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{| cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"
{{Location data
|- valign="top"
| location = Montreal, Quebec
| style="background:white" width="52%"|
| coordinates = 45° 30' 11.46" N, 73° 34' 11.30" W
[[File:Rue Duluth, Montréal.jpg|left|424px]]<br clear=left>
}}


Montreal (officially Montréal) is the most populous municipality in the province of [[Quebec]] and the second-most populous in [[Canada]]. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold snowy winters.
{{Wikipedia excerpt|Montreal|paragraphs=2}}


In 2016 the city had a population of 1,704,694. Montreal's metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927 and a population of 1,942,044 in the urban agglomeration, with all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal included. French is the city's official language and is the language spoken at home by 49.8% of the population of the city, followed by English at 22.8% and 18.3% other languages (in the 2016 census, not including multi-language responses). In the larger Montreal Census Metropolitan Area, 65.8% of the population speaks French at home, compared to 15.3% who speak English. The agglomeration Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada with over 59% of the population able to speak both English and French. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world, after [[Paris]]. {{W|Montreal}}
== Networks and sustainability initiatives ==


== Initiatives by topic ==
* [https://solon-collectif.org/ Solon Collective], Acting together for the socio-ecological transition, ''added 14:57, 21 July 2022 (UTC)''


=== Cycling activism ===
== Community resources ==


[https://montreal.bixi.com/ Bixi Montreal]
* [https://www.fabcity-montreal.quebec/ Fabcity Montreal], a regenerative economy project that contributes to ecological transition, social inclusion, sustainable mobility and land use planning. ''added 15:39, 29 March 2021 (UTC)''
* [https://heliosmakerspace.ca/ Helios Makerspace], non-profit workshop
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20190205074626/https://lesalon1861.com/en/ LE SALON 1861]


=== Open spaces ===
=== Concordia University community greenhouse ===
 
Montreal winters may be long and cold, but it's always a balmy 30+ degrees Celsius inside the greenhouse on the top floor of the Henry F. Hall Building at Concordia University. This former lab is now a greenhouse run by a student co-op, growing tropical fruits, medicinal plants, nutritious sprouts, microgreens and a panoply of other plants in an organic environment. The greenhouse is also a popular place for students to curl up with a textbook and a cup of tea from the pay-what-you-can garden-grown tea bar. There are also regular workshops on how to grow and care for your own plants and prepare plant products, and periodic plant sales — volunteers recommend arriving at opening time, otherwise the plants may be snapped up. The greenhouse and all of its activities are open to the public, although volunteers do get first priority when the time comes to harvest the tropical fruit trees, which include figs, bananas, and grapefruits. [https://concordiagreenhouse.com/ Concordia University community greenhouse]<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
=== La Remise ===
 
"Why buy when you can share?" That's the motto of Montreal's cooperative-run tool library, where anyone can borrow cooking, gardening, carpentry, and mechanical equipment. Members can take the equipment home or use it in the onsite workspace. Members pay $60 a year for borrowing privileges and $5 per session for workshop use, and specialized volunteers have occasional "office hours" where users can learn to get the most out of their tools. "I love the whole sharing concept, and you meet some amazing people," says Jonathan, a volunteer on duty on Saturday morning. "Of course, you could go to Ikea and get furniture, but it's more fun to make it yourself."
 
"It's not efficient to have a bunch of tools laying around your house without being used," adds his colleague Alan, a recent arrival from [[Brazil]] who joined the tool workshop to improve his carpentry and his French. "Why not share them?"<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
[https://laremise.ca/ La Remise]
 
=== Les Jardineries ===
 
This co-op-run performance space is possibly Montreal's most innovative night spot. It was launched in 2016 by a social enterprise specializing in urban design, La Pépinière&Co, in an abandoned corner of the vast concrete Olympic Stadium complex. Abandoned for more than 30 years, the space is now open from May to mid-late October, hosting a beer garden, food stalls, a community garden with a chicken coop, and an outdoor game room (think croquet and mini golf) as well as a succession of thematic concerts, circus shows, and DJ nights. One recent Friday night was devoted to the joys of tacos, paletas (Mexican fruit popsicles), and multilingual hip-hop.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref> [http://web.archive.org/web/20171229084148/http://parcolympique.qc.ca:80/activites/les-jardineries/ Les Jardineries]
 
== Open spaces ==


[https://amisduchamp.com/ Les Amis du Champ des Possibles]
[https://amisduchamp.com/ Les Amis du Champ des Possibles]
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'''Montreal Archipelago Ecological Park'''
'''Montreal Archipelago Ecological Park'''


(French: Parc Écologique de l’Archipel de Montréal) is a project to create a new National park within an approximate radius of 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) around the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. This project was announced to the public at a press conference in Montreal on October 1, 2007. In September 2008, environmental groups renewed calls for the Government of Quebec to create the park. {{W|Montreal Archipelago Ecological Park}}
(French: Parc Écologique de l'Archipel de Montréal) is a project to create a new National park within an approximate radius of 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) around the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. This project was announced to the public at a press conference in Montreal on October 1, 2007. In September 2008, environmental groups renewed calls for the Government of Quebec to create the park. {{W|Montreal Archipelago Ecological Park}}
 
== Cycling activism ==
 
=== BIXI ===
 
If you ask a Montrealer if they're connected with the sharing economy — économie du partage or économie sociale in French — they may not know exactly what you mean. But ask them if they've used a Bixi, and they certainly will. Bixi bicycle parking zones are as omnipresent a feature of Montreal's urban landscape as potholes and metro entrances. The bike-sharing program, established in 2009 and modelled on the successful Vélib scheme in [[Paris]], is the oldest municipal bike-sharing scheme in North America. In 2014, the service was taken over by a city-backed nonprofit. The name, a combination of "bicycle" and "taxi," was chosen in a public contest, and the winner received a Bixi pass for life. Long-term users receive a key when they subscribe to the service, while tourists and other short-term users can buy 24-hour or 72-hour passes with a credit card at any Bixi zone. Over 230,000 people used the service in 2016, for a total of 4 million trips. Not ready to join quite yet? Keep your eyes open for free Bixi Sundays and take a test drive.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
[https://montreal.bixi.com/ Bixi Montreal], [http://web.archive.org/web/20180527055620/http://bixi.com:80/en/free-bixi-sundays free Bixi Sundays]
 
=== BQAM ===
 
If you choose to use your own bike (rather than taking the Bixi route) and it catches a wheel in one of the city's infamous potholes — or you just want to learn how to better maintain your two-wheeler — [https://bqam.org/ BQAM] is the place to go. Located on the science campus of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), this bike-repair co-op is open to anyone, student or not, who pays a $20 membership fee. Participants can buy used parts, attend bike repair training sessions, participate in planning and governance, and use the on-site bike repair workshop to fix up their own bikes. "I sometimes do half of a repair job and let the person do the rest," says student volunteer Pierre-Philippe. "We're very much into self-directed learning."
 
"Sometimes, with some of the problems we get, a bike shop will say repairs are not economical and tell you to buy a new bike," says René, another volunteer. "We'll work with you to see if we can fix the bike you have." BQAM is not the only collaborative bike workshop in the city — another cyclists' co-op, [https://www.rtm-lvl.org/en/right-to-move/ Right to Move], has mapped all of the shared workshops around town.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Education for sustainability ==
 
=== University of the Streets Café ===
 
This bilingual program at Montreal's Concordia University organizes free, public educational seminars in cafés and community spaces across the city, hosted by volunteer moderators who are often professors, graduate students, and recent Concordia alumni. Although panelists who are specialists in the relevant fields bring their expertise, anyone can contribute to the discussion. The topics cover a wide range — this year's talks will explore drug policy, art accessibility and poverty alleviation, among other themes. Expand your mind for free. [https://www.concordia.ca/about/community/initiatives/streets-cafe.html University of the Streets Café]<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Food activism ==
 
[https://panierfute.coop/ Smart basket], Solidarity food, ''added 17:09, 9 April 2020 (UTC)''
 
=== Community Gardens Network ===
 
The City of Montreal community garden program has existed since 1975, and there are now 97 community gardens sprouting on city-owned land across the island. For $10 a year, plus a small payment ($5-$25) to the neighborhood organization in charge of maintenance, users receive a small plot of land to garden. People who are on social assistance pay no fee. Get out in the sun, meet new people and bring some fresh, healthy vegetables to your table. [https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5977,68887600&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Community Gardens Network]<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
=== Le Fridge de la Petite-Patrie ===
 
This community food fridge, inspired by similar communal fridges in Germany, was established in 2015 by a small group of Montrealers frustrated with rising levels of food waste. Any food can be dropped off at [https://www.facebook.com/LeFridgePetitePatrie/ Le Fridge de la Petite-Patrie], as long as it is unopened and labelled with an expiration date and the names of any potential allergens. The fridge is stocked by local shopkeepers, gardeners, and community members passing on food that would otherwise go to waste. Unlike many food banks, the fridge is open to anyone, regardless of place of residence or documentation.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Free stuff ==
 
=== As-tu ça toi? ===
 
Are you looking for a sewing machine? How about a toaster? Are you trying to get rid of your kids' old toys or of that clunky shelving unit in your bedroom? Look no further than the Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/as.tu.ca.toi/ As-tu ça toi?] ("Do you have that?"). Montrealer Marie-Neige Châtelain launched the group in 2011, and it now has over 46,000 members. It operates like any online classifieds group, except, as the organizers point out, "Any ads that mention $$$$ will be deleted without prior notice!" Everything is free, members organize pickups between themselves, and as long as it doesn't involve live animals, illegal products or medical supplies, no request is too strange. The group has spawned "daughter groups" in nearly every region of Quebec. "These communities are based on the love of giving, be it donations of material goods or simple exchanges of services," Châtelain writes. "Give without expecting anything in return, and you'll get everything."<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
=== Les Accorderies ===


=== Sharing ===
Established in 2002 in Quebec City, the Accorderie network is used for free service exchanges. Are you looking for someone to tutor you in a second language or repair your computer? Can you spare an hour to teach a skill or help someone do home repairs? Give one hour of your time and add an hour to your own "time bank" to use for something completely different. The network has three branches in Montreal, as well as outposts in Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan, and several rural North Coast communities.


[http://laremise.ca/ La Remise]
"We want to fight poverty and exclusion, create links between neighbors and recreate a sense of community that has been kind of lost over the years," says [https://www.accorderie.ca/ Les Accorderies]' director Huguette Lépine.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>


[[category:Sharing cities]]
== Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle ==


| style="background:khaki" |
=== Touski S'Repare ===


__TOC__
This Facebook-based project is a giant bulletin board where people working on repair projects can crowdsource useful information. "Touski S'Repare" is a creative phonetic spelling of the French words for "all that can be fixed (tout ce qui se repare)." The growing library of tips and videos is intended to minimize the impact of planned obsolescence. "Repair to make it last and to take a stand against overconsumption" is the group's mission statement. The group was founded by two employees of Équiterre, a fair-trade promotion organization, and now has nearly 2,300 members. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/touskisrepare/ Touski S'Repare]<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Sharing ==
 
=== Livre-Service ===
 
When you least expect it, you'll walk past a tiny, colorful cabinet with a glass door, or a newspaper vending machine. Inside will be books. You never know what books — that's part of the fun. Leave a book, take a book, bring it back — or not. Twelve "Livre-Service" boxes (a play on livre, book, and libre-service, self-service) are scattered throughout the Côte des Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce area. There's no need to be affiliated with the official "[https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=7657,101871652&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Livre-Service]" program to set up a little free library — many boxes have been set up across the city by community centers, neighborhood groups, or city residents.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Social inclusion ==
 
{{Video|1horbTs_4oc}}
 
=== Café de la Maison Ronde/Roundhouse Café ===
 
The Roundhouse Café, also known as the [https://itineraire.ca/58/cafe-de-la-maison-ronde-round-house-cafe-du-square-cabot Café de la Maison Ronde], is Montreal's only restaurant serving First Nations cuisine. The minuscule café began operations three years ago in a former public bathhouse near Atwater Metro and relaunched earlier this year, providing jobs for First Nations Montrealers who had been homeless and/or long-term unemployed, while introducing the city at large to the joys of fry bread and bannock tacos. The Inuit and First Nations staff are always eager to discuss indigenous cooking, culture, or language.
 
There's also a "[http://web.archive.org/web/20161128040521/http://cafeenattente.org/montreal/ suspended coffee]" system, which allows customers to buy two of something and leave the second one for a person unable to pay. The café's profits are reinvested in [https://itineraire.ca/ L'Itinéraire], a nonprofit which provides services to homeless and precariously housed people and also produces a popular magazine which approaches city news from the perspective of people who are homeless or in poverty.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Towards sustainable economies ==
 
The cooperative movement in Quebec dates back to the late 19th century, with the founding of North America's oldest and most established credit union, the Caisse Desjardins. Since then, co-ops and social economy projects have entered every sphere of economic and cultural life in the city and the province. The rise of social networks and crowdfunding has vastly expanded the possibilities. A number of sharing economy projects have emerged as a conscious thumbs-down to consumer capitalism, while others are just simple neighborhood-based solutions to service gaps. The list within this article barely scratches the surface of the sharing economy in Montreal.<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
=== Ecto Co-op ===
 
Freelancing can be a lonely journey, but one Montreal co-op wants to change that. Ecto is a cooperative-run communal workspace in the heart of Montreal's bustling Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. Weekly salad builds and a cozy, beanbag-equipped "collaboration space" make it almost like having colleagues — except your office neighbors come from different walks of life, and the networking possibilities are endless. The usage-based fees (from $25 for one day to $350 for a lifetime membership) are all reinvested into the running of the workspace. [https://ecto.coop/ Ecto Co-op]<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city Shareable]</ref>
 
== Urban sustainability ==
 
* [https://www.ecologieurbaine.net/en Centre d'écologie urbaine de Montréal]
 
== Resources ==
 
''see separate article'': [[Montreal community action resources]]


== News and comment ==
== News and comment ==
'''2018'''
Concordia University's discussion series brings Montreal residents together for shared learning, Jan 24<ref>@Shareable</ref>


'''2017'''
'''2017'''


Meet Montréal’s New Wave of Activist Developers, May 30 <ref>[https://nextcity.org/features/view/montreal-activist-developers-batiment-seven nextcity.org]</ref>
15 Reasons (And Counting) Why Montreal is an Exemplary Sharing City, Oct 16<ref>[https://www.shareable.net/blog/15-reasons-and-counting-why-montreal-is-an-exemplary-sharing-city @Shareable]</ref>


'''2015'''
Meet Montréal's New Wave of Activist Developers, May 30<ref>[https://nextcity.org/features/view/montreal-activist-developers-batiment-seven nextcity.org]</ref>


Montréal's Blooming Social Economy Confronts Fiscal Pruning, September 21 <ref>[http://www.shareable.net/blog/montr%C3%A9als-blooming-social-economy-confronts-fiscal-pruning Shareable]</ref>
'''2015'''


People power: the secret to Montreal's success as a bike-friendly city, June 17 <ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/17/people-power-montreal-north-america-cycle-city The Guardian]</ref>
Montréal's Blooming Social Economy Confronts Fiscal Pruning, September 21<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20180107014936/https://www.shareable.net/blog/montr%C3%A9als-blooming-social-economy-confronts-fiscal-pruning Shareable]</ref>


== Resources ==
People power: the secret to Montreal's success as a bike-friendly city, June 17<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/17/people-power-montreal-north-america-cycle-city The Guardian]</ref>


=== Community resources ===
{{CASwiki menu}}
*[http://heliosmakerspace.ca/ Helios Makerspace], non-profit workshop
*[http://lesalon1861.com/en/ LE SALON 1861]


== Interwiki links ==
== External links ==
Wikipedia: [[wikipedia:Montreal|Montreal]]


== External links ==
* [[Wikipedia:Montreal]]
*[http://www.ecologieurbaine.net/en/ Montréal Urban Ecology Centre]
* [https://www.ecologieurbaine.net/en/ Montréal Urban Ecology Centre]


== References ==


'''References'''
<references />
<references/>
|}


{{Page data
| keywords = Canadian cities
}}


{{scaendmenu}}
[[Category:Sharing cities]]
[[category:Sustainable community action]]
[[Category:Sustainable community action]]
[[category:Quebec]]
[[Category:Quebec]]
[[category:Canadian cities]]

Latest revision as of 13:50, 9 June 2023

Rue Duluth, Montréal.jpg
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Location Montreal, Quebec
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Montreal (CA: MUN-tree-AWL; French: Montréal [mɔ̃ʁeal] ) is the second most populous city in Canada, the tenth most populous city in North America, and the most populous city in the province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city of Ville-Marie was built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained its name from the same origin as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is 196 km (122 mi) east of the national capital, Ottawa, and 258 km (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City.

As of 2021, the city has a population of 1,762,949, and a metropolitan population of 4,291,732, making it the second-largest city, and second-largest metropolitan area in Canada. French is the city's official language. In 2021, 85.7% of the population of the city of Montreal considered themselves fluent in French while 90.2% could speak it in the metropolitan area. Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 58.5% of the population able to speak both English and French.

Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]

  • Solon Collective, Acting together for the socio-ecological transition, added 14:57, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

Community resources[edit | edit source]

  • Fabcity Montreal, a regenerative economy project that contributes to ecological transition, social inclusion, sustainable mobility and land use planning. added 15:39, 29 March 2021 (UTC)
  • Helios Makerspace, non-profit workshop
  • LE SALON 1861

Concordia University community greenhouse[edit | edit source]

Montreal winters may be long and cold, but it's always a balmy 30+ degrees Celsius inside the greenhouse on the top floor of the Henry F. Hall Building at Concordia University. This former lab is now a greenhouse run by a student co-op, growing tropical fruits, medicinal plants, nutritious sprouts, microgreens and a panoply of other plants in an organic environment. The greenhouse is also a popular place for students to curl up with a textbook and a cup of tea from the pay-what-you-can garden-grown tea bar. There are also regular workshops on how to grow and care for your own plants and prepare plant products, and periodic plant sales — volunteers recommend arriving at opening time, otherwise the plants may be snapped up. The greenhouse and all of its activities are open to the public, although volunteers do get first priority when the time comes to harvest the tropical fruit trees, which include figs, bananas, and grapefruits. Concordia University community greenhouse[1]

La Remise[edit | edit source]

"Why buy when you can share?" That's the motto of Montreal's cooperative-run tool library, where anyone can borrow cooking, gardening, carpentry, and mechanical equipment. Members can take the equipment home or use it in the onsite workspace. Members pay $60 a year for borrowing privileges and $5 per session for workshop use, and specialized volunteers have occasional "office hours" where users can learn to get the most out of their tools. "I love the whole sharing concept, and you meet some amazing people," says Jonathan, a volunteer on duty on Saturday morning. "Of course, you could go to Ikea and get furniture, but it's more fun to make it yourself."

"It's not efficient to have a bunch of tools laying around your house without being used," adds his colleague Alan, a recent arrival from Brazil who joined the tool workshop to improve his carpentry and his French. "Why not share them?"[2]

La Remise

Les Jardineries[edit | edit source]

This co-op-run performance space is possibly Montreal's most innovative night spot. It was launched in 2016 by a social enterprise specializing in urban design, La Pépinière&Co, in an abandoned corner of the vast concrete Olympic Stadium complex. Abandoned for more than 30 years, the space is now open from May to mid-late October, hosting a beer garden, food stalls, a community garden with a chicken coop, and an outdoor game room (think croquet and mini golf) as well as a succession of thematic concerts, circus shows, and DJ nights. One recent Friday night was devoted to the joys of tacos, paletas (Mexican fruit popsicles), and multilingual hip-hop.[3] Les Jardineries

Open spaces[edit | edit source]

Les Amis du Champ des Possibles

Wikipedia: List of parks in Montreal W

Saint-Michel Environnemental Complex

The city of Montreal acquired the Miron Quarry in 1988 to make a landfill waste site. Starting in 1995 under the direction of the city, the site was gradually altered in order to transform it into an urban green space, now comparable in size to Mount Royal Park. It is expected to become the largest urban park in the city within by 2020, with an estimated area of 192 hectares (470 acres).

Nearly 75 hectares (190 acres) are still used for waste disposal. The complex also includes the park, a recyclable materials recovery facility, a biogas powerplant, a composting site and a landfill.

The Centre d'expertise sur les matières résiduelles (CEMR), dedicated to the research and application of effective, environmentally friendly and sustainable waste management is located in the complex.

In recent years the Cité des Arts du cirque (TOHU), a non-profit organization, is installed on the site. With multiple vocations, it has a mission to make Montreal an international circus arts capital, contributing to the environmental rehabilitation of the landfill and to support community development of the St. Michel district. W

Montreal Archipelago Ecological Park

(French: Parc Écologique de l'Archipel de Montréal) is a project to create a new National park within an approximate radius of 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) around the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. This project was announced to the public at a press conference in Montreal on October 1, 2007. In September 2008, environmental groups renewed calls for the Government of Quebec to create the park. W

Cycling activism[edit | edit source]

BIXI[edit | edit source]

If you ask a Montrealer if they're connected with the sharing economy — économie du partage or économie sociale in French — they may not know exactly what you mean. But ask them if they've used a Bixi, and they certainly will. Bixi bicycle parking zones are as omnipresent a feature of Montreal's urban landscape as potholes and metro entrances. The bike-sharing program, established in 2009 and modelled on the successful Vélib scheme in Paris, is the oldest municipal bike-sharing scheme in North America. In 2014, the service was taken over by a city-backed nonprofit. The name, a combination of "bicycle" and "taxi," was chosen in a public contest, and the winner received a Bixi pass for life. Long-term users receive a key when they subscribe to the service, while tourists and other short-term users can buy 24-hour or 72-hour passes with a credit card at any Bixi zone. Over 230,000 people used the service in 2016, for a total of 4 million trips. Not ready to join quite yet? Keep your eyes open for free Bixi Sundays and take a test drive.[4]

Bixi Montreal, free Bixi Sundays

BQAM[edit | edit source]

If you choose to use your own bike (rather than taking the Bixi route) and it catches a wheel in one of the city's infamous potholes — or you just want to learn how to better maintain your two-wheeler — BQAM is the place to go. Located on the science campus of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), this bike-repair co-op is open to anyone, student or not, who pays a $20 membership fee. Participants can buy used parts, attend bike repair training sessions, participate in planning and governance, and use the on-site bike repair workshop to fix up their own bikes. "I sometimes do half of a repair job and let the person do the rest," says student volunteer Pierre-Philippe. "We're very much into self-directed learning."

"Sometimes, with some of the problems we get, a bike shop will say repairs are not economical and tell you to buy a new bike," says René, another volunteer. "We'll work with you to see if we can fix the bike you have." BQAM is not the only collaborative bike workshop in the city — another cyclists' co-op, Right to Move, has mapped all of the shared workshops around town.[5]

Education for sustainability[edit | edit source]

University of the Streets Café[edit | edit source]

This bilingual program at Montreal's Concordia University organizes free, public educational seminars in cafés and community spaces across the city, hosted by volunteer moderators who are often professors, graduate students, and recent Concordia alumni. Although panelists who are specialists in the relevant fields bring their expertise, anyone can contribute to the discussion. The topics cover a wide range — this year's talks will explore drug policy, art accessibility and poverty alleviation, among other themes. Expand your mind for free. University of the Streets Café[6]

Food activism[edit | edit source]

Smart basket, Solidarity food, added 17:09, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

Community Gardens Network[edit | edit source]

The City of Montreal community garden program has existed since 1975, and there are now 97 community gardens sprouting on city-owned land across the island. For $10 a year, plus a small payment ($5-$25) to the neighborhood organization in charge of maintenance, users receive a small plot of land to garden. People who are on social assistance pay no fee. Get out in the sun, meet new people and bring some fresh, healthy vegetables to your table. Community Gardens Network[7]

Le Fridge de la Petite-Patrie[edit | edit source]

This community food fridge, inspired by similar communal fridges in Germany, was established in 2015 by a small group of Montrealers frustrated with rising levels of food waste. Any food can be dropped off at Le Fridge de la Petite-Patrie, as long as it is unopened and labelled with an expiration date and the names of any potential allergens. The fridge is stocked by local shopkeepers, gardeners, and community members passing on food that would otherwise go to waste. Unlike many food banks, the fridge is open to anyone, regardless of place of residence or documentation.[8]

Free stuff[edit | edit source]

As-tu ça toi?[edit | edit source]

Are you looking for a sewing machine? How about a toaster? Are you trying to get rid of your kids' old toys or of that clunky shelving unit in your bedroom? Look no further than the Facebook group As-tu ça toi? ("Do you have that?"). Montrealer Marie-Neige Châtelain launched the group in 2011, and it now has over 46,000 members. It operates like any online classifieds group, except, as the organizers point out, "Any ads that mention $$$$ will be deleted without prior notice!" Everything is free, members organize pickups between themselves, and as long as it doesn't involve live animals, illegal products or medical supplies, no request is too strange. The group has spawned "daughter groups" in nearly every region of Quebec. "These communities are based on the love of giving, be it donations of material goods or simple exchanges of services," Châtelain writes. "Give without expecting anything in return, and you'll get everything."[9]

Les Accorderies[edit | edit source]

Established in 2002 in Quebec City, the Accorderie network is used for free service exchanges. Are you looking for someone to tutor you in a second language or repair your computer? Can you spare an hour to teach a skill or help someone do home repairs? Give one hour of your time and add an hour to your own "time bank" to use for something completely different. The network has three branches in Montreal, as well as outposts in Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan, and several rural North Coast communities.

"We want to fight poverty and exclusion, create links between neighbors and recreate a sense of community that has been kind of lost over the years," says Les Accorderies' director Huguette Lépine.[10]

Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle[edit | edit source]

Touski S'Repare[edit | edit source]

This Facebook-based project is a giant bulletin board where people working on repair projects can crowdsource useful information. "Touski S'Repare" is a creative phonetic spelling of the French words for "all that can be fixed (tout ce qui se repare)." The growing library of tips and videos is intended to minimize the impact of planned obsolescence. "Repair to make it last and to take a stand against overconsumption" is the group's mission statement. The group was founded by two employees of Équiterre, a fair-trade promotion organization, and now has nearly 2,300 members. Touski S'Repare[11]

Sharing[edit | edit source]

Livre-Service[edit | edit source]

When you least expect it, you'll walk past a tiny, colorful cabinet with a glass door, or a newspaper vending machine. Inside will be books. You never know what books — that's part of the fun. Leave a book, take a book, bring it back — or not. Twelve "Livre-Service" boxes (a play on livre, book, and libre-service, self-service) are scattered throughout the Côte des Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce area. There's no need to be affiliated with the official "Livre-Service" program to set up a little free library — many boxes have been set up across the city by community centers, neighborhood groups, or city residents.[12]

Social inclusion[edit | edit source]

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Café de la Maison Ronde/Roundhouse Café[edit | edit source]

The Roundhouse Café, also known as the Café de la Maison Ronde, is Montreal's only restaurant serving First Nations cuisine. The minuscule café began operations three years ago in a former public bathhouse near Atwater Metro and relaunched earlier this year, providing jobs for First Nations Montrealers who had been homeless and/or long-term unemployed, while introducing the city at large to the joys of fry bread and bannock tacos. The Inuit and First Nations staff are always eager to discuss indigenous cooking, culture, or language.

There's also a "suspended coffee" system, which allows customers to buy two of something and leave the second one for a person unable to pay. The café's profits are reinvested in L'Itinéraire, a nonprofit which provides services to homeless and precariously housed people and also produces a popular magazine which approaches city news from the perspective of people who are homeless or in poverty.[13]

Towards sustainable economies[edit | edit source]

The cooperative movement in Quebec dates back to the late 19th century, with the founding of North America's oldest and most established credit union, the Caisse Desjardins. Since then, co-ops and social economy projects have entered every sphere of economic and cultural life in the city and the province. The rise of social networks and crowdfunding has vastly expanded the possibilities. A number of sharing economy projects have emerged as a conscious thumbs-down to consumer capitalism, while others are just simple neighborhood-based solutions to service gaps. The list within this article barely scratches the surface of the sharing economy in Montreal.[14]

Ecto Co-op[edit | edit source]

Freelancing can be a lonely journey, but one Montreal co-op wants to change that. Ecto is a cooperative-run communal workspace in the heart of Montreal's bustling Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. Weekly salad builds and a cozy, beanbag-equipped "collaboration space" make it almost like having colleagues — except your office neighbors come from different walks of life, and the networking possibilities are endless. The usage-based fees (from $25 for one day to $350 for a lifetime membership) are all reinvested into the running of the workspace. Ecto Co-op[15]

Urban sustainability[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

see separate article: Montreal community action resources

News and comment[edit | edit source]

2018

Concordia University's discussion series brings Montreal residents together for shared learning, Jan 24[16]

2017

15 Reasons (And Counting) Why Montreal is an Exemplary Sharing City, Oct 16[17]

Meet Montréal's New Wave of Activist Developers, May 30[18]

2015

Montréal's Blooming Social Economy Confronts Fiscal Pruning, September 21[19]

People power: the secret to Montreal's success as a bike-friendly city, June 17[20]

External links[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

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Keywords canadian cities
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
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Aliases Montreal
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Created October 21, 2017 by Phil Green
Modified June 9, 2023 by StandardWikitext bot
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