The district is bounded to the east by University Street, to the west by Westmount, to the south by Ville Marie Highway, and to the north by Camillien-Horde (Guide Habitation, 2013).
Within Montreal, it is surrounded by the Griffintown and Little Burgundy neighborhoods.
Considered a francophone town with a diverse cultural and racial population.
A high proportion of the population is considered bilingual, with over 63% speaking both French and English, compared to an estimated 53% in Montreal (MUACSN, 2013). Notably, majority of the population are particularly immigrants with around 44% being born outside of Canada and mostly dominated by the Chinese, Lebanese, French and Moroccan.
One of the dominant feature within the district is the Cabot square dating back to 1870 after the City of Montreal acquired the land from the Sulpicians (MUACSN, 2013).
The square is currently located within the Shaughnessy Village neighborhood recently the Quartier des Grands Jardins.
Originally, it was commonly referred to as the Western Park and was officially documented in 1890 (MUACSN, 2013).
The erection of the statue of Giovanni Caboto in 1935 to the farthest west in Montreal led to its renaming.
In 1979, amongst other parks, the square was subsequently designated as flower markets by the City of Montreal (MUACSN, 2013).
This was also marked by construction of a kiosk near Atwater Avenue.
Over the years, the Square has remained a major hub for public transportation within the City of Montreal.
The completion of Atwater station in 1966 subsequently increased its accessibility to the public (MUACSN, 2013).
Historically, the square has widely been known as social site as communities all over the city use it to hold gatherings.
Its closeness to the Children’s Hospital within the area and likewise other notable centers such as the YMCA and the Open Door, the Module du Nord Québécois, stores and restaurants has made it a meeting place for the aboriginals of the locality (Okeke, 2015).
Nonetheless, it is greatly associated with rising cases of homelessness and rising crimes in the area (CTV News, 2014).
The square has however undergone considerable renovations in the recent past (Meagher, 2015).
References
CTV News, (2014). Cabot Square renovations may prove tough for homeless community. Retrieved from http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/cabot-square-renovations-may-prove-tough-for-homeless-community-1.1827404
Guide Habitation, (2013). Discover… Peter McGill. Retrieved from https://www.guidehabitation.ca/blogue/en/peter-mcgill-at-a-glance/
Meagher, J., (2015). Cabot Square reopens after year-long renovation. Retrieved from http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/cabot-square-set-to-reopen-after-year-long-renovation
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network, (2013). Review of existing data, research, and safety action plans and strategies to inform the Strategy for Community Safety and Wellbeing. Retrieved from http://reseaumtlnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Annex-1-Review-of-existing-data-research-and-safety-action-plans-and-strategies_EN.pdf
Okeke, S., (2015). New Cabot Square Park aims to empower aboriginal Montrealers. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/new-cabot-square-park-aims-to-empower-aboriginal-montrealers-1.3117535
