TeC is one of the six recipients of the Socio-Ecological Transition Fund

The Caisse solidaire Desjardins is launching a series of articles featuring the winners of the 2023 call for projects for its Socio-Ecological Transition Fund. The series, titled “Building Our Possibilities,” begins with the Transition en Commun (TeC) project—an alliance for socio-ecological transition at the neighborhood level in Montreal—which received a $20,000 grant from the Fund.

Heat waves, wildfires, poor air quality, severe thunderstorms, floods, and even ice storms for some. Over the summer, we witnessed or experienced the consequences of climate change, which is accelerating and intertwining with other social challenges such as housing, immigration, the fight against poverty, and, more broadly, social justice. The most vulnerable citizens are the hardest hit, especially if they live in so-called disadvantaged communities. The climate emergency and social inequalities are among the greatest challenges facing our society. They also present an opportunity to rethink how we live and, together, shape our city to make it more resilient, inclusive, prosperous, and livable.

In Montreal, since November 2022, the Transition en Commun (TeC) alliance has been working to bring people together to better co-create the socio-ecological transition at the neighborhood level across Montreal. This involves collaborating with the City, Public Health, organizations, researchers, and citizen groups active in their neighborhoods. Just nine months after its launch, TeC has already brought together about 100 members united around a shared mission.

Montreal boasts a strong tradition of civic engagement, a vast network of community action, and forums for collaboration such as neighborhood roundtables. These initiatives arose from citizen action and, more broadly, from civil society. While many citizen-led initiatives have emerged, few have found the conditions necessary to scale up. Collaborations with public administration and institutions are sometimes complex, and initiatives struggle to connect with one another to form a truly inspiring narrative. The challenges of the transition require us to go further collectively and to pick up the pace. TeC members hope to organize, address inequities and disparities in order to adapt policies and legislation, develop new collective tools, foster solidarity, and more. We aim to optimize and renew our approaches to address our new reality. We share a common vision that prioritizes, in particular, neighborhoods on a human scale and local life, citizen participation, participatory democracy, and the creation of the commons; the social economy; the circular economy; culture; climate justice; equity; diversity; and inclusion.

Greater mobilization should accelerate efforts that strengthen the link between social justice and environmental protection. The ultimate beneficiaries are citizens and their neighborhoods—specifically the most disadvantaged ones. To begin with, Transition en Commun focuses on transitional housing, creating car-free neighborhoods, governance and participatory democracy, neighborhoods in transition, and resilience.

Our alliance was formed around a project for change that transcends us as an organization and is fully committed to a more comprehensive transformation of Montreal society. Our vision for socio-ecological transition aligns with the City of Montreal’s Vision 2030. However, for this priority to become a genuine societal initiative, much greater, more diverse, and more effective participation from the city’s citizens and organizations is needed. The challenges of the transition require us to go further collectively and to pick up the pace. – François-Xavier Michaux, General Coordinator of Transition en Commun

It’s all about mobilizing and building collective energy. Determined to continue this work in response to the climate emergency and inequality, Transition en Commun is holding a four-day event from August 21 to 24 to understand, deconstruct, imagine, and take action for the socio-ecological transition at the neighborhood level in Montreal.

Photo credit: Benjamin Turquet. This photo was taken in the fall of 2022 and shows a site that is the focus of a remarkable citizen-led campaign in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough: Mobilisation 6600 Parc-Nature MHM

To learn more about the Caisse d’économie solidaire’s Socio-Ecological Transition Fund.