Connected Communities:
for a Healthy and Inclusive Montréal 

With the support of the Gouvernement du Québec

Our most recent initiative on urban wellbeing, Connected Communities explores local and community solutions that are improving urban health, strengthening residents’ feelings of pride and belonging, and responding to challenges faced by the region of Montréal in housing, mobility, and food security.

As we learn to live in a post-COVID-19 reality, cities and communities across the world have the unique opportunity to address long-standing inequities and social disconnection, and to build collective wellbeing by recognizing the tremendous knowledge, skills, and vision that exist locally.

Connected Communities, a research-to-action initiative, aims to identify, explore and promote the local and community-led solutions that contribute to wellbeing in the region of Greater Montréal by addressing challenges in the context of housing, mobility and food security. Through a multi-phased approach, this initiative seeks to highlight and embolden projects that are boosting quality of life, bringing people together, and strengthening the region’s feelings of pride and belonging.

TIMELINE

Phase 1:  Identification of solutions
Present – January 2023

Phase 2:  Collaborative workshops
January – May 2023

Phase 3: Report
May – September 2023

Phase 4: Event & Public Exhibition
Fall 2023

OBJECTIVES

• [Phase 1 – Research] During the first phase of the initiative, NewCities will conduct research, speak with topic experts, and identify community solutions that address the region’s current challenges in housing, mobility, and food security. A brief document will be produced to highlight the selected solutions through a collection of case studies that speak to the ongoing challenges and opportunities that exist on the ground.
• [Phase 2 – Workshops] Through collaborative workshops, we will gather key actors from community groups and organizations, along with representatives from the public, private, and academic sectors. Participants will present their inspiring solutions, explore the barriers they have faced in implementation, and brainstorm opportunities to co-create further solutions together.
• [Phase 3 – Report] The key learnings of the initiative will be consolidated into a report and disseminated across our editorial platforms. Recommendations will also be produced for actors at every level and across sectors that hope to facilitate solutions in their own communities.
• [Phase 4 – Public Event & Exhibition] The initiative will culminate in a public exhibition and an in-person event that brings the Greater Montréal community together and publicly showcases these inspiring solutions while sparking exchanges and connections.