What would a green neighbourhood look like on the ground? For the past two years Éco-quartier Peter-McGill has been hard at work building a showcase project for what sustainable development on a small scale should look like. The idea behind the project, dubbed Quartier 21, is to concentrate as many small scale green projects in one spot to serve as a showcase for how we can make our cities greener. This initiative has its origins in the Agenda 21, which was adopted at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. This is a global action plan on sustainable development, and one of its key ideas is that environmental change has to come at all levels. It has to come at the international level, with agreements such as the Kyoto Accord; but also at the local level with small-scale, everyday projects. It's in this persective that the concept of a Quartier 21 was born.

Arguably the biggest public space event of the year. Montreal-based arts collective ATSA (Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable) is hosting État d'urgence from Nov.25-29 at Place Emilie-Gamelin (metro Berri-UQAM). According to ATSA co-founder Annie Roy, the event is a mani-festival used to bring together the public, artists and homeless in a downtown urban refugee camp setting. Here's an audio interview with event organizer Annie Roy on-site Audio interview with Annie Roy.

'La vie est un sport extrême/ Let's Play' is an exhibit by Mouvement Art Public located on Rue Ste-Catherine between Berri and Saint-Hubert.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="© Scottie Digital"][/caption] « Si tu ne sais pas porter ton péché, il faut mieux le laisser aux experts. » - Marcel Jouhandeau, sort of. Montréal is Sin City. At least, that is what we are told. This catch phrase has become so familiar, it is now an integral part of our local identity; our patrimoine. From booze smuggling to gang warfare to city hall corruption to the sex, Sex, SEX, Montréal swaggers as salaciously as Sodom and Gomorrah once did, back in the day (without all that messy fire and brimstone stuff). This must be the grit to which many are referring; this must be the grit whose loss will be lamented due to the Quartier des Spectacles project. This must be the grit that has led Montréal to be known as one of the premier destinations for vice; for all things smut. So let’s turn this redevelopment scheme on its head. What if, instead of sanitizing another corner of Montréal with a palette of grey and glass, we accentuated its scandalous side and created a veritable Sin City? Spice things up: In the stew that is the Main, the current plans are salt. What Montréal needs is some chilli. How can this be done? As we have learnt from the BIXI experiment, Montréal may fare well borrowing ideas from others. But from whom? Forget the other Canadian cities; they have no idea how to party. The normally prudish U.S. has Las Vegas to offer. Yet, despite the girls, gin, and gambling this desert oasis promises, it still manages to come across as juvenile, immature and false; a rather lewd Disney World. And let’s not get started with its ecologically unsustainable urban footprint: I’ve never been at ease with the fact that one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas of the United States is located in the middle of scorching desert. Makes me sick. No, we will have to once again look toward Europe: the so-called «civilised continent». There, one can find plenty of examples of how sin bleeds into the mediaeval backdrop; the most obvious being Amsterdam. Just the mere mention of Amsterdam makes one high; it has been a bad little city and is well known for its wicked behaviour. However, what makes the Dutch capital a perfect template for Montréal is its duality. For, every person who knows about its marijuana, knows about its tulips. For, every person who knows about its booze-soaked streets, knows about its charming canals. For, every person who knows about its prostitutes and contemporary good times, knows about Anne Frank and past hardship. Amsterdam balances sex and high culture beautifully; or so it seems. Does this mean that Montréal should capitalize on its inner freak?

La transformation d'une rue de Montréal en décor de cinéma est peut-être anecdotique, mais toujours un peu impressionante. L'année dernière, une équipe de tournage avait transformé le Quartier Chinois de Montréal en celui de New York pour un film d'action de série B. Cette fois-ci, je suis tombé par hasard sur le plateau temporaire du film Funkytown, un film ...