“Whose city is it?”: Save Montreal and the Fight for Democratic City Planning

Abstract

The group Save Montreal was founded in immediate reaction to the demolition of the William Van Horne mansion in September 1973. This article argues that while the group’s formation is frequently cited as the birth of Montreal’s heritage preservation movement, this label fails to fully encapsulate the group’s motivations. Central to Save Montreal’s activism were demands for community housing and public participation in the city’s planning process. These appeals stemmed from the fact that Mayor Jean Drapeau’s administration pursued a vision for the city based on modernist planning principles, namely automobility and the construction of megastructures. Such measures entailed the mass demolition of residences and businesses. In response, Save Montreal’s membership pressured government actors and the private sector to abandon these policies in favour of the creation of housing co-operatives, community-oriented zonings and public consultations. These efforts reveal that, beyond architectural and historical considerations, democratic planning and housing were central to Montreal’s urban conservation movement.