Streets play a vital role in our day-to-day life, and their layout can affect everything from physical health to social connections and mental well-being. Well-designed streets that prioritize pedestrian safety and offer accessible, active transport options support encourage a healthier lifestyle. However, these thoughtful design features aren’t always equitably distributed across neighbourhoods. 

A recent paper published in the journal Case Studies on Transport Policy studied the quality of streets across Montreal, considering socioeconomic factors like neighbourhood income and population. The research team, which includes Hisham Negm, a doctoral student at McGill’s School of Urban Planning, examined various neighbourhoods around Montreal to conduct their study.

“The goal of the research was to understand how streets are designed differently in Montreal, and if the socioeconomic characteristics of the neighbourhood impact how streets are designed,” Negm said in an interview with The Tribune. 

To conduct this study, Negm and his team first categorized Montreal neighbourhoods according to two key factors: Population density and income. This allowed them to select and compare streets of similar population density but different income levels to study if income level was a factor affecting the quality of street design. The team focused on microscale street elements—small-scale features relating to the physical condition of the street that can have a disproportionate impact on road users. Microscale street elements that positively impact street users, such as well-maintained sidewalks, greenery, and traffic calming measures, were used to assign a quality score for each street based on how many of these features were present. 

Negm explained that examining streets at the microscale level allows researchers to look beyond common, but simplistic, metrics like the width of a street or its connectivity to other roads.

“[It’s not about] a bird’s-eye view of the street,” Negm said. “[It’s about] looking at the details—the elements that make the street what it is for the people who use it.”

To gather data, the team used MAPS-Mini, an adapted version of Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS), a street imaging tool that focuses on the microscale features that affect pedestrians and cyclists. They also relied on Google Maps and in-person observations to assess the presence of these features.

The study revealed two key differences between the streets of higher and lower-income neighbourhoods. 

“First, streets in lower-income neighbourhoods tended to be of less quality [according to] the MAPS-Mini tool, and second, street assessments done by Google Street View were less reliable than those done on-site for those streets,” Negm explained.

This means that, in Montreal, income level does appear to impact the quality of street design, with lower-income areas generally having fewer of the features that contribute to a safer and more enjoyable street experience. 

While the study focused on comparing street features, it did not explore how these differences in design affect residents’ well-being. 

“We didn’t study how [these built environment features] impact residents directly, but we know that these features vary across different income levels,” Negm said.

Addressing these disparities doesn’t necessarily require a complete overhaul of street designs. In the short term, targeted improvements to the specific features lacking in lower-income areas—repairing broken sidewalks or adding more green space—could have a significant positive impact with a relatively small budget and short construction times. 

Negm emphasized the importance of directing resources to the areas where they’re needed most. 

“If you can spend a little money to make a huge impact, that’s where the resources should go,” Negm said. “For example, if you have a sidewalk that is broken, fix it, and consider expanding it to improve the overall quality of the street.” As Canada continues to urbanize, with over 80 per cent of Canadians living in cities today, well-designed city streets are more important than ever. Ensuring that neighbourhoods—regardless of income level—have streets that prioritize safety, health, and social interaction is key to improving the quality of urban life for all citizens.