Stephanie Watt

Last fall, I chatted with @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social about my experience of municipal politics in Montréal, how the combination of boroughs and local parties can lead to change, experimentation, cross pollination. This fall, a video came out about all this. Thanks, Patrick!

This is one way or outcome of anchoring urbanism in a child rights framework.

Nimbys prevail. Sure. But so do politicians who place reelection or winning above other values.

Park with three sections. Foreground = trimmed grass. Middle = narrow asphalt path. Background = green zone with high grasses, deciduous trees, conifers. Photo taken at Parc Beaubien in the Rosemont neighbourhood of Montreal.

Different ambiances or atmospheres make a space, in this case a park, more playable. Here this is achieved by letting a green zone grow out, looking like a field where some adventures could take place. Totally affordable. Also great for freshness and privacy.

Incroyable l’échelle de transformation à Paris! J’ai l’impression que TOUTE transformation de la rue (ou trottoir) coute hyper cher au Canada. Même avec la volonté politique, on aurait jamais les moyens. À Paris, ce sont les employés de la ville qui réaménagent les rues ou est-ce fait à l’externe?

Agreed. Seems like last ones have only been about that. That combined with pretty loose donation rules makes for some shady decisions.

Very telling! What is too bad is that NCC hokds back to not appear “municipal” in its public space design and programming, and City of Ottawa is not stepping up.

What would Ottawa’s public space be without the NCC?

Je suis impressionnée par l'engagement de @mccraywx.bsky.social pour des rues apaisées + sécuritaires dans Sainte-Marie et par sa contribution rigoureuse + réfléchie au CA sur lequel on siège ensemble. C'est donc comme collègue et Montréalaise engagée pour les droits des enfants que j'appuie Chris!

Yeah, as 4yo cries out : « What? Oh my god, Mom! No! »

Oh man, so many awkward moments here when then kid recycles and sees her art in the bin. 😬

Ma ville du futur a encore des feux d’artifice. Deux jours après la canicule. Comme ça, sans gêne.

Tellement de respect pour celles et ceux qui s’engagent à fond pour leur quartier. Chris en fait partie — après des années de mobilisation locale, sa candidature à l'investiture de Sainte-Marie coule de source. 💚 #polmtl

This is why I won’t use AI in my practice. How can I advocate for sustainable people focussed design if I’m killing the environment doing so.

Splash pad made of rocks. Beach balls, buoys and a small plastic pool on the concrete surface. Adults and children in background. Mist coming out of the rocks.

Love it when the splash pad doesn’t look like one. Makes the freshness more inclusive. Place des Fleurs-de-Macadam, Montréal.

Agreed ! I was on Wellington last weekend and couldn’t believe street parking was free. Barely anyone out on Sunday at 9am, but loads of parked cars. That said, Montreal still has way too much free on-street parking.

C le best!

Donc l’immeuble patrimoniale deviendra du logement?

Trump declares war on cities

“We must expand efforts to detain & deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as LA, Chicago, & NY, where Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, & other Cities, are core of the Dem Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base”

I can’t imagine. I wish I could.

La semaine dernière, je marchais cette rue, côté ouest, entre Ontario et Sherbrooke, et je pense que seulement 2 locaux étaient occupés. 2!

I love this. Des rencontres improbables valent le détour.

Was at a multilane four-way stop today and gotta say, it was a clusterfuck. The crossing guard was giving « yeah, this is the worst ». No way a child could navigate that intersection alone. We should just call it clusterfuck urbanism. Or antichild urbanism. #ClusterfuckUrbanism #AntiChildUrbanism

Black ink drawings (scribbles) on tag cut from clothes.

Made by my four-year-old. She felt loads of pride to have drawn this road on these tags. This sort of thing makes my heart melt.

She finds flowers and petals on the sidewalk—fallen, torn or cut—just as pretty as planted and potted ones. How joyful.

Pink flower petals on a sidewalk.

A hand holding a pink flower petal with sodewalk and street in background.

Found myself appreciating the city the way my 4 year-old does.

Byward is such an obvious choice for pedestrianisation! Have there even been week-end ped only events?

This is much more comfortable than a sidewalk. Mostly, its angle helps with balance more than a sidewalk does. I never appreciate a footrest more than when I have a child on my back seat.

Ces 15 terrains sportifs qui n’ont pas vu le jour à Montréal Aucun des 15 projets de terrains sportifs promis en 2021 par Valérie Plante n'a finalement vu le jour.

Je trouve ça particulier que la ville ne gère pas ses terrains sportifs extérieurs. Ce sont des assos sportives qui le font. So obvs loads of players and considerations fall out of their purview. ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/21702...

I gotta say, when we put these up, we got mocked big time, even by cyclists. Lanes before rests, they’d say. I do like ‘em when I ride with my kid in the back seat.