The Power of Placemaking
Learn more about the unique role that community-led placemaking initiatives play in cultivating collective wellbeing.
Download the report and accompanying resources to make your own case for placemaking!
These are virtual sessions that aim to connect placemakers and community builders across Canada working in a certain area or experiencing a shared challenge. These participatory sessions with 10-15 members are a space to get inspired through stories and experiences, and to connect with other community-builders. Canada’s Placemaking Community will be hosting these sessions throughout the summer, inspiring a series of articles to share what we’ve collectively learned over the last few years and support the community’s needs moving forward.
We’re excited to host a series of themed group discussions in partnership with Happy Cities that will strengthen our collective understanding of placemaking in Canada. Spots are limited, so make sure you register as soon as possible!
This session will explore the impacts and relationship between placemaking and health. Considerations include our mental and physical health, as well as the connection between our individual and collective wellbeing in a community. This session is relevant for participants interested in parks, playgrounds, active transportation interventions (for walking, rolling, and other types of micromobility), open streets, trails and pathways, and generally removing barriers to access nature and the outdoors.
This session will be held in English.
This session will explore how placemaking can foster wellbeing and social connections across all ages. A focus will be on placemaking for intergenerational connections as well as youth. This session is relevant for participants interested in mentorship and knowledge sharing, intergenerational programs, art projects that bridge generations, youth-led initiatives, partnerships with schools, spaces that empower youth, and more.
This session will be held in English.
Animé par Thalie Labonté de Vivre en Ville, cette séance nous permettra de découvrir les projets et les initiatives de placemaking s’adressant aux communautés francophones du Canada. Lors de cette séance, nous nous pencherons sur l’impact du placemaking sur le bien-être de la communauté – notamment sur des aspects tels que l’inclusion sociale et le sentiment d’appartenance, la santé physique et mentale et la sécurité alimentaire. Tous les participants francophones intéressés ou les responsables de programmes en français sont invités à assister à cette séance.
La conversation aura lieu en français.
This session will explore how placemaking supports social connection and belonging within our communities. We will dive into how these initiatives can create opportunities for meaningful social connections, and the interwoven relationships between place, belonging, and inclusion. This session is relevant for participants interested in events and activities, festivals and open streets, design interventions, and other types of community-led activations.
This session will be held in English.
This session will focus on how placemaking can help address climate change and foster resilience at a community scale. Join placemakers from across the country as we think about the impacts and relationship between placemaking, climate action and social resilience. Initiatives that explore the intersecting relationship between climate action and placemaking include: educational programs, rehabilitating outdoor spaces, gardens and landscaping (e.g., native landscaping and crops), shade canopy projects, and more.
This session will be held in English.
This session will explore how placemaking can improve food access, social connection, community resilience, inclusive food production systems and sharing traditional ecological knowledge at the community level—through education, repurposing spaces, access to healthy food, and more. We will invite participants to share their experiences to explore the interwoven connection between food justice, belonging, inclusion and community resilience. This session will be relevant to participants interested in gardens, community fridges and pantries, communal kitchens and cooking programs, classes and activities, yard-sharing, intergenerational learning, and more.
This session will be held in English.
This session will cover the impacts of placemaking at a local level on the economy, including the role of individuals, businesses, community groups, and organizations. The goal of the session will be to further understand and deepen the economic impact of our placemaking efforts in our communities. Such initiatives may include: small grants, open streets, main street festivals, creative makerspaces, programming that aims to support local businesses or creative initiatives, and more.
This session will be held in English.
This session will explore reconciliation in relation to our placemaking and placekeeping efforts. We will invite participants to explore how community-led initiatives can support ongoing truth and reconciliation in diverse ways, such as through our interpersonal connections, physical spaces, relationship with the land, leadership in the community, or art and design. Such initiatives may include: healing and gathering spaces, traditional gardens, mentorships and collaborations, Indigenous language programs, sharing traditional land-based knowledge, and more.
This session will be held in English.
If you’re interested in joining the conversation, subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to hear about our upcoming sessions and share your ideas with our team and like-minded community members across the country.
