The work of the professors at the Urbanisation Culture Societé Research Centre hinges on 11 main themes representing their most significant areas of expertise.
Developed through various scientific projects and updated according to changes in society itself, these themes serve as the main framework for the Centre's research. Four specific approaches are used for all research conducted at the Centre:
1 / Space, territory, and the city: studying societies through the prism of spatial anchoring
Examples: How are social infrastructures, economic activity, and health problems distributed in a city like Montreal; how are they distributed on a larger scale? How do globalization, innovation, and regional development influence city dynamics?
2 / Time and change: following the dynamic movement of society
Examples: How have standards, values, and choices made by individuals and society as a whole changed over the course of history? How are intergenerational relationships structured? How do individuals perceive certain phases of life, from childhood to retirement?
3 / The individual in relations and places of belonging: understanding the conditions of living together
Examples: In Quebec society have greater social and geographic mobility; the importance of individual rights and freedoms; increasingly individualized life styles; changes in marital, familial, and professional behaviours; and growing ethnic and cultural pluralism transformed interpersonal relations? What impacts have all these changes had on families, relationships between the sexes, and school life?
4 / Symbols, representations, and values: how does culture shape the lives of individuals in society?
Examples: What is the nature of cultural discourse and how does it influence the lives of individuals and public space management? How are the predominant artistic models changing? What traces of our religious heritage remain in today’s society? How does cultural identity manifest itself on a regional level?
Main themes (French Only)
- Montreal – A City in Transition
- Mobility and Migration
- Local Economic Development, Work, and Innovation
- Reconstituted Territory, Decentralization, and Democracy
- Families, Personal Networks, and Social Solidarity
- Life Stages, Life Paths, and Intergenerational Dynamics
- Social Exclusion and Vulnerability
- Habitat, Neighbourhoods, and Lifestyle
- Cultural Practices, Social Space, and Territory
- Cultural Diversity, Immigration, and Modes of Cohabitation
- The Institutionalization of Culture
