2024-08-24 11:17 EST

The sun is climbing the late-summer sky as residents of Montreal’s famously hip Plateau-Mont-Royal gather in the shadows of a back alley.

Sounds ominous, but, in truth, the neighbours are here to enact a shining example of urban renewal. Surrounded by bags of earth and potted seedlings and trees, they are planting a ruelle verte (green alley).

A source of pride for residents across the island, the City of Montreal’s ruelles vertes program takes public space and turns it into a driver of community in the urban core. As one of the Plateau’s project organizers, Carole Yerochewksi, indicates, it is a process. “It began last October by requesting official support from the alley’s residents,” by signing and submitting forms, she explains. “More than half said ‘yes.’”

Today, dozens of Plateau dwellers gather—some with coffee in hand, others with gardening tools at the ready—to work on the final stages of an initiative that will undoubtedly breathe new life into the alley.

In a city where many residents are apartment dwellers and renters, the municipally funded program helps address the lack of access to green space. “The city creates new planting spaces by removing concrete or adding planters to the alley,” explains Elyse Michaud-Simard, a specialist in landscape architecture from the Ville de Montréal. “We then plant edible plants and herbs like blueberries, raspberries, parsley and sage–all perennials.”

Green alleys help reduce the heat-island effect, create a safe space for children to play and serve as common ground to meet and befriend your neighbours. Ruelles vertes naturally breed collaboration among residents as well as a sense of pride in physically contributing to the urban landscape. Often, that’s what keeps people tied to the projects and ensures their longevity.

Originally from Toronto, Maggie MacDonald emphasizes how the initiative has strengthened bonds between neighbours. “Our children are safer and more stimulated by the outdoors,” she says. “Friendships are formed easily, especially between kids, who get to experience nature in the city.”