A policy that aims to limit urban sprawl and protect agricultural land is born in Quebec, a month after the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, called urban densification a “fashion”.
The very first national policy on architecture and land use planning, unveiled Monday in Saguenay, aims in particular to “direct urban growth towards areas already equipped with infrastructure and public services, located in the heart of our villages and of our cities, thus limiting urban sprawl”.
With this policy, the Legault government wishes to encourage sustainable development in the province while modernizing architectural practices.
“It is time to modernize our practices, to show boldness and creativity to pursue our development in a sustainable manner,” pleaded the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest.
“In architecture, investing in quality is advantageous all along the line. Buildings in our image, which stand the test of time and which contribute to the vitality of our cities and our regions, this is what our government wants to leave as a legacy to the current population and to future generations,” added the Minister of Culture. and Communications, Nathalie Roy.
Remember that last April, the Minister of Transport, François Bonnardel, mentioned that the third link uniting Quebec and Lévis would bring about a rebalancing of development towards the east.
“It is a balance to be found between the densification that we currently see on the networks and the development as such, east of Lévis”, he specified.
A welcome new policy
In the urban environment, this announcement is greeted with enthusiasm and constitutes a promising step forward.
“For the first time, Quebec is adopting an overall vision which will henceforth guide its actions vis-à-vis the territory”, declared in particular the president of the Order of Urbanists of Quebec (OUQ), Sylvain Gariépy. .
In addition, this new policy is one more tool in the fight against climate change. “The approach is cross-cutting and will have implications both in the protection of the natural heritage and in our choices in terms of climate action, both in the reduction of GHG emissions and in the adaptation to the impacts of climate change”, said explained Martin Vaillancourt, Director General of the National Grouping of Regional Environmental Councils (RNCREQ).
However, while this is a significant step forward, the new policy contains very few concrete commitments. “It is therefore difficult to affirm that this announcement represents the paradigm shift so hoped for and which Quebec needs,” indicated Mr. Gariépy.
Reference-www.journaldequebec.com