Dwellings

As expected, the great majority of private dwellings are concentrated in the urban core of Montreal, predominantly in the Arrondissement of Montreal, and Outremont. A dwelling is defined as the personal living space for an individual, although that individual may share that space with others. A single apartment unit is classified as a dwelling, as is a detached house.

Single family detached dwellings (SFD) make up the great majority of the house forms outside the urban core. This housing form is predominant in the West Island, and throughout the rest of the urban and rural fringe. This type of dwelling is not found in the urban core, with the exception of some areas of Westmount, where the SFD makes up a larger proportion than in surrounding areas.

Instead, the urban core is typified by apartment buildings, both under and over five stories in height. Those apartments under five-stories are generally catalogued as the Montreal "Triplex" although a wide variety of apartment forms exist. Certainly, this form of housing allows for much greater population densities than does the SFD, as is borne out both by the above dwelling density map, and the population density map on the previous page.

The Montreal CMA becomes very interesting when comparing household size over geographical area. The preponderance of single person households are found in the urban core, constituting in some cases nearly three-quarters of the dwellings in the area.

Two person households are more evenly distributed through the CMA, although Kirkland in the centre of the West Island has very few of these types of households, as does the southern downtown section of Montreal. Two person households can consist of a partnered relationship or a roommate situation.

Three person households are extremely rare in the urban core, and are not markedly apparent until out near the rural fringe. This type of household might consist of a partnership with a single child, or some other likewise relationship.

Four and five person relationships are again unheard of in the urban core, but are far more common in the urban fringe than three person households. The West Island in particular shows a marked swing from three person households to four person households.

Six person households are again a West Island phenomenon, accompanied by the rural fringe. This correlates strongly with the preponderance of single family swellings and high proportion of children, suggesting that families may prefer to move out of the high-density environment of the urban core into the lower density environment of the urban fringe for child-rearing.

Dwellings become much more spacious away from the urban core, allowing for larger households to be assembled. The largest dwellings (with the most rooms) can be found in the West Island, accompanying those dwellings with 6 or more persons. Multi-roomed dwellings can also be found in the Westmount area as a large proportion of the urban form.

The West Island has the greatest number of bedrooms per household, particularly in Baie d'Urfe and Senneville. This is remarkable in that Senneville has a very low number of multi-person dwellings suggesting a lack of efficency with regards to use of space. The urban core has a very low number of bedrooms per dwelling, again correlating with the individual lifestyle and apartment-type urban form.

Dwelling values are extremely high for the Westmount area, and for Baie d'Urfe and Senneville. Dwelling values are also extremely high in St. Leonard and Anjou, and in some areas of Laval and Longueil. This is not surprising given the preponderance of multi-roomed dwellings in these areas. However, when comparing value per room, Westmount is staggering in the differential in cost per room. Purchasing a dwelling in Westmount requires an enourmous sum of money, and it is unsurprising therefore that this area correlates with high wage earners.

Another unsurprising correlation is the relationship between apartment housing types and renters. Some areas of the urban core consist of nearly 100% renters, and this drops off markedly with nearly the same boundaries as the proportion of apartments in dwelling types. Most renters are in fact concentrated in the urban core, particularly in Montreal near the downtown core.

However, it must be recalled that this area also matches up with very low -income, those earning less than $20,000 per year. The proportion of those paying more than 30% of their income in rent is extremely high in the urban core. When noting that the majority of the population is unemployed or unable to work for some reason this becomes a cause for concern.

The last map expands on this relationship between high rent and geographic location by mapping renters who pay more than 30% of their income against all renters in the area. It can be seen that people who choose to rent, wherever the location, still pay 30% or more of their income in rent. This suggests one of two things, either renting is expensive in any location, or those who rent have very little income to start.

Dwelling Density

Single Family Dwellings

Apartment Buildings

1 Person Dwelling

2 Person Dwelling

3 Person Dwelling

4 - 5 Person Dwelling

6+ Person Dwelling

Rooms per Household

Bedrooms per Household

Average Dwelling Value

Value per Room

Home Ownership

Renters

High Rent

High Rent / Renters