A REVIEW OF NORTHERN PLANNING ISSUES AND STRATEGIES
IMAGINING INUKJUAK'S
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
photo credit : Audrey Morency, 2017
For several years now, the lack of housing in Nunavik’s villages has led to the hasty planning and construction of social housing with few house models. As a result, Nunavimmiut have few if any choices regarding the design or their home, the tenure mode (rental or ownership) or even their neighborhood. Also, current planning constraints and construction practices are rarely, if not, questioned.
Are there alternatives?
This illustrated review presents current village planning practices and constraints in Nunavik, through the example of Inukjuak and its new 2017 Masterplan.
It also suggests to « think outside the box » by testing alternative design strategies. These strategies are inspired by work of collaborative design studios, aspirations of Inukjuammiut and examples from elsewhere in the world.
Understanding Nunavimmiut’s aspirations
In March 2017, a design team from Laval University's School of architecture went to Inukjuak to visit the new Masterplan’s sites for development and think about the future with the community.
Students, families, elders, and local planning officials were invited to discuss and share knowledge about different visions for houses, village and community services. Several design proposals were tested in order to better understand their correspondance with the Nunavimmiut’s aspirations.
photo credit : L. St-Jean, 2017
photo credit : D. Laforest, 2017