MONTREAL
MILTON-PARC COMMUNITY SPACES

Despite the proliferation of news and information in this, the information age, local communities are often poorly served by media outlets in their midst. The Milton-Parc area on the northern tip of downtown Montreal has been no exception to this phenomenon. In the late 60's, it was under siege for years as a major developer attempted to transform the face of the neighbourhood which borders the eastern edge of the McGill University campus. Dozens of homes were bulldozed to make way for a massive apartment, hotel and office building complex which today towers over the vibrant but struggling community.

At the heart of contemporary Milton-Parc is the largest non-profit co-operative housing project in Canada, where some 1,600 people live, and, more recently, an aggressive, award-winning monthly newspaper Place Publique.

Other Montreal print and electronic media notwithstanding, Place Publique is the only community-based outlet in the neighbourhood. "I'm not going to recycle it; I want to keep it," one reader wrote after the first issue. "It's beyond my expectations," wrote another. "(It) shows exceptional promise as a way for neighbours to relate and engage in community concern," reacted yet a third.

From politics to heritage to public event announcements, Place Publique "is part of a collective effort to define what community is all about and what it means to live in a real neighbourhood where we know our neighbours and are pleased to live here", affirmed the inaugural editorial.

Place Publique
P.O. Box 746, Place du Parc
Montreal, QC H2W 2P3

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