Methodology · v1.0
How we measure a neighbourhood
Every neighbourhood page on Explore Ma Ville pulls together about ten official public sources, census, schools, transit, daycares, flood zones, and presents them side by side against the same benchmark. Comparing Outremont with Brossard then carries the same meaning as comparing two neighbourhoods in the same city.
Where the figures come from
Statistics Canada for the census. The Quebec Ministry of Education for schools. The Quebec Ministry of Family for daycares. The transit agencies (STM, STL, RTL, RTC, STS, STO, EXO) for mobility. The City of Montreal and the MELCC for greenery and flood zones. Everything is published under an open licence. You can always trace back to the original source from every page.
How we compare
For every indicator, we display a tier, "above the median", "among the highest", "below", relative to an explicit reference group: Montreal's 19 boroughs among themselves, Quebec cities of more than 10,000 residents among themselves, or an official threshold when one exists (for example the 30% canopy target recommended by the City of Montreal).
We do not give a score out of 100. A number would suggest a precision that public data does not allow us to claim. The tier honestly describes what the data says.
What our rankings are not
Our rankings reflect our model, not an absolute truth. The chain: public data → indicator → weighting (our choice) → index → ranking → your interpretation. Someone else could weight differently and get a different order. That's expected: a ranking is a reading tool, not a verdict.
Example: “Outremont is first for families” is not an official data point. It means: “according to our formula, Outremont scores highest on the criteria we selected for the family profile.”
What we do not measure
No ranking by income, origin, mother tongue, or political leaning. No felt measurement. Walking through the neighbourhood remains irreplaceable.
Coverage varies by city
Quebec cities do not all publish the same level of detail. Montreal exposes about thirty dimensions, including SPVM crime data geocoded and updated monthly, Fraser school rankings, and household-housing profiles per borough. For other cities, the breadth depends on local open-data choices.
For Quebec City's 6 boroughs, we publish schools, transit (RTC), tree inventory, and flood zones (by-law R.A.V.Q. 1310). Safety is not covered: the Quebec City police service (SPVQ) does not release any geocoded incident data, unlike Montreal. Demographics and per-borough population require a spatial join with the StatCan 2021 Census Dissemination Areas, planned for a future iteration.
Our rule: honestly display what exists, hide what does not, and say so.
In case of error
If a figure seems incorrect, please write to us at /contact/. We trace back to the public source, correct when possible, or flag the error to the organization that publishes the data.
Frequently asked questions
- Do your rankings represent an absolute truth?
- No. Our rankings are the result of our model: public data, chosen indicators, assumed weightings. A different model could yield a different order. It's up to you to judge whether our criteria match your priorities.
- What is the difference between a data point and an index?
- A data point is a raw measurement published by an official source (e.g. population from Statistics Canada). An index is a weighted calculation we produce by combining several data points. The data point is factual; the index is editorial.
- What year is the data actually from?
- Each source has its own publication year. The census comes from Statistics Canada 2021. Schools are updated annually by the MEQ. SPVM crime data is published monthly. Each page indicates the period of each measurement.
- Is this a real estate valuation tool?
- No. Explore Ma Ville measures living environment (schools, transit, safety, greenery), not property value. No listings, no transactions, no sale prices are used.
- Why is a neighbourhood ranked #3 rather than #4?
- The order follows from our weighting formula, not an official verdict. According to our formula, that neighbourhood scores higher than the next on the criteria we selected. A different choice of criteria or weights could potentially produce a different order.
Full methodology available on request. Weekly pipeline updates. Version 1.0, May 2026.