Intercultural welcoming spaces in Montréal. Harmonization drivers for a new sense of identity

The acquisition and strengthening of principles of equality, democracy and freedom marked the approach of the Government of Canada towards the integration between settled communities, during the last decades. Several experiences have been carried on with the aim of promoting linguistic (Canada, Commission royale d'enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme, 1965-1969), economic, social (Canada, Chambres des communes, 1971), and cultural understanding and Canadian values sharing (Canada 1988). With the objective of creating synergies strong enough to lead to a collective identity, natural and man-made environment have been assumed as an unaware driver of harmonization (Sassen S., 2010). Often designed as to become common ground among individuals, space has been taken into account for its attitude to host people in productive harmony giving rise to a democratic and tolerant community (Canada, Patrimoine canadien, 2010). Despite the ghettoization phenomena that characterized North American multiethnic cities in late ‘800 and ‘900, a pluralistic issue aims today the province of Québec’s. Here, the stabilization of an inner identity, among all the naturalized groups, goes hand in hand with a shared cultural, linguistic and religious heritage, within a framework of common citizenship. The study deals with small scale outdoor areas often leftover in the dynamic growth of city centres. Since 2002, the Municipality of Montréal (Sommets des citoyen(ne)s, 2002) adopted a protection and promotion approach towards leftover spaces. With the aim of creating a sense of community within an inter ethnic grouping, the City aimed at improving meeting places’ security, accessibility and practicability with dignity and without undue effort or anxiety. Spaces have been taken into account for their vocation in working as repositories of belonging and of sharing,managing diversities among individuals and encouraging mutual, harmonious relations between social groups . The paper, in accordance with the main objectives pursued by the journal (Sasaki M., 2010; Stolarick K., 2010) presents an interconnected view of the cultural, social and design commitments carried out in recent years. For this purpose, it adopts an inductive research method, aimed at the analysis of interculturalism and public spaces management, referring of on one hand, to three small areas taken as case studies, and on the other, to the principles set out in technical documents produced by the Municipality of Montreal. The attitude of outdoor spaces to promote intercultural sharing, is reinterpreted through the discussion of needs and requirements that at a municipal level have informed the design choices, and the detailed analysis of the performances offered by spatial and constructive solutions.