In comparison, Vancouver’s design has created fewer options for urban recreation. Vancouver looks out, while Montreal looks in, says Price, and he ponders whether future growth will take after the style of Montreal.
Scattered through the issue are photos sent in by readers, for a “what’s outside my window” look at city living. You can see more of them on Gordon’s blog, or submit your own.
bottleman
Montreal does have some fantastic urban spaces— I lived there, and I’m partial to the way the busy strip of St. Laurent morphs into the upsale Parc L’Esplanade morphs into the (sort of) wild Parc Mont Royal. But it’s not just design, or even mostly design, that makes these places so great. It’s the climate and people too. The winter is so long and hard that when people finally have a chance to get out they really use it and treasure it. Plus there’s just an attitude there about enjoying life that you don’t find in more “productive” places like English Canada or the U.S. People want to be out there in public.If we want spaces like that here in Cascadia, we’re going to need to transplant that attitude too. Kind of pounding a round peg into a square hole. Let’s see, we’ll need a barrel-chested strongman and a really big sledgehammer…bottleworld.net