Caroline-Anne Perreault
Master's degree in Urban Studies (2006)
Expert Advisor, Community Relations, External Affairs and Strategic Expertise, Executive Branch, City of Longueuil
“INRS has helped me understand how research can have a real impact on our living environments.”
For Caroline-Anne Perreault, research has always been synonymous with openness and collaboration. From her early days at INRS, she found an environment that was both stimulating and deeply human, where exchanges with faculty, colleagues, and research partners shaped her way of thinking and acting. “What I liked about INRS was the closeness to people, the feeling of belonging to a community where everyone works together toward the same goal.”
During her studies, she became fully involved in scientific and student life, seizing every opportunity to learn from a passionate scientific community. INRS's multidisciplinary approach allowed her to develop a comprehensive view of issues related to urbanization, citizen participation, and land use planning. “INRS helped me understand how research can have a real impact on our living environments.” Her thesis, which focuses on local governance and citizen participation in Mexico, explores ways in which citizens can actively contribute to decision-making in their communities. This approach led her to combine theory and practice, observe the reality on the ground, and reflect on the levers of action that can make cities more inclusive.
She has particularly vivid memories of the lively discussions between members of the student community and faculty, where ideas flowed freely and research was seen as a collective project. “INRS was a place where you could dream, reflect, and debate, but also find concrete ways to take action.” These exchanges, marked by respect and intellectual curiosity, nurtured her confidence and reinforced her belief that research could truly contribute to social change.
After completing her studies, she spent more than 15 years working as a consultant for an engineering firm, where she led various public consultation initiatives in a range of countries and cultural contexts to ensure the smooth integration of major projects into their local environments. Caroline-Anne now holds a key position within the senior management of the City of Longueuil, where she applies her expertise to strategic projects (from homelessness to water infrastructure projects) and citizen participation. Her role involves building bridges between municipal actors and citizen groups to promote inclusive and sustainable urban planning. “My time at INRS gave me the tools to understand the complex dynamics of cities and to put science at the service of the community.” Each project she works on is an opportunity for her to solidify this link between research and action, between scientific reflection and the transformation of everyday life.
She remains deeply attached to her alma mater, which not only shaped her professional career, but also her worldview: “INRS taught me to combine scientific rigor with human openness,” she summarizes. Today, this lesson continues to guide her daily commitment to building more resilient and equitable living environments that are connected to the realities of citizens.
[Interviewed in October 2025.]