntsic and I wish that my city will continue on changing for the better. Continuez votre excellent travail.
Thats awesome!! I’d love to check out Montreal. I find the uniquely Montreal exterior staircases so charming and beautiful. I was just in Philly for the weekend. I stayed in Manyunk and it’s truly one of the best urban neighborhoods I’ve ever been to and you can tell the storied history and appreciation people have for the place. I think appreciation of your place fosters you to want to improve your city and advocate for better. I think that’s super important.
Welcome Back!!!
This is why I specifically live in South Beach (Miami). There isn't anywhere else in Miami that gives me a balance.
I lived in Ottawa for a year and really enjoyed what it had to offer. Coming from Northern Ontario, Ottawa felt like urbanist paradise in comparison. I had to move away for a while, but I'm planning to go back this summer. I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't just move to Montreal instead, since I work remotely. The prospect of moving to a french speaking city by myself is a bit daunting though.
Ottawa is definitely better than the average city, and we probably would have had an experience more like yours if not for the fact that we moved there from arguably Canada's most urbanist neighbourhood. We're planning to make a video on the language dynamics of Montreal for people interested in visiting/moving though.
There’s so many fun apps to help with language learning. I was over 40 when I learned a new language and I was able to do it and become fluent with it. Of course I took a lot of classes and computer learning and talk ed with friends but it’s possible if you’re motivated.
Do not forget your ancestors had to change language , country and culture . Just try to learn french and embrace the culture , Montréal would be good to you
I've lived near Litty Italy since 2016 and i can't get myself to move anywhere else i can skateboard/walk/bike to anywhere in a heart beat.
I didn't know much about Montreal until I started watching your channel (I'm British, with a wife from west of Toronto). I've never been to Ottawa or Montreal, but your channel has shown me so many good things about it, it's now pretty much at the top of my bucket list of places to visit in Canada.
That's great to hear! I'm always super interested in how Montreal is perceived in Europe.
Your anglo-saxon who thinks he's British
The real British are in Wales & Bretagne ( Britany ) France.
I'm bummed that you've moved away from Ottawa. I was enjoying the hometown content. However, gotta live where you like.
beautiful shots around 5:31
SHARE THE URBANITY!
SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE!
Goddamnit guys! I have been trying to convince myself it is a crazy idea to move from Germany to Montreal (I’m neither German nor Canadian btw). Yesterday I saw an interesting job opening in my field of work and today you post this! You’re killing me :)
Bon retour parmi nous à Montréal!!!
welcome back!
It’s quite interesting that the one city that is getting urbanism right in North America is the one city that also happens to speak French. Also, the other city in NA that is French (sort of) also has the one of the most walkable areas in its region (not counting Disney World because most Americans don’t consider Orlando the South).
Born and raise in Montreal and lived in several parts of the city. Now, I live in Ottawa for work. I can say that I miss Montreal sometime (for its people mostly - people in Ottawa are too introverted for me). But for the rest, I think on a day to day basis Ottawa is easier to live with by being smaller. I have to say that I live in a central neighborhood (the Glebe). For the rest, the fact that Montreal is only 2h away give me my required fix (go down at least once a month).
I love this channel
Montreal is a wonderful city in so many ways. Walkable, great visually. Parc Mont Royal, the festivals, the restaurants, culture, the attitude of work-to-play. Ottawa is, well, Ottawa. I spend half my time in Montreal, half in Toronto. I like it that way. Best of both worlds.
But to add some balance: Montreal can be shabby, even dirty, compared to Toronto. The infrastructure is sometimes third world. It needs a baseball team again. While incredibly vibrant in the summer, in the winter it can be pretty dead, except during IglooFest. The taxes are high. And, of course, you can't turn right on a red light.
Very interesting video of a very interesting city! At my job in Sweden, one of my closest colleagues was from Montreal, and she always told me how great the city is. That made me interested in learning more about it. And indeed, she was right: it's a beautiful city! I can see why people love it there.
Welcome to montréal !! Bienvenue, en espérant que vous passerez une superbe vie icitte !!
Love this video, good work! Would love to see a video over Melbourne, especially mentioning their pedestrian spaces and transit.
Congrats! Montreal just has so much to offer and is still far too underappreciated by most. You just can't beat its urbanism and lifestyle.