Urban spectacularisation and social housing : an asymmetrical relation ? The habitations Jeanne-Mance in Montreal’s quartier des spectacles

Abstract

ABSTRACT Located in the heart of Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles, the Habitations Jeanne-Mance is a vast social housing scheme that contrasts starkly with the Quebec metropolis’s cultural showcase. However, despite their differences, these urban projects have been subject to similar beautification practices. Both have drawn on public art and culture as resources, but the two beautification processes have taken different forms. In the Quartier des Spectacles, they have been aimed at attracting audiences, while in the Habitations Jeanne-Mance, they have sought to reinforce a sense of belonging. In this article, we analyse how these symbolic recoding processes have interconnected and overlapped.