Pandemic-Sensitive Livability Indicators at The Neighborhood Scale: The Case of Montreal

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life closer to home and brought at the forefront the importance of urban livability on the scale of the neighborhood. This thesis presents and index that could be used to assess neighborhood livability using data on urban form, housing, green space, amenities, mobility, employment, and education. The index is tested on the city of Montreal, Quebec and presents different weighting methods which are sensitive to local dynamics and city-wide lockdowns. The index employs the use of GIS to map and compute metrics of livability on the spatial scale, and presents a final map of livability scores per neighborhood. Neighborhood livability in Montreal conforms to overall socio-spatial trends which are interrelated and exist as a result of history, politics and planning. This thesis attempts to explore the entry points into addressing livability beyond the pandemic by using the index to find neighborhoods which need to be intervened on, and through what metrics. Further research will need to be conducted to propose suitable interventions of planning or policy in the city of Montreal, depending on the local context, the needs of residents and the ongoing challenges of the pandemic in order to maintain livability in the new normal.