Decorations hang in a green alleyway in the Rosemont neighbourhood. Under the flags, plants block cars from driving so kids can play safely.Adrienne Surprenant / Collectif Item/The Globe and Mail
Havens of green are spreading across the alleyways of Montreal.
Montreal’s ruelles vertes – or Green Alleys – movement began in 1997. Local residents apply for funding from the City of Montreal to transform many of its nearly 4,300 kilometres of alleyways into gardens, playgrounds, outdoor libraries or other social gathering spots.
The movement, which aims to counter the urban heat-island effect, beautify neighbourhoods and encourage a sense of community, has grown quickly since the pandemic began. In 2019, Montreal was home to 350 green alleyways. A year later, that number had swelled to 450.
Luis Gomez is with Éco-quartier, an organization that helps residents design alleyway greening projects and apply for funding from the city. As the program’s co-ordinator for the city’s Sud-Ouest borough, Mr. Gomez has seen the number of proposals he’s been involved with rise five-fold during the pandemic. Almost all of them include closing the laneways to cars.
“People now really want to use this environment for themselves,” he says.
The soaring cost of construction and gardening materials during the pandemic has also affected alleyway greening projects, with some items out of stock or taking longer to arrive, Mr. Gomez says. Plus, contractors are charging more for services such as removing concrete or asphalt from the roadways.
Fannie Bellefeuille plants with her six-year-old daughter, Chloé Cappuccio. She says she participates to 'create a feeling of community with people sharing similar values.'Adrienne Surprenant / Collectif Item/The Globe and Mail
More than half of a neighbourhood’s residents have to agree on a project before it receives financial support from the city and logistical support by Éco-quartier. Located mainly in Montreal’s historically working-class neighbourhoods, green alleys have spread with gentrification as young families and wealthier residents move in.
One such space is the Happiness Alleyway, in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough. It was created last year but is already fostering a strong sense of community.
“To my surprise, the alley has become a meeting place not only for the children, but for the parents as well,” local resident Fannie Bellefeuille told photographer Adrienne Surprenant when she visited this past fall.
Ms. Bellefeuille said the alley allowed her to develop relationships with neighbours who in turn have helped her get through a difficult year. And her six-year-old daughter has met children she might not otherwise have encountered.
“The alley has become a place for me to recharge my batteries, to meet new people and to escape, which has been life-saving,” Ms. Bellefeuille said.
In the Happiness Alleyway (Ruelle du bonheur), inhabitants and people who work with the YMCA and South-West neighbourhood, reunite to plant trees and flowers in the dedicated area of their green alleyway.Adrienne Surprenant / Collectif Item/The Globe and Mail
-This project was funded by the National Geographic Society’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists.
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