Also: The problem with renting a scooter by the month, and fixing the gender imbalance in NYC’s monuments.



What We’re Following

Get moving: Everyone knows moving can be a pain. Now imagine tens of thousands of your neighbors all moving on the same day. That’s exactly what’s happening today in Montreal and across Quebec, where July 1 marks not only Canada Day, but also Moving Day.

In Montreal, that means about 70,000 households are schlepping their stuff around the city, participating in a 269-year tradition that may best be explained as a sort of collective psychosis. The result is a hectic, humid day filled with garbage-dumping and appliance-hauling. Every rentable truck in town is claimed, even the worst moving companies are booked up, and desperate DIY movers scramble to find friends willing to lend a hand in exchange for pizza and beer. Most Montrealers have a Moving Day tale of woe, whether it’s getting ditched by no-show movers or leaving pets behind. And yet, the madness continues. Today on CityLab: July 1 is Moving Day for All of Montreal’s Renters

Andrew Small

More on CityLab



Benjamin Schneider

We Mapped Every Place Mentioned by the Democratic Candidates

From Berkeley to South Bend, here are all the towns mentioned by Democratic presidential contenders at last week’s debates.

Laura Bliss

Women Front, Center, and in Monuments in New York City Parks

She Built NYC, a project to rectify the gender imbalance in NYC’s monuments, is only one project of the city’s women-focused portal Women.NYC.

Molly Keisman

There’s a Generational Shift in the Debate Over Busing

Kamala Harris took part in a bold experiment as a child—and the experiences of her generation may transform the debate over desegregation.

Matthew Delmont

In Gentrifying Washington, a Family Inheritance Becomes LGBT Housing

Imani Woody is turning the D.C. home she inherited into housing for aged low-income LGBT people. Residents will be asked to take cultural competency training.

Michael Alison Chandler

Gritty Hall

Bryan Woolston/Reuters

Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park is America’s fourth-most-visited national park, home of Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and 33 other historic sites. But its buildings are in a noticeable state of disrepair as the city bickers with the federal government over who should fund fixes. Philadelphia reports on how federalism—the idea that the park celebrates—is also “the precise reason why Independence Park is foundering.” Read: Independence National Park Is an Embarrassing Mess. Why Doesn’t Anyone Care?

What We’re Reading

Oregon just voted to legalize denser forms of housing (Sightline)

Cities are beginning to own up to the climate impacts of what they consume (Vox)

The courts won’t end gerrymandering. Eric Holder has a plan to fix it without them. (Mother Jones)

English towns are installing “chat benches” to combat loneliness (Mental Floss)

Why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed (The Guardian)


About the Author

Most Popular


    Pandemics Are Also an Urban Planning Problem


  2. Equity



  3. Equity

    The Last Daycares Standing


  4. photo: a bicycle rider wearing a mask in London

    In a Global Health Emergency, the Bicycle Shines



    Why You Should Stop Joking That Black People Are Immune to Coronavirus
