Étalement urbain et planification scolaire dans la couronne montréalaise : étude de cas.
Creators: name: M'Bala, José.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Urban and Regional Planning.

description: The problem of urban sprawl challenges the management of built-up areas for some decades. Increased population growth following the Second World War, coupled with the growing preference for, and emphasis on, single-family dwellings, were seen to "justify" this type of urbanization. However, in addition to the environmental consequences of urban sprawl (including the destruction of valuable agricultural land), urban sprawl has also entailed costs in terms of urban infrastructure, as has been suggested in several studies. One noticeable gap in the literature, however, concerns school infrastructure. This research aims to fill that gap by analyzing the effects of urban sprawl on the supply of, and demand for, educational services at the primary and secondary school levels in the Montreal area, through a case study. Due to their relevance and direct link to urbanization, three variables (through ten indicators) have been selected to measure this phenomenon. The school demography, symbolizing the demand for educational services, was selected because of its essential role in justifying the supply of such services. Educational buildings (i.e., schools) and grounds represent the supply of educational services. These three measures, to which the school transportation has been joined, are explored in this study from the late 1970s to the 1990s to reveal the diverse degrees by which urban sprawl produces additional costs in the supply of educational services. It has been demonstrated that following the dispersion of the population in space, the demand for educational services in older sections of the city is negative, while it is positive in the more recently established suburban neighbourhoods. Consequently, the supply of educational services exceeds the demand in central localities but is deficient in the suburbs, a situation that requires a reduction in educational facilities in the center, and a significant increase in student-spaces at the periphery. The costs of immobilization respond to the characteristic pattern of urban sprawl, and are proportional to the distance from the city center. Situated at the junction of urban geography and the geography of services, the present study touches on an aspect of the management of space in the Montreal metropolitan region. The costs of urban sprawl in the network of educational services reflect the absence of consultation and collaboration between municipalities and school boards. Those responsible for infrastructure planning and urban planning are themselves at the mercy of the population. The individual short- and medium-term residential needs, often revolved around the availability of inexpensive land for development and adequate financing, are rarely confronted to the long-term collective costs of this type of urban development. The autonomy of municipalities and of school boards, the differences in their respective missions, and the lack of consistency in their own territories, contribute greatly to the absence of coordination and collaboration with respect to the planning of educational facilities. Such an absence, associated with the declining birth rates and, moreover related as well to the growing popularity of secondary residences, has encouraged urban development beyond existing urban borders, with a consequent increase in the costs of educational services.