What do young Montrealers think of their neighborhood, their city? Why is Montreal a good place to grow up? How should Montreal transform to better welcome teenagers?
To find out, Juan Torres, professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal, and Natasha Blanchet-Cohen, professor at the Department of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University, gave them the floor in collaboration with the C-Vert program of the YMCAs of Québec.
Giving young people a voice to express themselves in Montreal
During the summer, about fifty young people aged 14 to 16 from six Montreal boroughs taking part in the C-Vert environmental engagement program of the island’s YMCAs can express themselves on what they think of Montreal.
Digital cameras are lent to them for one to three weeks. Some young people go in search of what could have an influence on their well-being, regardless of the scale: it can be large spaces in the metropolitan territory or a small part of their neighborhood. For other young people, like journalists, the instruction is to photograph their group and the actions they carry out during the summer season, such as the development of a green alley.
The photos taken by these young people constitute not only a very rich material which will be the subject of an exhibition during the fall, but also the starting point for discussions with them, conducive to reflection and conducive to learning.
“It’s an opportunity to hear the testimonies of young people on what they think is changing in the city, on the places they like, their movements, the places they frequent. It is also an opportunity to better understand their concerns and their frustrations: what are the places where they would like to go, but to which they do not have access, or where they feel captive and would like to see change? stresses Juan Torres.
Collect data
The project of the two professors makes it possible to collect research data. On the one hand, the discussions are recorded and, like the photos, will be subject to qualitative analysis. On the other hand, questionnaires make it possible to obtain the socio-economic profile of the participants.
“As a professor of urban planning, it is a way of developing a participatory methodology that highlights the discourse of young people so that it is heard by decision-makers, who are all adults. I am thinking, for example, of planning professionals, but also obviously of elected officials,” says Juan Torres.
A civic project
The project is of course formative for teenagers and teenagers. But not only!
“Young people have skills that can be very useful to their community. Giving them a voice and recognizing these skills is also ethically necessary: they are people who live in the city and who, like adults, are legitimate users of this living environment! mentions Juan Torres. And their point of view may surprise us. They can teach us a lot from their experience on what the city presents as elements of exclusion or on the contrary on what it offers in terms of inclusion.