From its express bike corridor on Saint-Denis to its lively and highly Instagrammable car-free summer streets, Montreal has rapidly emerged as a leader in North America’s transformations from car-dominated to livable, walkable, bikeable urban design.
In this video, Jasmine and Patrick of the YouTube channel Oh the Urbanity! shared 25 more 25 recent, ongoing or upcoming improvements they’ve encounted in their city over the past 10 or so years, including car parking turned into an outdoor gym and roads that have seen widened sidewalks and separated bike lanes added.
“People often describe this channel as optimistic, but optimism isn’t a goal in itself that we identify with,” Patrick says. But he says the duo has no interested in empty positivity.
“Any optimism in our videos comes from being genuinely amazed at how much progress this city is making, and our belief that most of these improvements are applicable and doable in other cities across the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere,” he says. “This city has changed a lot in the past 10 years, and it’s really hard for us to believe that other cities can’t change too, with the right leadership and momentum.”
Be sure to check out Oh the Urbanity’s channel and Patreon.