Urban densification in Ottawa’s Vanier district: A sign of urban renewal or a threat to the last remaining French-language bastion in the Canadian capital?
From a small industrial town in the eighteenth century, Vanier has now become a thriving urban center, incorporated into the municipality of Ottawa and benefiting from its economic development, while serving as the National Capital’s main French-language stronghold and a focal point for Franco-Ontarian culture. However, the district is today facing a two-tiered reality: while its working-class character means it remains one of the least prosperous parts of Ottawa, it is enjoying an unprecedented upturn in its economic, tourism and real-estate activity, a situation with major ramifications for how its citizens define their identity. In responding to the laudable arguments for urban intensification put forward by proponents of sustainable development, how best can they fight to protect the cultural specificity of Vanier, this quintessential French-Canadian neighbourhood, this island in a predominantly English-speaking socio-spatial landscape? Is urban redevelopment in fact favouring a new, more affluent type of resident, looking to settle in Vanier to benefit from recent major development projects? Our article, based on a monograph on the district and an urban conflict that took place there, reviews the identity-based arguments, as reported in the media, used to oppose an urban infill project.