Commentary

Sprawl Good for Montreal

Wendell Cox on the upside of sprawl in Montreal:

For various reasons, Montreal has been losing economic ground to Toronto and other North American urban areas over the last decades. But this could be changing. Politics and infrastructure are combining to substantially improve the competitiveness of the Montreal region. In the Montreal area, as in all other urban areas in western Europe and North America, nearly all employment and population growth has occurred in the suburbs in recent decades and the automobile has become the dominant mode of transportation. Suburbanization (pejoratively called “urban sprawl”) has made it possible for unprecedented numbers of households to own their own homes and accumulate capital that otherwise would have simply enriched their landlords. . . . . Montreal and provincial officials should not succumb to the pessimistic and alarmist reports calling for a crackdown on car use and regulations to prevent suburban development. While other urban areas pursue policies that restrict mobility and raise housing prices, Montreal’s competitive position is likely to improve and the region faces a brighter future.

Read the whole thing.