L’émergence de la grappe industrielle de l'intelligence artificielle (IA) à Montréal

The paper analyses the emergence of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) cluster in Montreal and investigates two questions: (1) What are the different theoretical interpretations related to the emergence of industrial cluster? And (2) What are the factors underlying the emergence of the AI cluster in Montreal and to what extent have local and global factors been decisive in this respect? The AI cluster emerges through a process that brings into play the interaction between the local initial conditions and the birth of a new industry. Moreover, it also involves an interaction between the local and the global, which is supported by interactions with foreign actors located in different parts of the world.     

Recherches sur la nuit vénitienne à la fin du moyen âge

An important conclusion emerges from an examination of Venetian public acts of the late middle ages: noclurnal supervision became, from the thirteenth century onward, a necessary and permanent pre-occupation of government. This calls for a study of the definition of night-time and of the administrative framework, which reveals an evolution from traditional structures to magistratures specifically charged with maintaining public order. A question arises: fear of the night is ancient and profound; why did the desire to control and master it emerge so late? It seems that the Republic feared real violence less than political violence in the widest sense of the term. Because the night represented a kind of freedom, it had to be brought under control. This found its place within the more general plan of regulating behaviour, a logical result of the constitution of the Venetian state.     

Emprise et déprise de l'agriculture sur le territoire de l'est de l'Ontario de 1826 à 2006: la dimension environnementale

Agricultural land‐cover changes in Eastern Ontario from 1826 to 2006: environmental effects. Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG) counties, Eastern Ontario, are among the first areas in Ontario to welcome settlers. In 1784, they established themselves in a forested land where wetlands are very important. Today, a large part of the wetlands has disappeared, but the landscape is wooded, masking the radical changes that took place over the course of the last two centuries. Analysis of census data from 1826 to 2006 allows the reconstruction of the history of land‐cover changes. It reveals the nature and rates of change for which a first analysis is presented. Four periods are identified. First, agriculture conquers the land and establishes its dominance. A plateau is reached in 1891 as agriculture maintains its supremacy until 1941. Then, as fast as agriculture invaded land, it fades away until 1986 when agricultural land‐cover stops shrinking. The opening of forest for cultivation was relatively slow in SDG because of biophysical and socio‐economical conditions associated with an absence of growth of agricultural population. Deforestation and wetland drainage led to a degradation of agricultural life but resulted in consideration of the environment in agriculture. Today, wooded and agricultural land covers are more balanced and environmental effects less acute.     

Parcs nationaux et populations locales dans l’ouest canadien : de l’exclusion à la participation

Canadian national parks are well‐known for protecting natural areas dedicated to ‘the benefit and the enjoyment of the Canadian people’. The history of national parks illustrates the evolution of a concept of nature from functional conservation, such as tourism, to an environmental conception, based on ecosystem protection and biodiversity preservation. Banff, Waterton Lakes and Wood Buffalo National Parks in Alberta, and Kootenay National Park in British Columbia (four of the fourteen parks established before 1930, the year the National Parks Act was passed) have been chosen for this study in order to understand how national parks have dealt with local communities since the beginning of the national park movement, and how these relationships have changed during the last forty years. Inclusion of local communities and collaborative management processes have been well developed in northern Canadian parks since the mid‐eighties. These practices have been considered successful in this region, but the situation is very different in the southern parks, especially those that were created before 1930. However, things have changed since Aboriginal culture and rights have been recognized in judgements rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada and by the Canadian Constitution. In the four parks chosen for this study, involvement of local communities and the development of their participation have been slow. Round tables and participation in the creation of interpretation sites and exhibits of Aboriginal history can be considered a step toward further cooperation.     

Une histoire de résidus : à propos des facteurs généraux et locaux de croissance régionale au Canada,de 1971 à 2001

Starting from an econometric model of local employment growth, applied to Canada (1971–2001), residuals—relative to model predictions—are analyzed over time and over space, in turn allowing us to draw a distinction between general explanatory variables and factors of a more local, cyclical or accidental nature. The model's explanatory power grows over time, founded on variables such as urban size, market access and industrial structure, allowing us to conclude that local employment growth in Canada follows an increasingly geographically predictable pattern. However, an examination of the residuals reveals more localized processes. Growth volatility is most manifest in Alberta and British Columbia, home to the most erratic local economies. Emerging patterns are visible in the last period, most notably the underperformance of Northern Ontario and of non‐metropolitan communities between Windsor and Québec City, lying along the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence. The over‐performance—compared to model predictions — of small and mid‐sized towns in south‐eastern Québec can, on the other hand, be interpreted as a sign of truly local social processes, generally associated with a particularly dynamic local entrepreneurial class.     

La métropolisation à l’aune de la ‘loi’ taille/rang : Le cas Canadien, 1971–2001

Metropolization and the rank/size ’law‘: the Canadian case, 1971–2001 There is currently considerable interest in the process of metropolization. One of the consequences of this process, observed by numerous researchers, is the slower growth and even decline of small and medium cities. From a theoretical point of view, this process is compatible with endogenous growth theory: metropolitan areas offer economic actors certain key factors (access to information, to global networks, etc.) that smaller cities cannot. Concurrently, however, there is a resurgence of interest in Zipf's law and, more generally, in the stability of urban hierarchies. These two bodies of work appear to be in contradiction. However, using Canadian data from 1971 to 2001, we show that whilst metropolization is indeed occurring, this is not necessarily incompatible with a regular urban hierarchy. Indeed, if it is assumed that Zipf's rank‐size rule applies to urban systems in stable socio‐economic contexts, and that this regularity can be disrupted by fundamental social and economic changes, then the current wave of metropolization can be interpreted as a re‐ordering of cities in the face of the major social and economic changes of the 1980s and 1990s, which may eventually lead to a new equilibrium compatible with Zipf's law.     

La représentation de l’espace public par la photographie : Une étude de cas dans la région de Montréal (Québec,Canada)

Beyond the material forms that constitute public space, it is subject to representations or images that shape the types of use, forms of appropriation, and general perception that people have of it. Following a centre‐periphery gradient that allows us to compare three zones of the Montreal region (pericentral, periurban, and the northern ring), we analyzed photographs available within cyberspace (from different municipalities and boroughs, local newspapers, and social media) to draw out representations of public space. What can photographs available online tell us about how space is perceived? We have established a typology of images of public space (idyllic nature, urban scene, festive space, empty space, family portrait) that are representative of the overall corpus studied. We have compared these results with a correspondence analysis to clarify the structure of interaction between the variables. The analysis demonstrates that the representations are more differentiated between neighbourhoods than between regions, and that while newspapers and municipalities represent more themes of sociability and family life, social media shows more empty spaces, whether they be monumental spaces, or spaces of daily life.     

L'identification des zones calmes et un diagnostic d’équité environnementale à Montréal

Quiet urban areas are places with low noise levels that can help people to support physical and mental wellness. This paper has two objectives: to identify quiet urban areas in Montreal and to check for the presence of environmental inequities in access to such areas for vulnerable groups (children, older people, low‐income individuals, and visible minorities). Using a GIS‐based methodology, 2,282 quiet urban areas were identified in Montreal. The results of a mixed effects logistic regression model analysis showed that there are no major inequities in access to quiet urban areas for the population groups studied. The analysis did, however, revealed substantial spatial disparities in terms of the distribution of quiet urban areas across the boroughs and municipalities examined.     

Entre souveraineté indigène et sécurité nationale : Négocier la sécurité frontalière et la culture Mohawk à Akwesasne

Based on the case of the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne, wedged between Ontario, Quebec, and New York state, this paper provides an analysis of the links between the affirmation of indigenous culture and the implementation of security policies on borderlands. The focus extends beyond political conflicts over border issues to encompass the ways in which Aboriginal sovereignty is affirmed within processes of negotiation and cooperation in the matters of identification requirements, border agents’ cultural sensitivity, and law enforcement. We find that the enhancement of border security can paradoxically be a political opportunity for local leaders to reaffirm indigenous sovereignty, and that this reaffirmation through cooperation is, at the same time, emerging as a key factor in the implementation of border security policies.     

Aires de marché et choix des destinations de consommation pour les achats réalisés au cours de la semaine – Le cas de la région de Québec

Since the early 1990s, big box stores have profoundly modified the retail structure of Canadian cities. This entails multiple consequences, beyond the mere competition between establishments, for the evolving relationships between diversity of retail forms, consumer behaviour and urban planning. These relationships are explored in the Québec Metropolitan Community, using detailed databases, including establishment directories, mobility surveys and a virtual road network, integrated into a regional GIS. Trade areas of commercial streets, shopping centers and big box stores are delineated and analyzed. Consumers' attributes, such as age, gender, type of household, mode of transport, which putatively influence the probability of patronizing one type of retail cluster compared to another type, are modelled using logistic regression. The influence of the relative location of cluster types on their capacity to attract consumers is also modelled in order to gain some understanding of the competition among and between types. The analysis suggests that, by and large, the growing number of big box stores has more negative consequences for shopping centres than they have for commercial streets. The study also clearly reveals the growing importance of shopping trips in the mobility profile of households and provides a knowledge base useful for urban planning.