Reading and understanding the built environment of Quebec (Canada): the result of thirty years of research

Abstract

This paper discusses the state of research on the physical and spatial organization of villages, cities, and agglomerations of the territory of the province of Quebec, Canada. In addition to presenting the key notions of urban morphology opening the way to an in- depth understanding of the mode of structuring of human settlements, the paper uses several case studies to present the methods of analysis used by this field of research to read and characterize the built environments of Quebec. Some of these examples show how morphological knowledge has been developed at multiple scales to contribute to the development of the field. A body of research carried out over more than 30 years presents the first divisions of the territory, the birth of the first towns and villages, the formation of cities and of their outskirts, until the emergence of the first suburbs. Therefore, the paper presents the development of the local research tradition of urban morphology in Quebec, which evolved throughout the 1990s, strongly connected to European morphological schools. The theoretical concepts and the methods aim to offer useful lessons to feed the work of planning, design, and management of the quality and integrity of the built environment of Quebec.