The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape of the University of Montreal has obtained support from the University of Montreal and the Ministry of Higher Education for its Nplex project carried out in collaboration with the City of Montreal. This new funding of $37,500 was granted under the Partnership-UdeM program, which aims to encourage partnerships with private companies or public organizations in order to promote the adoption of social and technological innovations in the practices of lessees and users.
The Nplex digital platform is a showcase for best practices in design focused on the experience of citizens, public servants and professionals. It takes the form of a website built around a participatory and evolving database of small construction and renovation projects described through a range of metadata characteristic of processes and normative frameworks observed in Montreal. Its development was undertaken in response to a call from the City of Montreal to strengthen the culture of design among a range of user communities including planning professionals, key municipal authorities, and citizens who act as as instigators of design projects on smaller scales than what is commonly exhibited in traditional design promotion channels.
Since its inception, the design of the website has benefited from the advice of an advisory committee made up of people working in borough offices. The collaborative process carried out with the support of the City of Montreal will soon include members of urban planning advisory committees, citizens applying for permits or engaged in participatory initiatives, and a group of six architectural firms. The partnership between the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape and the municipality thus promotes, at various levels, the direct involvement of actors from the audiences targeted by the platform.