This paper examines the production mechanisms of the urban form in the Montréal region. The authors investigate the literature written in the past 30 years about metropolitan form and urban sprawl. Specifically, the issues dealt with are the changes of natural spaces and the farming in the context of urban planning and the urbanization pressures. The evolution of land use at Laval shows different processes: the destructuration of farming zones and the woodlands, the establishment of many fallow lots, followed by the urban planning of open spaces. The conclusion situates Laval within the metropolitan dynamics, after the analysis of the urban expansion movements and the conservation policies on farming and natural spaces.