SYN-

(JEAN-MAXIME DUFRESNE, LUC LÉVESQUE, JEAN-FRANÇOIS PROST)

At the intersection of many often contradictory trains of thought, the urban environment is evolving along lines that are increasingly difficult to grasp. SYN- embraces this condition of indeterminacy as an opportunity for action, research and reflection. Our first explorations on foot in the territory contemplated by Mobile Space—an area that includes the future Quartier des spectacles—revealed a heterogeneous, socially complex urban context. In the face of imminent transformations with potential impacts on a significant slice of the life and identity of this territory with historical resonance as Montréal’s red-light district, our investigation will build on the multiple potential of the existing urban condition. We will reflect upon incidences of this entertainment-focused development on the established privileges of the current occupants, and on the desirable cohabitation of the differences that make this neighbourhood unique. This will be attempted through experimentation with this living heritage via actions that emphasize the circumstantial intensity and opportunities for social mixity, usages and micro-urbanity inherent in that heritage.