Remember that in 2014, 2,200 citizens, city employees, businesses and community organizations were involved in developing a single future vision and integrated planning for their city over 20 years: Laval 2035: urban by nature.

Laval will soon be halfway to the goal of his strategic vision, and we can already measure his success in three areas: stimulating the vitality of democratic institutions, promoting active citizenship, and balancing economic development and biodiversity conservation.

About the vitality of the democratic process

Increasing abstention, radicalization of positions, distrust of institutions… One does not have to look far to find examples of citizens’ dissatisfaction with democratic processes.

This must be taken as a sign that citizens are making higher demands on those who represent them. They are no longer satisfied with scribbling on a ballot every four years. Citizens want to be convinced of their administration’s proposals and want to have a say in the decisions that are made in the area of ​​public services.

To encourage this participation, in 2015 Ville de Laval set up a team dedicated exclusively to citizen consultation. She led consulting processes on around 200 projects, which led to the participation of 40,000 people.

Each time, citizens improve projects, inform decision-making, and come up with original solutions to the challenges of their daily lives.

But to be productive, citizen participation must not be reduced to choosing the color of mulch. In Laval, citizens are regularly asked to give their opinion on important issues, including that of the Urban Planning Act passed in 2022. And they answered!

More than 260 briefs were submitted by citizens, organisations, companies and project promoters. More than half of these briefs resulted in changes to the City Planning Act.

This achievement joins others that make Laval a leading public consultation firm in Canada. In fact, the city received the 2018 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Institute of Planners for the quality of the participatory and collaborative approaches it offers its citizens.

An active living environment

Laval has policies in place to ensure its citizens are as active in their lifestyles as they are in participating in democratic life. It begins with a changed perception of a city where the only way to get around was by car. In its Active Mobility Plan, Ville de Laval has set itself the goal of increasing the proportion of trips made on foot and by bike from 7% to 14% by 2031. Therefore, a whole new approach to road sharing is being pursued on the territory. The floor plans now include wider sidewalks and green verges as standard. In addition, the number of cycle paths is steadily increasing.

Green and blue surfaces

The balance between expanding human activities and preserving the natural environment is a crucial issue for Laval: it is the third largest city in Quebec, agriculture is an important part of economic vitality and… it is an island.

To protect biodiversity and preserve the ecosystem services provided by nature, the city aims to integrate all green and blue spaces into a single living and connected network as part of its Laval Green and Blue Network project.

Guided by its ambitions to conserve, enhance and connect natural habitats, the city is increasing acquisitions of natural environments in order to protect them over the long term and make them accessible to Laval residents. Ultimately, its goal is to protect 14% of the territory in natural settings and increase the canopy index to 27%.

on the territory. It also wants every citizen to have access to a natural environment or naturalized park that is less than 800 meters from their home.

The green and blue Laval network not only promotes outdoor activities and active travel, but also makes green spaces accessible. And it is no longer proven that this contact with nature has multiple benefits for physical and mental health (in particular, boosting the immune system, reducing anxiety, maintaining the body’s proper functioning).

We should also mention that neonicotinoids and glyphosate have been strictly banned in the Laval area since 2021. By installing these new beacons, the city has taken another step towards protecting fauna, flora, pollinators and human health. The use of pesticides is now better regulated – especially in terms of aesthetics and lawn care. These new regulations are also part of Laval’s environmental approach and the implementation of its strategic vision and revised land use and development plan.

In conclusion, staying sane, whether at the level of an individual or a complex organization like a city, remains no accident. This requires a plan with quantifiable goals and effective measures. Halfway to the finish, Laval has never been in better shape.

This content was created by Mishmash Brand Studio in cooperation with the advertiser. The journalists from news were not involved in the creation of this content.