Taylor Jenks Nov 23rd 2012 GEOG 230 Mountain City The landscape of Montral city has come

great distances since its basis of elongated plots of riverside land, and small trade outposts sparsely dispersed throughout the new Canadian colony. The citys trade has vastly expanded, its technological capabilities have increased immensely and the symbols of such can be seen in historical planning trends, from urban sprawl to concentration, and from the industrial expansion to the greening of neighborhoods. One tendency of the landscape that has continued without waver is the influence of the natural on the constructed and de-constructed. Laying the Plans

Ville Marie Fort [Map] retrieved from Canadian council of Archives, (n.d.)

Mount Royal as it translates to, has the historical beginnings of a French founded Colony in the early 1610s (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). Sought mainly for its location along a stretch of river that reached Ottawa, its physical site became the ideal situation for trading within Canada and externally to the European

motherlands. People had settled in what became Montral for many years before the French, most prominently the Iroquois in Hochelaga, and although they had disappeared from the area for unknown reasons their choice of settlement most likely lay in the same aims as those chosen by New France (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). Montral itself lies on an island in an archipelago in the Saint Lawrence River, which has acted both as a protectionist measure, and as a means of transportation and income via trade. The creation of Ville Marie as the area was alternatively called, although spurred by economic incentive, was carried out instead under missionary intentions when an elite group of Catholics in France formed the Socit de Notre-Dame de Montral pour la conversion des sauvages de la Nouvelle France; In English, The society of Our Lady of Montral for the conversion of the wild of New France (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). an exemplary mission statement from a sanctimoniously ideal early colonizer. Although just narrowly over 50 citizens, Montrals founding contour was clearly determined from the outset. With church at the heart of the societys ideals, it was correspondingly at the heart of the towns physical structure next to one centrally built community building. To be the heart of the city, there also must be a central gathering place, existing in the form of Place du Marche, Montral s central place was used for everything from a market for farmers to supply city folks with food, to a place to watch public punishments. A fortification encased the perimeter to resist attack from the passing Iroquois fur traders, opening at one end along the river to reveal a center of axis that existed slightly north east of what today remains as Rue Saint Francis Xavier; combining the

Plan of the Town & Fortifications of Montral or Ville-Marie in Canada [Map] retrieved from Canadian council of Archives, (n.d.)

layouts of Medieval and Roman Cities. While limiting enemy attacks, walls of the city however also limited growth of the settlement, eventually the socit was forced to send roughly 200 people from France to help populate the colony (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). The increase in skilled labor as well as increased demand for infrastructure initiated development and land management within the town. A hospital, school, hotel, and congregation were all established under the jurisdiction of the monastery elite, housing was fashioned along rue Saint Paul, and new settlers were given parcels of land along the river expanding the city horizontally from the original central thoroughfare (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). With the addition of Fur-trade activity, a social structure, and transfer of control to royal administration who ended conflict with the Iroquois, Montral stood as a sustained French settlement by 1663 (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.).

A Central Mountain

Montral [Map]

Considering the range of industries that the city has achieved such a high level of success, Montral itself is comprised of little more variation in its topography than its namesake Mount Royal which stands at 235 meters (Les Amis de la Montagne, 2012). As a natural barrier to the original settlement, the city originated just east of the mountain and continued to sustain itself as the central district through trade, banking, manufacturing, and commerce. The three peaks at 201, 211, and 234m dont resemble a mountain in traditional sense, however for the Montregie region it is an anomaly; one that has been well preserved granted the overflowing metropolis at its base (Topography of Montral).

Land Use Designation [Map]

By protecting the mountain from development via land use planning, the city of Montral has not only created an admirable park space close to 700 acres in size, but has still managed to alter the surrounding form only very little. At the base of the mountain lay two large institutions built into the hillside of the southwest and northeast facades; both spreading themselves horizontally rather than trying to battle the topography of the incline and degrading the natural park surrounding. The residential properties that have situated along the base have in some spots wound their way up the slope, perhaps based on a road, perhaps the road built around them, but both have maneuvered relatively organically around existing landscape. In order to preserve the natural scene that makes Mount Royal the character of refuge amidst a bustling city that it is, the planning department has also enacted building height restrictions on its slopes to the same 234m height as the mountain, as well as concentrating skyscrapers to a small portion of downtown; this

in turn maintains the physical distinction between mountain and city, as well as the visual relationship to the waterway and the rest of Montrals natural environment (La Ville de Montral, 2004).

Predominance of Mount Royal [map] retrieved from La Ville de Montral

Once you retreat down the mountain and its twisting road, and the land begins to flatten, a relatively straight grid street pattern sprawls outward; the same pattern that is prominent once outside of the original settlement ward. A traditional grid pattern typically would develop based on North/South and East/West orientation however because of the citys relationship with the Saint Lawrence River and its center of axis design, Montral has become known as the only city in which the sun sets in the north (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). Its grid pattern lays skewed about 45 degrees, in which its main arteries instead point southwest to northeast and southeast to northwest and in some cases groups of streets bend with the curvature of the island rather than ending at the shore. Montral s historical and physical context set the precedence for the regions development, even literally growing around the original settlement and major landforms, but it has, and will continue to take conscientious planning on the part of the city and its industries in order to preserve the natural and historical landscape that exists.

A City built for Industry For a substantial time the new settlers of Montral continued the adopted fur trading industry, much of which consisted of trade with merchants from the French homeland (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). The Canadian Council of Archives also notes that the industry also give people a chance to move up the socioeconomic ladder which was otherwise statically based on birth, profession and wealth (n.d.). Montral became the hub of coordinating the fur trade and eventually spurred the founding of The Northwest Company; a substantial input not only to local economy but eventually also to ethnic tensions (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). Not unlike any other limited resource, as the animal numbers dwindled hunters had to travel further to find their income. With the conquest of Britain in 1760, Canadien control of the trade was given to scots who in 1821 merged with The Hudsons Bay Company, consequentially the major identity of Montral s Economy up to that point had been sacrificed (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). What was gained however was the beginnings of trade with other lands, specifically colonial homelands. Merchants founded the first shipping companies and with government help built the Lachine canal in 1825, and the channel dug between Qubec and Montral ocean liners were now able to access the ports needed to sustain their growing trade industry (Lewis, 2000). The British influence promoted the agricultural economies, exporting wheat and trending growth along the riverside in a system of rural ctes. The rest of the city was divided into wards based on economic sector; rue Saint Paul was dedicated to multi-story warehouses; Rue Notre Dame as the ongoing main thoroughfare, would be for retail; and Rue

Saint Jacques for growing financial institutions (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). These financial institutions also allowed British Influence to present itself in the implementation of the branch system in 1871 under the Canada Bank Act; growing a smaller number of banks, but a larger number of branches allowed Montral as well as Toronto to hold a larger share of the number of national banks (Bank of Montral, n.d.). The Bank of Montral also acquired the accounts of the federal government previous to 1866 only further strengthening its role in the economy (n.d.). In the end it was these banking progresses that allowed for the financing of other, more defining sectors. Shipping, transportation, finance and manufacturing all grew as a result of loans made by the financial district of Montral, and even the farming industry advanced with mechanization of flourmills and meatpacking technology (Lewis, 2000). The Influx of immigrants however, helped to keep the work force diverse and multi-skilled, as Montral although modern and progressively demanding, still wasnt large enough to warrant mass production of products and the expenses of such equipment; it instead focused on providing its citizens with all or most necessities in sustainable amounts (Lewis, 2000). That is not to say that large scale manufacturing practices didnt occur, especially during the industrial revolution and times needed to match the demands of an empire at war and a colony whose infrastructure, product, and services demands were growing at rates as tremendous as the population was. It is to say however, that through the manufacturing eras, the invasion of industry on people both physically and economically, and the restructuring of the built environment to accommodate such facilities that often consumed the citys migrating peripheries, Montral has

managed to maintain a diversity that has supported its goals and persisted until today. While leading the worlds advancements in life science research, information and communication technologies, transportation, and the aerospace industry, it has hung on to, and when necessary facilitated a revival of, the specialty sectors that were the foundation of the Citys economy. According to the citys economic report for 2007, these industries are still progressing (2007). Although the Transportation industry accounts for less than 5% of the citys employment it was until 2008 the second fastest growing sector at 10.2% at which time it took a hit due to the recession (La Institut de la Statistique Quebec, 2012). 2007 showed record levels of handled cargo in the port of Montral (the economic and physical footing of Montral itself,) and Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport is seeing continuous growth in traffic numbers with almost 8000 more take offs and landings than in 2006; most of this increase is in domestic flights (Ville de Montral, 2007). Transportation is incorporated in the growing service which however, which accounts for the majority of Montrals employment; along with information technology assistance, health and education, and insurances and real estate, the service sector constitutes 85.4% of jobs and has had a 3.3% increase between 2007 and 2011 compared to the goods-producing sector which has taken an 11.8% blow (La Institut de la Statistique Quebec, 2012). While the construction, utilities and natural resource extraction companies have expanded as much as 33% with population demands, the manufacturing sector has been on the downturn since before the 2007 report and since then have continued to fall over 20% (La Institut de la Statistique Quebec, 2012; Ville de Montral, 2007). Montral as a whole has

become knowledge based workforce as a majority, rather than unskilled manufacturing, with professional services such as architecture, legal, accounting, and computer services showing the most activity. Unlike most situations in which health care and social services are the first to take a hit when once must be given, Montral has managed to hold a relative increase in this divisions employment since 2007 (La Institut de la Statistique Quebec, 2012). Rather than completely losing out on manufacturing, Montral has combined its vast knowledge base with its manufacturing capabilities and produced some of the largest and most respected science and technological companies in the world. Bombardier for example is Montrals largest employer according to the Globe and Mail, and is 8th in all of Canada with over 65,000 employees who made an average of $273,000 in 2010 (2011). Their esteemed aerospace corporation is one of many in the industry in Montral as it is among few places in the world where all the parts needed to build and maintain airplanes can be found within a 30 mile radius Investing in Montral, n.d.). The research facilities in addition to the major universities of McGill, Concordia, and the university of Montral have meant that a wide range of renowned pharmaceutical companies, IT, and Nanotechnology companies have placed themselves in the creative, knowledge based environment of Montral. The dwindling agricultural land, increasing income, and expanding population have also created a prime location for the development of bio-foods and increased efficiency food production. Companies such as Agropur, Kraft, Molson and Coke have positioned themselves within the city; providing 120,000 jobs and increase in the

sector by 34% between 1999 and 2007 (Investing in Montral. (n.d.). Just as they have done in the past, Montrals innovative and expanding culture will continue to set the precedence for the rest of Canada, and undoubtedly parts of the world.

Ch Ch Ch Changes (Bowie, 1971) Changes in the economy of Montreal have meant changes in social order, with labor being divided between men women and children, demand for infrastructure, and huge population influxes, but they have also meant physical divisions as well, and pockets of like people among these divisions. Montral has a large number of minority groups both in history and ones that remain today, but the struggles that its cultures endure are not always a story of expatriates and natives; there already exists a society of division and competition between the French and the English. In History, The British colonial rule placed English at the top of societys hierarchy, angering the previous governors of the French community, and divided both their employment sectors and their physical habitat. The majority of British immigrants moved into regions in western Montral (which was actually the southern part of the city,) and took more skilled labor, jobs, while the French who at one time were superior, lived primarily in Eastern (Northern) Montral and assumed the unskilled, or grunt labor positions (Lewis, 2000). The role of the war further instigated this divide as the French were conscripted to fight in a war as decided by British rule. Eminence of the English/French tensions still exist, although not as prominent in terms of secessionist movements as they were thirty or forty years ago, the remaining

citizens are fueled by the past, not likely to forget who the city and the country initially belonged to (Canadian Council of Archives, n.d.). Eastern Canada was and has been the first and last stop for many immigrants coming to north America; with a population of over 1.6 million people and more than ten major minority groups in the city there is no lack of cultural diversity. Those from Europe were the first and some of the largest groups to come to Canada and many landed in Montral, forming their own neighborhoods and miniature versions of their home countries, sometimes because of social structure, sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes by their free will. With no planning department until 1941 the development of Montrals city scape was largely left to the population and in the end where the work was, the people were; giving large amounts of authority to the industrial leaders (Lewis, 2000). As room in the city core became limited, developments of low standard working class neighborhoods were built on the outskirts of town, largely inhabited by immigrants and along the higher-end edges, by the British. Griffintown is a prominent example of Irish immigrants settling into a neighborhood quite evidently for the industrial labor demand (Gielas, n.d.)). Some areas were also considered poly-ethnic in that they housed numerous cultures such as Chinese, Italians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Jewish in the Porte Saint Charles neighborhood while others were inhabited by large concentrations of one culture like the Italians in Mile End where they established quite literally a Little Italy to recreate what they had left behind (Gielas, n.d.). The large lots of land enabled them to continue the agricultural practices they had brought from home, and became in many cases a self-sustaining community as

residents were often skilled in multiple trades. Chinatown was also developed between what is now Ren Levesque Avenue and Saint Urbain Street. It used to be that being an immigrant meant you were either inferior because of the poor socioeconomic status that drove a move to an industrial country, or that you were inferior simply because you werent of the same culture; often characteristics describing an uneducated, deprived and often desperate subgroup could have been used to classify them. Ethnic enclave would have been interchangeable with slum. Once a group assimilated into their new culture, they then dispersed amongst the population. In some cases this may be true; as one group moved out another moved in until they too could meld into their community. Cte des Neiges for example has been home to Jewish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Muslims, and immigrants of former Soviet nations at one time or another, with each being succeeded by the next (Gielas, n.d.). However, immigrant demographics have changed drastically, especially since the 1970s and 80s and a growing number of people are moving because of reasons like skilled job opportunities, education opportunities, travel, some still to follow family, or for various other reasons, but many are in fact quite wealthy. The ethnic neighborhoods have been inhabited not by the citizens still following chain migration patterns, but often other cultures moving back into the downtown sectors, while the ethnic groups have often migrated to suburban neighborhoods where their culture can still be practiced and concentrated but the housing type is all that has changed. Many enclaves were also dissolved with other development, as it seemed no longer necessary to have an ethnic community when the people living in them werent of the background and shared little social attachment to them

(Gielas, n.d.). One remaining enclave is the territory of the Mafia in Montral. Associated with multiple ethnic groups and somewhat of an inconspicuous group, mafia members may not be categorized into one sector of town but can be found from little Italy to high end residential suburbs; either way adding to the cultural diversity of the City.

Many of the ethnic changes presented are also responding to changes in, and establishment of formal city plans. 1944 was one of the earliest City plans developed for Montral due to the fact that the planning department wasnt established until 1941 as mentioned before (Lewis, 2000). Some objects of discussion at the time were similar to those of today such as lack of space in the downtown core, as well as how to balance industry and population growth, however the means with which they dealt with these issues have changed.

Department of City Planning [Map]

At this time the city was still dealing with the lack of zoning bylaws and the previous inefficient development, finding buildings victims of abuse, located in areas of overpopulation, and in unsanitary conditions many could no longer be used for the manner in which they were built and there was subsequent deterioration of the surrounding abandoned areas (department of City Planning, 1944). In some manner the city had a blank slate in determining zoning bylaws and the rules of the department, while on the other they had to work around the damage that had already been done. Proposals for industry and residential development didnt seem to overlap drastically which is an excellent change from the industrial slums present through much of history, however much of development at this time focused on expanding. Suburbs were moving out from the city, which was no longer associated with poverty and immigration but middle class family homes and wealth in that you can separate yourself from the city life. Part of this movement related to the goal of decongesting city center as well as housing was becoming scarce downtown (Department of City Planning, 1944). To accommodate this dispersion of the population the city also aimed to expand traffic networks by joining satellite towns to the core, and provide two rapid traffic highways one along the Lachine canal and the other between Park avenue and Saint Laurent boulevard. To house the growing population, previously long land plots were reframed as subdivisions with cul-desacs amenities within the area itself (Department of City Planning, 1944). At the same time as expansion, retail patterns were being discussed as being too disperse and focus was on providing shopping centers or districts where commercial activity

can be grouped rather than sparsely along streets where the distance between them is too great to be beneficial (Department of City Planning, 1944). This same trend in the retail and re-classification was seen in the 2004 City plan although not physically expanding in the same manner, Montral was now trying to expand the opportunities within smaller regions. Consolidation of population and services to within walking distance was key to promoting limited vehicle use and decongestion A Ville de Montral, 2004). There is very little that is proposed, to be built, however the focus is on transformation of inefficient or unusable spaces to ones that can be much more beneficial. Taking full advantage of existing infrastructure, the city planned to provide still more residential dwellings, and in many instances old manufacturing warehouses etc. are being transformed into loft apartments and offices (La Ville de Montral, 2004). A slow change in zoning of these areas is therefore also occurring as waterfront property previously used for shipping in many instances has become prime real-estate and are largely sought after. Both green and Public spaces are being incorporated into these repurposes and like the commercial and employment sectors, they are developed with the goal of being dispersed efficiently to be accessible by large numbers of people and of course taking the winter factor into account (La Ville de Montral, 2004). The heritage of Montral is far from lost within all this development however; there is large attention to maintaining the architecture of historical sites within the city and preserving the style even in new buildings. The bridges surrounding the city are designed to represent the gateways that they are and to symbolize the styles imperative to Montral. Interaction between pedestrian and structure has been

Built Heritage [map] (retrieved from La Ville de Montral article.)

acknowledged when building with the intent of maximizing this interaction and preserving the old town, earnest atmosphere (La Ville de Montral, 2004). There are also 26 proposed heritage sites of interest to be maintained and/or protected including Pres de Sainte-Croix Monastery, Old village of Sault au Rcollet, and the citys namesake Mount Royal (La Ville de Montral, 2004). This preservation is becoming even more vital as the city continues to grow. In order to maintain the diversity of the employment sectors mentioned before, the city of Montral also is promoting investment in areas of economic transformation. In essence Montrals construction has been a result of the multiple factors model; Wheatleys religious factors initiated a movement to the area, Wittfogels hydraulic reasoning explains the continuity of the citys success, and Mumfords political explanation would support the monarchy and colonial expansion as providing leadership and contributing to the ethnic diversity of the region and its

subsequent success. After over 500 years Montrals landscape has undergone immense change physically, culturally, and economically, and has morphed into a truly global city; having a hand in everything from massive immigration; to the aerospace industry which transports the immigrants; to the biofood industry which feeds the growing population. The goal of future development will be much like that last 500 years in that finding the balance between historical elements and future design will be vital in not losing the cultural heritage that is the foundation of todays Montral. The Natural landscape must continue to be the influencing factor in the development of the constructed and deconstructed landscapes for the city to endure for another five hundred.

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a&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+the+Canadian+Historical+Association&rft.au=Zucchi%2 C+John&rft.date=2009-0101&rft.pub=Canadian+Historical+Association&rft.issn=08474478&rft.volume=20&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=S1%2825%29&rft.externalDBID=n %2Fa&rft.externalDocID=229987149 Topography of Montral [Map]. Retrieved from http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF8&redir_esc=&q=topography+of+montreal&um=1&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=0x4cc91a541c64b70d:0x654e3138211fefef,Montreal,+QC&gl=c a&t=p&sa=X&ei=vPWvULXEHIr3rAGLmoDABg&ved=0CC4Q8gEwAA Ville de Montral. (2007) 2007 Economic Report for Montral Agglomeration. Retrieved from http://recherches.ville.montreal.qc.ca/?lcid=1033&q=economic+report+2007& submit.x=0&submit.y=0 Ville Marie Fort [Map]. Retrieved from http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives/500ans/portail_archives_en/rep_ch apitre2/chap2_theme2_doc1_page1.html