Commercial Spatial Structure and Daily Mobility in the Quebec City Metropolitan Area
Quebec City fully joined the consumer society in the second half of the twentieth century. Shopping centers first appeared in the near suburbs. Linked to the use of cars, they of-fered strong competition for older commercial streets found in central neighbourhoods and in the small towns and villages gradually surrounded by suburban expansion. A multilevel hierarchy of shopping centers developed over the years, with so-called “big boxes” being the most recent addition. To what extent are these diverse commercial forms associated with different urban practices, including mobility behaviour? It is easy to imagine, on the one hand, an urban mode of living associated with commercial streets and experienced by persons living, for example, in the Métrobus corridors, and on the other, a suburban mode of living common to persons living in sprawling bungalow areas, driving on freeways and shopping in big boxes. To what extent is this duality real? Using detailed data on shop location and daily weekday mobility, we explore the spatial organization of the Quebec City metropolitan area, and suggest that well designed corridors of urban expansion may have virtues with regards to sustainable urban development.