Since the 2000s, many North American cities have used the arts and culture to revitalise their neighbourhoods through partnerships linking the public sector, private actors, and local communities. What is known as 鈥渃reative placemaking鈥� aims to create vibrant spaces that are rooted in their local context; however, poorly-conceived approaches can also lead to exclusion. This is why 鈥減lacekeeping鈥� is so important: it amplifies a neighbourhood鈥檚 identity and its voices through processes of co-discovery and coproduction (see Dempsey et al. 2014; Luka 2018; Shannon et al. 2023; Toolis 2017).

In Montr茅al, Griffintown鈥攆ormerly an industrial area near the city鈥檚 downtown鈥攂egan attracting the interest of developers in the early 2000s after a long period of stagnation. The City adopted its first Special Planning Program (SPP) in 2008, but the financial crisis slowed development projects. In 2013, a second SPP was developed following extensive public hearings to better guide the neighbourhood鈥檚 transformation: reduced building heights, protection of industrial heritage, and the creation of the Quartier de l鈥檌nnovation to foster a more diverse, mixed, and well鈥慸esigned urban environment. This shift reflects a clear intention to collaborate more closely with residents, institutions, and local stakeholders.

MR鈥�63 is a charitable cultural organisation whose mission is to (re)discover contemporary cultural scenes while honoring heritage, experimenting with innovative ecological approaches, and promoting territorial equity. Its main project builds on the first temporary installations of MR鈥�63 metro cars in Griffintown and on its objective of creating a permanent space using these iconic former public-transport vehicles. This initiative aims to provide a neighbourhood鈥憆ooted public space designed to host cultural and community activities.

Born from a collaboration between MR鈥�63 and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montr茅al (CIRM), the Laboratoire d鈥檌mpact MR鈥�63 鈥� CIRM 鈥� Griffintown brings together university researchers affiliated with CIRM, students, and individuals from diverse fields of practice. Together, they contribute to all stages of the research cycle: discussing neighbourhood issues, defining research questions with partners, selecting appropriate methods, reviewing existing research, collecting and analysing field data, and sharing results with communities to inform concrete actions in Griffintown. The Laboratoire thus offers a research environment combining theoretical knowledge with field鈥慴ased expertise, particularly through participatory approaches grounded in local social practice. This fosters innovation, knowledge sharing, capacity-building for next-generation practitioners, and local decision-making. Such a learning framework helps to make sense of the social, environmental, spatial, and economic factors that shape Griffintown. Such a learning framework allows for a better reading of how social, environmental, spatial, and economic factors shape Griffintown.聽聽

Codirectors: Anouk B茅langer and Guillaume 脡thier

Scientific coordinator: St茅phan Gervais

References

Dempsey, N., Smith, H., & Burton, M. (Eds.). (2014). Place-keeping: open space management in practice. Routledge.

Luka, M. E. (2018). Assembling collaboration in the debris field: From psychogeography to choreographies of assembly. Canadian Theatre Review, 176, 41鈥�47.

Shannon, B., Sloane, D. C., & Bray, A. (2023). Co-creative placekeeping in Los Angeles: Artists and communities working together. Routledge.

Toolis, E. E. (2017). Theorizing critical placemaking as a tool for reclaiming public space. American Journal of Community Psychology, 59(1鈥�2), 184鈥�199.