Downtown strategy: In support of a strong and mobilized downtown

Last updated February 2, 2024
Reading time: 2 min

Downtown Montréal is changing. To strengthen its vitality and attractiveness, the city is focusing on tangible initiatives, which include promoting its neighbourhoods and the winter season, improving safety and cleanliness and accelerating growth-generating projects downtown.

Increasing the number of people downtown at all times and in all seasons

Downtown Montréal faces various challenges, like all major cities in the world such as the digitization of the economy and growth of virtual activities, climate change, changing consumption habits and people with vulnerabilities. 

But it is above all the decrease in numbers of workers due to remote working that has had the greatest impact on downtown. Remote working has decreased the demand for office space and the number of people visiting shops. It poses significant risks to the economic and cultural vitality of the city and the province.

Action must be taken now to ensure the long-term economic, social and cultural resilience of Montréal’s downtown.

Acting for the future of downtown: 3 priorities, 9 projects

Highlighting the identity of our neighbourhoods 

  • Strengthen and promote distinctive neighbourhood personalities 

  • Launch a winter strategy of activities and urban attractions 

  • Promote the Latin Quarter as a showcase of our French-language heritage

Focus on vibrant mixed-use neighbourhoods 

  • Create 2 new inhabited neighbourhoods in Montréal’s historic “Les Faubourgs” and “Bridge-Bonaventure” sectors 

  • Consolidate downtown’s position in the areas of life sciences and health, technology, and cultural and creative industries 

  • Prioritize investments in existing buildings

Creating pleasant and safe green routes 

  • Accelerate the development of Phase 3 of the Quartier international 

  • Launch new active mobility zones 

  • Improve the cleanliness of public spaces, building maintenance and traffic obstruction management

Living the downtown experience to the fullest 

Downtown Montréal has so much to offer. More than ever, we want people to choose downtown to live, work, study, innovate, shop, go out and have fun.

An integrated and coordinated approach

The 2030 strategy for downtown was inspired by productive discussions with several key actors in the city, which led to an initial diagnosis:

It aligns with the priorities of our flagship documents, including Montréal 2030. It’s another element in our current actions to improve social coexistence, mobility and a sense of safety downtown.

The strategy will be implemented in consultation with our downtown partners and other levels of government. It will be the subject of pubic announcements as projects develop.

View the strategy