How Quebec became North America's urban outlier

[Docere]

A video on housing and urban development in Quebec. Although rather "European" on the North American spectrum, it stresses that Montreal and other Quebec cities are still more of the North American typology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOyfVBVEIt4

[New Brisavoine]

Riding a bike in winter, I can only imagine...

[The North One]

Okay but who's idea was it to have multi-story outdoor staircase entrances in a climate as freezing cold as Quebec? What a terrible design choice.

[Docere]

They may seem "stupid" from today's vantage point but they had their purpose:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/montreal-plexes-outdoor-staircases

[craigs]

Originally Posted by Docere

They may seem "stupid" from today's vantage point but they had their purpose:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/montreal-plexes-outdoor-staircases

I read that essay, and I still concur that having outdoor iron staircases in a climate like Montreal's seems crazy.

[Steely Dan]

They might be dumb, given Motreal's winter climate, but the time to dump them has LONG since passed.

Now they're an integral part of the city's marvelous vernacular charm!

It's ok to have a little challenge in life.

Besides, it's not like it is permanently winter in Montreal.

Most of the year, the exterior stairs work just fine, I imagine.

[iheartthed]

Why are the outdoor staircases in Montreal anymore stupid than exterior steps and porches in other cold cities?

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Besides, it's not like it is permanently winter in Montreal.

They still had sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures in late April this year.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

They still had sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures in late April this year.

Oh dear lord!!!!!!!!!!!!

A mild cold snap?

IN APRIL!?!?!?!?


I need 5 million CC's of fainting couch, stat!

[New Brisavoine]

It's already painful enough to be outside when temperatures are blow 10C, so if they are below 0C I would much prefer to enter the building immediately and not have to climb exterior stairs.

[JManc]

I wonder how many people have wiped out and fallen down those staircases in MTL in the dead of winter.

[Docere]

The North Atlantic Current is real.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

It's already painful enough to be outside when temperatures are blow 10C, so if they are below 0C I would much prefer to enter the building immediately and not have to climb exterior stairs.

Well of course you would.

But you're a softened meteorological pussy.

Montrealers are from a much, MUCH tougher stock.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Why are the outdoor staircases in Montreal anymore stupid than exterior steps and porches in other cold cities?

I think the contention of them being "stupid" comes from the fact that there is no interior stair at all to access the upper unit(s), which is less than ideal given Montreal's no-joke winters.

In Chicago, another city famed for its giant amount of small-scale MFH, our flats (or "plexes"aa they're called in Montreal-ese) always have at least 1 interior stair at the front entrance, and then an additiomal exterior stair/porch at the rear (some of which have been subsequently enclosed). This allows for at least one enclosed path of vertical movement in the building during winter's worst.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Why are the outdoor staircases in Montreal anymore stupid than exterior steps and porches in other cold cities?

Does the difference between a wide stepped stoop a few feet tall and a multilevel steep staircase that's more akin to a ladder really need to be explained?

Even for young healthy people that's a pain to deal with. But you effectively shut out anybody older than middle aged from a huge portion of housing units.

Also it's clear some of you underestimate the severity of a Montreal winter. It is cold most of the year and extremely cold for a large portion of it. Northern Midwest city winters are a cakewalk in comparison.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Montrealers are from a much, MUCH tougher stock.

Except a large proportion of so-called Montrealers are immigrants who come from much warmer climates. At this point, it's even possible that only a minority of Montrealers grew up in Canada.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by New Brisavoine

Except a large proportion of so-called Montrealers are immigrants who come from much warmer climates. At this point, it's even possible that only a minority of Montrealers grew up in Canada.

Humans acclimate.

It's one of our species' super-powers.

You dont have to be born at the north pole to tolerate cold weather.

Anyone can do it, even if many refuse to do so.

[mhays]

Sure, it's possible to deal with bad weather, but why not live somewhere you like?

The stairs do look less than ideal, though obviously they make interior design much easier.

[New Brisavoine]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Humans acclimate.

It's one of our species' super-powers.

You dont have to be born at the north pole to tolerate cold weather.

Anyone can do it, even if many refuse to do so.

I've only acclimated to Parisian winters thanks to global warming. If winters were still as cold as they were when I first moved to Paris, I would still not be acclimated, that's for sure.

And even now in this global warming era, when November 1 approaches, I start counting the days before Spring is back...

That said, late February and early March has become enjoyable now in Paris, whereas it used to be gruesome when I first moved to Paris. And looking at Montreal's recent years (temperature charts), I'd say those late February-early March days of yore in Paris resemble very much the April days the Montrealers still have to endure now (April!! when it's already in the 20s C in Paris thanks to global warming and you can already go to the park to suntan).

For example, April 7 this year: downtown Montreal had -4.6C (23.7F) in the morning, and a maximum temperature that day of... -0.5C (31.1F), with snowfall. That same day, Paris had 11.1C (52.0F) in the morning, and a maximum of 24.9C (76.8F) in the afternoon, with sunshine, birds chirping in the trees, and sunset at 8:30pm due to our northerly location (Montréal's sunset that day was at 7:30pm under a gray sky and falling snow).

I don't think you ever acclimate to that, however much people pretend they do. Winter beyond mi-March at the very latest is a definite NO!

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by mhays

Sure, it's possible to deal with bad weather, but why not live somewhere you like?

Are you insinuating that Montrealers don't like where the live?