Will Metropolises Take Over the World?

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• Will Metropolises Take Over the World?

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• What exactly is a city?
• In simple words, it is an area with a high
  concentration of people and activities.
• What is a metropolis?
• It is a major city the chief city of a region.
• People in the surrounding region are drawn to it.
• It is a powerful urban centre with a high
  concentration of activities, services and major
  head offices.
• It is a densely populated urban area.
• It has greater economic and decision-making
  power.

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• New York City is a metropolis.
• New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the symbol of
  financial power in NYC.
• What kind of activities occur at the NYSE and
  TSX?
• Shares worth billions of dollars are bought and
  sold everyday by investors!
• Is Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivieres a metropolis?
• They both have far less economic and
  decision-making power than a metropolis like
  Montreal, Toronto or NYC.

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Characteristics of a metropolis

1. Downtown core
2. Residential neighbourhoods
3. Public parks
4. Public squares
5. Industrial parks
6. Interchanges
7. Suburbs
8. Tall office buildings and apartment towers

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Public squares
http//www.claudecormier.com/photos/projets/35/127
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PHILIPS SQUARE
MONTREAL (QUEBEC), CANADA
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Suburbs (Residential areas around a major city)
http//www.urbanphoto.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/
2007/05/plex07.jpg
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Metropolises have recognizable features

• Metropolises have
• Historical and modern landmarks
• Landmarks can either be natural or man-made.
• I.e. The Empire State Building in NYC, Champlain
  Bridge in Montreal are man-made landmarks.
• Mount-Royal, the island of Montreal and the St.
  Lawrence River are Physical features.
• Metropolises all around the world
• 8 out of 10 metropolises with the highest
  population (most populous) are in developing
  nations.

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Developing Nation

• A country with a low standard of living, severe
  poverty, low income and education levels, high
  birth rate, and poorly developed social,
  economic, and technological infrastructure.
• I.e. Most countries in Africa, Asia (except
  Japan), Latin America, and Oceania (except
  Australia and New Zealand)

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Developed or Industrialized Nation

• A country with a relatively high standard of
  living, high income and education levels, lower
  birth rate, and well-developed social, economic,
  and technological infrastructure.
• I.e. European nations, Russia, U.S.A, Canada,
  Japan, Australia, and New Zealand

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Why are the populations in developing countries
constantly growing?

• The Birth rate is higher.
• People are living longer because of better health
  care.
• 3. More people are moving to these cities hoping
  to get better jobs.

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Northern Hemisphere vs. Southern Hemisphere

• Most countries in the Northern Hemisphere are
  developed - wealthy!
• Most countries in the Southern Hemisphere are
  developing countries really poor
• Unequal power among metropolises
• Economically powerful metropolises are found in
  the United States, Western Europe and Asia.

http//www.amcl.com/images/SouthHemisphere3.png
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Developed and Developing Countries
http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38
/Developed_and_developing_countries.PNG
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Megalopolis

• Its a stretch of several metropolises and big
  cities in the same area.
• A region made up of several large cities and
  their surrounding areas in close enough proximity
  to be considered a single urban complex.
• They form the heart of economic and global power
  run the world!

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One of the three (3) most powerful megalopolises
is located in the United States.
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Major challenges for metropolises

• 1. Housing
• Finding housing is a challenge for poor people.
• Apartments are too often expensive, in disrepair
  or poorly situated.
• Government-subsidized housing is available to
  low-income families because they are way more
  affordable.

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Transformed Space in the 21st Century

• CASE STUDY
• From Mirons Plant Site 1950s to 2010s
  Saint-Michel s Environmental Complex

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Miron's plant

• The site was a large open space where the quarry
  was found.
• Located along Jarry street, near Papineau street.
• It operated as a cement and asphalt plant.
• Dusty, dirty and diesel fumes filled the air,
  noisy because of plant installations and
  continuous flow of trucks created traffic.
• Common to hear dynamite blasts used to rip rock
  bed in the quarry.

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• In 2010, most of the quarry has been filled in
  because of continuous years of dumping and
  compacting garbage and waste.

http//img.expo2010.cn/expoen/pics/32/32223.jpg
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Saint-Michel Environmental Complex

• Montreal will share with the world its best
  practice of sustainable development by showcasing
  the Saint-Michel Environmental Complex.
• This complex was conceived by the City of
  Montreal.
• It will ultimately be transformed into a
  family-friendly city park.

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• This ecological centre is also a recycling
  sorting plant and a micro-power station sharing
  space with Cirque du Soleil Headquarters and La
  TOHU, the City of Circus Arts.
• It will become the citys largest green space in
  2020.

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La TOHU's main Pavilion

• Visitors can explore the Environmental Complex by
  joining a "safari tour
• Visitors discover environmental innovations like
• The sorting centre, which handles all of
  Montreal's recyclables.
• A micro-power station that converts the biogas
  produced by transforming landfill gas into
  electricity.
• A composting and shredding facility.

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Waste Management and Developing countries

• Garbage is piled up in open lots near residential
  areas.
• Poor people spend hours salvaging usable goods
  and materials they can sell.

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3. Transportation

• Traffic jams are becoming more problematic as the
  population in the Montreal Metropolitan Area
  increases.
• More vehicles on our roads and ongoing road
  construction, due to aging infrastructure, cause
  traffic too.
• Vehicles pollute, cause Greenhouse Gases and
  affect our health.

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Commuting in the MMA

• 1. Commuting by Car in the Montreal Metropolitan
  Area (MMA)
• Hundreds of thousands of commuters use our roads,
  bridges and public transit on a daily basis
• The majority of us prefer to commute by car.
• Commuters must face hours of traffic to and from
  work on a daily basis.
• Why is there so much traffic on our metropolitan
  roadways?

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a) Montreals Roadways and bridges are old and
needs lots of repair.

• Our aging bridges, overpasses, highways, and
  roads need to be fixed.
• Dangerous potholes and huge cracks damage cars
  and slow down traffic.
• Lane closures due to road repairs and accidents
  cause traffic too.

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b) Montreal Metropolitan Area does not have
beltway for large-sized trucks.

• Beltway
• It is a highway that encircles an urban area so
  that traffic does not have to pass through the
  center.
• Heavy trucks damage concrete and asphalt,
  slow-down traffic, and cause serious accidents.
• c) Some of the major highways, expressways and
  service roads in the MMA need more lanes.

http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum
b/2/21/Capital_Beltway_Map_Color.svg/564px-Capital
_Beltway_Map_Color.svg.png
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• 2. Public Transportation in the MMA
• Our current system includes buses, metros and
  commuter trains.
• Although its cheaper and faster to take public
  transit, most people living in MMA still use
  cars. Why?
• Public transit is inadequate
• Buses do not pass frequently enough in some
  neighbourhoods.
• Metro lines or train lines do not extend to all
  corners of the island of Montreal.

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b) The STMs aging infrastructure cause frequent
stalls

• Our aging metro system is over 40 years old.
• Repairs are needed to fix cracks on ceilings, to
  stop water infiltration, and to replace old
  escalators.
• These constant renovations cause congestion and
  frustrate transit users.

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• Wiring along the tracks (installed in the 1960s)
  often overheat and catch on fire.
• Automated metro doors often jam during rush hour.
• c) Aging fleet of metro wagons and buses
  constantly stall during rush hour.
• Waves of new LFS buses have been purchased to
  replace our current aging fleet.
• These new buses are more spacious, have better
  engines and run on bio-diesel.
• The new Nova articulated LFS buses allow for more
  users to fit into one bus.

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• d) Current metro wagons and older bus models are
  not spacious enough.
• Some seats were strategically removed and others
  were rearranged to add more room in each wagon.
• Solutions to traffic-related problems
• Restricting car traffic by installing tolls and
  making parking expensive.
• Promoting the use of cleaner ways of traveling
  by (using bikes, public transit and bringing back
  electric streetcars.

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1. Finding housing in Montreal

• The following are factors that could make your
  apartment hunting successful or less successful
• Your income
• Number of children (More bedrooms means higher
  rent)
• Proximity to metro (Closer to metro station is
  more expensive)
• The neighbourhood (i.e. Le Plateau is more
  expensive)

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• 5. The environment (more if you wish to live
  near a park, green space etc.)
• 6. Many families have chosen to live in the
  suburbs because rent is lower (low-cost housing)