Reading and understanding built environments in Quebec (Canada): Urban morphology at the service of a sustainable urban design approach

Abstract

This paper is aimed to present a book about the physical and spatial organization of villages, cities, and agglomerations of the territory of the province of Quebec, located in Canada. It will be of particular interest to people who intervene, exercise a professional practice or study in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban geography, heritage, and urban design. 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 book explains and applies, with the help of several case studies, the methods of analysis of this field of research to read and characterize the built environments of Quebec. Finally, examples show how morphological knowledge can be operationalized in intervention strategies and urban design projects at multiple scales. At a time when the crisis of climate change urges us to deeply rethink our ways of inhabiting and practicing the territory, it is essential to better understand the product of our collective experience in these matters. Why not draw useful lessons from this to feed the work of planning, design and management of the quality and integrity of our built environment?