These days Montréal is getting a lot of attention for its urbanism compared to its big city Canadian and American counterparts. The city recently rolled out a first phase of its new regional rapid transit line, REM, but the city already boasts a deep subway network. For decades, Montréal has quietly taken a different path from its North American peers, making it feel distinctly more European in its urbanism strategies and development.
Recently, Montréal has also seen a wave of street pedestrianization efforts akin to Paris, a clear cultural touchstone for the fellow francophone city. Ray Delahanty of CityNerd recently made a visit to see what all the hoopla is about and has a lot of takeaways for other North American cities.
