Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Vector or Mirage of Metropolitan Planning and Governance Transformations in the Greater Montreal Area?

Land use and transport integration has been an objective of the Greater Montreal Area for decades. Transit-oriented development (TOD) constitutes its most recent incarnation. This analysis of the ins and outs of the resort to this concept highlights the collective learning dynamics in the spatial planning of the area since 2001, with the creation of the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC). It reveals that the political discourse and especially the content of public policies on urban planning and public transportation have significantly changed, and now position TOD at the nexus of metropolitan processes. The apparent intention of urban densification that accompanies it is the result of an unprecedented political compromise among stakeholders of the region. However, this staging of a virtuous turn toward sustainability raises a host of questions on its potential impact on the territory, planning practices and political dynamics of metropolitan Montreal.