A Neighbourhood That is Becoming
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Par Carolina Gallo La Flèche
Carolina Gallo La flèche est vice-présidente de la Corporation de promotion et de développement Lincoln-Tupper.
Texte
paru dans
Montréal CULTURES
Édition du 12 juin 2003
As its unwieldy moniker suggests, the Corporation de promotion et de developpement Lincoln-Tupper ("Lincoln-Tupper") is a community-development vehicle that brings together major commercial and real-estate players, community and resident representatives, and august institutions like the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Concordia University and LaSalle College.
These stakeholders, despite their often-disparate aims and needs, have joined forces to "re-vitalize" the urban neighbourhood whose boundaries are formed by Atwater to the west, Lincoln to the north, Guy to the east and the ravine just north of the Ville-Marie Autoroute to the south. The official aim of this unique non-profit entity is to elaborate a new urban master plan incorporating the existing development and commercial interests while respecting and hopefully enhancing the positive cultural and social components of the neighbourhood. It also aims to create economic wealth by encouraging investment, so as to improve the overall quality of life for ALL in the community, workers and residents alike. It is a tall order.
Because of Lincoln-Tupper’s mandate and the interplay of its diverse membership, it can be described as an urban and cultural development laboratory. Achieving its objectives is a challenge for many reasons, not least that one member’s ambitious commercial project may be anathema to the residential component of the organization. One example of synergistic exchange was the recent discussion surrounding the opening of an after-hours club in the AMC-Forum.
From one perspective, the after-hours phenomenon is a cultural happening. It is young and happening and the music scene it represents has seen its local players become international music icons — for example, local DJ Mistress Barbara has gone on to perform in venues in London, Amsterdam and the West Coast.
The neighbouring residents wonder how this may affect them — this is where the Lincoln-Tupper vehicle becomes a practical one, facilitating dialogue between the players directly involved. The issues are weighed against a common context or goal: however, all around the table agree that the Lincoln-Tupper neighbourhood needs a helping hand; all are there to see that it gets done and gets done in such a way that the residential, commercial and architectural heritage is respected.
For as long as collective memory would have it, the fortunes of the neighbourhood rose and fell with the presence of Les Canadiens in the arena that is now a multi-purpose entertainment complex. Restaurants, taverns and all other manner of eateries and watering holes flourished because of the mecca of events.
The traditional mind-set of city-planners and developers places considerable weight on the ability of larger commercial entities or "anchors" to draw people and activity to a given sector. This formula hits a wall with Lincoln-Tupper because the ’hood stubbornly refuses to be defined or moulded. The unconscious rebellion may be a reflection of its demographics and its youth. The area possesses the youngest and largest population in Montreal, based on city-district statistics. The youth and relative poverty contribute to the presence of colourful personalities and a large number of establishments not likely to be profiled in "Montreal Inc." Next to the Canada Post office, the Cock ’n Bull Pub and the uber-trendy F.L.Y., one can find the Wiccan book store Mélange Magique offering pagan workshops seven days a week. Not far off are the local Montreal landmark ARGO book store, the Halal grocer, the Asian noodle shop, the Austrian shoemaker, and Capitaine Quebec, which sells the ubiquitous Uh-Gi-oh game cards beloved of all boys and girls 16 and under. There is also the hair salon whose 89-year old owner-coiffeuse can still remember the tramway passing through Ste-Catherine Street in front of the salon, back in the days when everyone in the neighbourhood spoke the same language.
The beauty and appeal of the neighbourhood lies in its extreme multicultural mix and the very funky nature of the commercial offerings in its stores. With the colour come some of the challenges offered by the harsher realities of modern urban life.
Some residents and visitors tend to congregate around the more isolated sections and present the sad portrait of alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution and homelessness. Their presence is as much a result of the present state of our health and welfare sector as of the fact that the area possesses some of the worst examples of slum-landlordism yet seen. Aggravating this is the presence of vacant buildings and derelict spaces that contribute rightly or wrongly to the neighbourhood’s image of desertion that makes the majority (pedestrian, investor or resident) shy away. This may contribute to the turnover rate of 18 months for most new businesses that attempt to start up in the area. Yet it is a mystery how some die-hards manage to survive, even thrive, for 30 years and more.
What are the answers to all these questions? How can we come up with solutions palatable to those whose priority is to conserve the Montreal urban cultural flavour that makes our fair city so attractive to connoisseurs? What is clear from this description is that social communication and city planning are critical. Lincoln-Tupper as a group came together after experiencing frustration with the lack of attention the neighbourhood was receiving and the increasing vandalism and deterioration of its commercial and residential components.
As a cultural phenomenon, the Lincoln-Tupper area possesses a strong Montreal character in both its architectural heritage and its population demographics. Ideally, we would operate in a framework whereby city awareness came together with a sense of community to refine — NOT redefine — an existing urban space that possesses so much character, urban funk and multicultural flavour. Solidarity is the social leitmotif for the real-estate promoters, merchants and institutions of the area, by the very nature of their combined projects and activities: one promoter is redeveloping the old Wray Walton Wray funeral home into a residential unit; Concordia University needs more student housing; the merchants want more pedestrian traffic and the residents want it quiet and clean!
Earlier, Lincoln-Tupper was characterized as a contemporary urban development laboratory. As the experience unfolds, it will yield important lessons in urban development and cultural heritage preservation.
Plan large, installation photo d'Isabelle Hayeur, Montréal 2001. Photo : Caroline Hayeur.