Public perceptions of Montréal's streets: Implications for inclusive public space making and management

How urban residents perceive and value the quality of public space remains crucial to inclusive urban planning and design. Yet, understanding these perceptions is often complicated by the diverse social and cultural backgrounds of city dwellers. This article examines how citizens in Montréal assess their streetscapes across multiple criteria, such as accessibility, comfort, and aesthetics, and reports on rating and ranking experiments that reveal notable discrepancies in individual perceptions, particularly on inclusivity-related dimensions. More convergent assessments emerged during group discussions. Building on these findings, this study offers a framework for integrating individual and collective assessments, providing insights for municipal planners. The results underscore the importance of localized, context-sensitive evaluations and illustrate how stakeholder engagement, especially in smaller focus groups, can reconcile differing views on what constitutes a welcoming and inclusive urban environment. We conclude that responsive public space management, grounded in iterative, localized participatory processes, can enhance accessibility and foster inclusivity by incorporating regular small-group dialogues that identify the diverse cultural and social needs of residents. Such an approach promotes a dynamic sense of publicness, supports adaptive management practices, and contributes to the welfare of diverse urban communities.