To reindustrialize or deindustrialize?: How to tackle the ecological transition in the metropolitan context of Montreal Réindustrialiser ou déindustrialiser : comment entreprendre la transition écologique en contexte métropolitain montréalais ? En Fr

Résumé En Fr

A roughly 75-hectare area in the eastern part of the island of Montreal is at the centre of a heated debate between two models of urban governance, with ramifications extending from the micro-local to the metropolitan and international level. These two models or approaches mobilize contemporary environmental issues at the forefront of which is the need to adapt to the “ecological transition.”The area in question, a former industrial zone, was gradually abandoned over the past forty years in the wake of the severe deindustrialization of Montreal’s economy. Since the 2010s however, the Port of Montreal started to expand its operations in this area of the island with the construction of a new container terminal, while a big trucking firm – a major partner of the Port – acquired part of the wasteland. These enterprises have begun to develop an industrial port zone dedicated to the trans-shipment of bulk goods, mainly for the international market.Meanwhile, the abandoning of a large part of the 75-hectare site has encouraged a certain rewilding of the land and the emergence of several projects to reclaim territory that embodies a way of countering the destruction of ecosystems and resisting the climate crisis, and it is even seen as a means of securing the food autonomy of the local population.On the one hand, in order to improve the flexibility of their transit in relation to the networks of the metropolitan region and to boost the competitiveness of international trade from Montreal, the area is to be requalified and product trans-shipment operations are to be concentrated there. By doing this, the companies involved in these activities also aim to mitigate the nuisances they have generated in the city (road congestion, air pollution, noise, dust, etc.).On the other hand, the aim is to continue the process of rewilding the wasteland and transforming it into a biodiversity-rich area through citizen-led initiatives in both reforestation and phytoremediation decontamination, with the ultimate goal of converting it into a large nature park, self-managed by local people and organizations. The economic logic of the industrial-port complex is thus countered by an ecological development model aimed at improving the quality of life for local populations living in a particularly vulnerable area with few green spaces.The purpose of this presentation is to analyze the urban, social, and environmental repercussions of a very local conflict between two social projects in the context of the current climate crisis.

Situé dans la partie est de l’île de Montréal, un territoire de quelque 75 hectares est au cœur d’une lutte très vive entre deux modèles de gouvernance urbaine dont les ramifications se déploient tant à l’échelle micro-locale que métropolitaine et internationale. Ces deux modèles ou logiques mobilisent les enjeux environnementaux de l’heure, au premier rang desquels se trouve la nécessaire adaptation à la « transition écologique ». Le territoire en question, une ancienne zone industrielle, a été graduellement abandonné depuis une quarantaine d’années dans la foulée de la vague de désindustrialisation qui a frappé de plein fouet l’économie montréalaise. Or...