THIS is a public alley? In Montréal, a ruelle verte (“green alley”) basks in autumn’s glow.
© Joyce McGreevy

Creative Problem-Solving, One Alley at a Time

What does the word alley bring to mind? Most likely someplace gray and utilitarian, a narrow passageway behind buildings. Perhaps it evokes unpleasantness, even menace, as in something “you wouldn’t want to encounter in a dark alley.”

But what if alleys reflected creative problem-solving? In a growing number of cities, they do. Presenting the “green alley,” an urban oasis created from what was once a concrete desert.

The seeds of this eco-friendly concept were sown in Montréal, where green alleys are known as ruelles vertes. 

Over 80% of Montréal residents surveyed have said “Oui!” to the Ruelle Verte project.
© Joyce McGreevy

From No-Go to Where Flowers Grow

How did gray alleys first go green? The road from urban crisis to urban oasis was long, winding, and pot-holed with missteps.

In the 1840s, Montréal’s first alleyways emerged as farmlands were subdivided into small properties. By the 1960s, 300 miles of asphalt alley snaked along the margins of the densely massed buildings. As in most cities, Montréal’s alleys were dreary corridors by day and desolate no-go zones by night.

This is what most of us picture when we hear the word alley.
© Alex Borland [License: CC0 Public Domain]

A Road Paved with Good Intentions

In 1968, five Canadian architecture students with utopian visions set off for an alley in an impoverished Montréal neighborhood. They would install a flowerbed! Paint the walls! Inspire residents to sustain the makeover!

Alas, like the proverbial road paved with good intentions, the results were less than heavenly.

A 1969 documentary film, Les fleurs c’est pour Rosemont, captures the social and class tensions between privileged outsiders who meant well and hardworking locals who were focused on meeting primary needs, not adding primary colors.

Without grassroots engagement, the goal of green alleys had hit a dead end.

Or had it?

In Montréal, nature has a way of making its presence known  . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

A Grassroots Response

With every showing, Jacques Giraldeau’s documentary raised the topic anew, prompting lively discussion and engaging diverse perspectives.

Over time, this inspired a more considered approach at a grassroots level. Residents of the same block began talking things over. Who knew better than they the problems and potential of their alleys?

As neighbors met, ideas began to flower.
© Joyce McGreevy

Together, they came up with proposals and secured the support of city officials. Together, they pooled their resources to turn creative thinking into practical magic.

In 1995, Montréal’s first official ruelle verte opened.

Today, Montréal has 350 green alleys—urban oases where children play, neighbors gather, and visitors find inspiration.

And just as the wind scatters seeds to create new growth, the Montréal model spread to cities around the world.

Green alleys bring biodiversity into tight urban spaces.
© Joyce McGreevy

More than a Pretty Space

The reasons to revitalize urban alleys go way beyond “outdoor décor.” Green alleys replace asphalt with permeable paving and organic materials. So along with beautification, green alleys make city life better by

• reducing the “heat island” effect
• allowing storm water to filter back into the ground
• improving air quality
• increasing plant biodiversity
• providing habitat for birds and insects
• reinvigorating pedestrian activity
• encouraging bicycling
• reducing traffic
• providing places for children to play
• fostering increased sociability
• supporting urban agriculture, one of the factors in erasing “food deserts,” areas where it is difficult to buy affordable, fresh food
• improving a city’s global livability rating

Hand-painted signs in a ruelle verte invite neighborhood kids to come and play.
© Joyce McGreevy

Green Alley, U.S.A.

In the United States, Michigan is home to one of the most remarkable green-alley transformations. Detroit’s Green Alley, created in 2008-2010 as the city was emerging from bankruptcy, turned a desolate “stretch of pavement, dumpsters, and dreams that had long since broken down” into an oasis that brings together people, nature, and the arts.

Several other cities are following suit—among them Chicago, Los Angeles, Omaha, Austin, and Nashville.  You can see a Los Angeles neighborhood “green team” in action here.

The goal of green alleys is not to gentrify, but to make life better citywide.
© Joyce McGreevy

Seeds of Possibility

Given the vastness of public lands and waterways, how important is it to make better use of alleys? By 2050, 75 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities.

How much of an impact could green alleys make? Consider that Chicago alone has 1,900 miles of alleyway to work with. Now factor in that nearly every city in the world (with notable exceptions) is crisscrossed with alleyways.

Yes, cities still need somewhere to put out the garbage. More to the point, say urban environmentalists, we need to reduce waste itself. This has become another focus of creative problem-solving.

According to Daniel Toole, author of Tight Urbanism, Alley Architecture in the U.S., Australia, and Japan, “As waste collection becomes more effective . . . [alleys] present a ridiculous amount of space to be used simply for waste conveyance.”

Oh, I see: For Earth’s sake, even an alley is too precious to waste.

Found objects & recycled resources dress up an alley.
© Joyce McGreevy

Is there a “green alley” near you? Have you seen green alleys in your travels? Have you and your neighbors ever worked together to transform a common outdoor area into a greener, more inviting public space? If so, please share your experiences with our readers!

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