Executive Summary: Montréal, Quebec

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This document is the result of 15 months of intensive collective work to propose a vision and a concrete project for a city that could be described as smart. A smart city is not only a city where new technologies can meet all challenges. Rather, we believe it is about implementing actions and methods that, through innovation and new technologies, improve the quality of life of citizens in all aspects: effective services, rich human relations, a healthy and stimulating environment, living environments where everyone feels well and included, regardless of their culture, age, gender or disability.

After this marathon run at the speed of a sprint, we are convinced that we have a bold and solid proposal, where projects feed each other, where partners support each other in their actions. The proposal is based on several elements. Engagement and mobilization efforts, which aim to constantly integrate citizens' knowledge into projects. Collaborative governance, which proposes tools to oversee and formalize this citizen contribution. An impact measurement approach, which makes it possible to collect citizens' perceptions, learn from them, and quantify the results in a perspective of continuous adjustment.

The whole process is supported by a responsible use of data that feeds into decision-making processes and exchanges with citizens and stakeholders. This approach is also supported by innovative technologies to provide new types of services and explore new roles for public authorities and communities. For the deployment, we have set up an operational framework (project management and financial resources management) that is flexible and adapted to our experimentation approach.

All these elements are used to address issues identified by the Montreal community: mobility and access to food in the neighbourhoods. Solutions in terms of integrated mobility, but also in terms of neighbourhood mobility, are proposed in order to make travel more efficient and reduce the use of solo car use in the greater Montreal area. In addition, food access projects aim to provide more healthy and local food to vulnerable populations. In our opinion, these two issues, mobility and access to food, are two complementary aspects of improving the quality of life of citizens.

We would like to thank the many partners who have enthusiastically contributed to this proposal and whose unwavering commitment has made it possible to present this ambitious project to you in line with our initial vision:

The Montreal community is shaping an efficient and dynamic neighbourhood life by innovating mobility and access to food. Through a co-creation and citizen participation process, the accessibility of services and the well-being of Montrealers are increasing significantly.