Canada's Placemaking Community

Apprentissage mutuel - De meilleures options de mobilité
2023-03-22 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
Une séance d’inter-apprentissage sera organisée le 22 mars 2023. Elle vous permettra de partager vos expériences et d’échanger sur les défis rencontrés et les bons coups réalisés dans le cadre de vos projets visant l’amélioration de la mobilité. Cet espace participatif sera animé par Catherine Craig-St-Louis et Pierre-Yves de Vivre en Ville.
Cette séance donnera l’occasion aux responsables de projets de s’appuyer sur les expériences des autres et de se soutenir mutuellement.
Les sujets de discussion seront définis en fonction des besoins spécifiques du groupe de participants concernés. Voici quelques-uns des sujets de réflexion potentiels en lien avec la sécurité et la convivialité des rues :

planifier et créer des rues conviviales et sécuritaire
évaluer les possibilités offertes et faire les choix appropriés
articuler différentes mesures pour créer des rues partagées et des rues étroites
améliorer la sécurité routière à proximité des écoles
consolider et développer un réseau cyclable utilitaire
repenser l’aménagement des rues commerciales
arrimer planification et sécurité routière, notamment dans un contexte de traversée de collectivité

Cette liste s’inspire entre autres du travail réalisé pour la rédaction des fiches sur la conception et la mise en oeuvre de rue apaisées et des échanges tenus entre Vivre en Ville et ses partenaires dans le cadre de classes de maîtres réalisées ces derniers mois.
Seules 8 places sont disponibles. Nous vous encourageons donc à vous inscrire le plus rapidement possible à la séance.
La séance durera 1 heure et demie et débutera à 13 heures HE.
Cliquez ici pour vous inscrire à la session d’inter-apprentissage. Il ne vous faudra que 5 à 7 minutes pour remplir le formulaire d’inscription.

Brave Conversations with Fearless Women in Philanthropy (CFC)
2023-04-03 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Virtual
Are inspirational people fearless, or are they brave enough to move forward alongside their fears? This International Women’s Day, Community Foundations of Canada is thrilled to share a conversation with five brave women in philanthropy, where they will discuss leadership, diversity and what it means to be fearless, or if being fearless is even possible.
In this panel discussion, CFC president Andrea Dicks hosts a meaningful conversation, asking thoughtful and bold questions that open doors to reflections from brave women in the sector.
Register here!

Spotlight Series: Skills in Demand for Canada’s Future - Developing the Skills for the Future
2023-04-11 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Virtual
Did you know?
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 50% of all employees will need to reskill by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases. A simplified version of this statement would be – a HALF of all your employees will need to gain entirely new in-demand skills and competencies to keep up with the digital transformation and stay employable.
To future-proof citizens’ ability to work, they will require new skills—but which ones?
Join Skills for Change on April 11 for a panel discussion on how to get the right skills to shock-proof our participation in the future of Canada’s economy.
Register here!

Mentorship Information Session
2023-04-12 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Virtual
Registration for the next Mentorship Program cohort is opening soon! Learn more about this opportunity and meet the mentors on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 @ 10am PT / 1pm ET through our virtual Mentorship Information Session!
The Mentorship Program provides an opportunity for practitioners from across the country to work one-on-one with an experienced practitioner. Over three-months, mentor and mentee meet to explore ideas and work through challenges together. This program is free of charge.
The next cohort will run from the month of May through to July. In this session, we will share information about the Mentorship Program, learn about and hear from the mentors, and open the floor to questions from the audience during an open Q & A.
To learn more about the Mentorship Program, visit the Peer Learning page at Canada’s Placemaking Community.
Click here to register for the Mentorship Information Session

Webinar: Reflections and Resources from the Agents of Change Project
2023-04-12 13:00 - 14:30 UTC | Virtual
ICLEI Canada’s Agents of Change Project helped participating municipalities conceptualize impactful local volunteer programs tailored to their community and climate mitigation and/or adaptation goals. Through a collaborative cohort model, participants explored key considerations like governance structures, partnership models, recruitment techniques, Indigenous engagement, inclusion and equity, approaches to social media, and more. Join ICLEI Canada to learn about their experiences and discover resources that can support you in building your own climate volunteer engagement program.
Learn more and register here!

NABC - Evaluation Capacity Building Pilot: Peer Learning Event
2023-04-13 14:00 - 15:30 UTC | Virtual
Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving organizations, groups, and networks (B3s) play a critical role in meeting urgent needs and improving the conditions for Black communities. Building their capacity to do and use evaluation data is important in telling the impact of their work. Peer learning can be an effective strategy to facilitate learning contextualized in shared experience.
Join the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities (NABC) and Yamina Sidane, Social Innovation Coordinator at Groupe 3737 for a peer learning event. You will have the opportunity to hear from a peer; collectively reflect on the challenges and rewards of evaluation; and learn from other B3s about their experiences in order to apply any lessons learned.
Register here

Cities for Everyone: Medellín Case Study: Architecture, Urbanism and Planning /w Guest Jorge Perez,
2023-04-18 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
Medellín Case Study: Architecture, Urbanism and Planning. Guest: Prof. Jorge Perez, former chief planner.
From being known as the ‘world’s drug capital’ to become a model for innovative equitable urbanism. Jorge will share reflections on the evolution of Medellín as a city, starting from its extreme crisis in the 1990s, and how it built a democratic and technical process in which the city was constructed as a scene for public life. Multi-scale planning, urban projects, large infrastructures, urban acupuncture, and social urbanism, among other aspects, will be part of the contents of the session.
Register here for this event!
Event shared with Canada’s Placemaking Community through 8 8 0 Cities

Small Group Discussion - Open Streets
2023-04-27 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Virtual
On the 27th of April2023, we will be hosting a peer-learning session to exchange experiences on Open Streets.
This participatory space will be facilitated by Shannon Lawrence from 8 80 Cities. This session builds on the Mobilizer Session hosted last January of the same theme. Here is the link to the recording: https://youtu.be/jVadnHy5SgU
If you are interested in joining this small group discussion, register here!

CUI CityTalk: How might office conversions revitalize the post-pandemic city?
2023-05-10 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Virtual
In the wake of COVID, millions of square feet of office space sit empty in cities across North America. CUI’s recent report, “The Case for Conversions: Understanding opportunities for conversion of office space to housing in Canadian downtowns,” examines the barriers and opportunities for the adaptive re-use of office space across Canadian cities. As work from home practices persist and office vacancies remain stubbornly elevated in many downtowns, there is an opportunity to re-imagine how these under-utilized assets could assist in downtown revitalization: bringing people and complementary uses to create more resilient, diverse and equitable cores.
Join our panelists to explore conversions that are underway, what makes them feasible, how stakeholders are leveraging office space conversions to create a balance of uses in downtowns, and what other initiatives need to be considered to revitalize urban cores.
Featuring:
Melissa Román Burch – Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC)
Tracy Hadden Loh – Fellow at Brookings Metro, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking (Washington D.C.)
Joe Nickerson – Vice President & Partner, Sidewalk Real Estate Development (Halifax)
Steven Paynter – Principal, Gensler Toronto (Toronto)

"Can't Stand The Heat?" Report Presentation - Worker Solidarity Network
2023-05-11 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Vancouver) | Virtual – Register for Links
The Worker Solidarity Network is hosting a virtual event to proclaim the upcoming report launch on the results from our first ever Climate and Labour Project.
Join in for a presentation on May 11th at noon PST to learn about the report titled “Can’t Stand the Heat? Get Out of the Kitchen”, which explores the intersection between labour justice and climate justice. This past year, the Worker Solidarity Network has been engaging with low-wage food service workers with the goal of better understanding how extreme weather events impact standards and conditions at work.
The presentation will outline the major findings from the WSN’s climate-labour project which include information about precarious employment, prominent concerns from food service workers, collective worker efforts to mitigate harm, and recommendations necessary to ensure a safer and equitable planet for all.
The event will be facilitated by Pamela, and Jen will provide some key insights and summary of the report. Following that we will have other speakers TBD.
Learn more and register here!
See you soon! And stay tuned for the report launch on May 8th, 2023.

Placemaking: What is it and Why Does it Matter? / Argumenter en faveur du placemaking: de quoi s’agit-il et pourquoi est-il si important?
2023-05-18 13:00 - 14:15 UTC | Virtual
Whether picking up litter in the park with a community group, organizing a public poetry reading on your block, or enjoying public art in a local shopping area, placemaking activities help us feel that we belong. Throughout the pandemic, Canadian communities have experimented with using these types of public space and digital interventions in new ways, calling on their resourcefulness to enhance mobility, cultivate a sense of belonging, and facilitate greater connection to each other. A growing number of municipalities, nonprofits, and community groups are now strategically bringing placemaking to the heart of their organizations. But what is placemaking and why is it important to support this work beyond the pandemic?
Register now for Building the Case for Placemaking: What is it and Why Does it Matter? happening on Thursday, May 18, 2023 @ 10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET. This 75-minute session, hosted by Mitchell Reardan from Happy Cities and Mary Rowe from CUI City Talks, delves into the well-being impacts of cultivating spaces for public engagement: What are we learning from our experiences over the past three years? Is there a super-power in community-driven change? How can we continue to build support for these incredible efforts?
Featuring practitioners from across the country, this conversation offers an opportunity to hear from people doing the work about the role of public space and digital placemaking interventions in cultivating healthy, inclusive, and resilient communities. Register now for this free public webinar!
Click here to register!
The session will take place in English with simultaneous interpretation in French.

Qu’il s’agisse de ramasser les déchets d’un parc avec un groupe communautaire, d’organiser une lecture de poésie publique dans un quartier ou bien encore de faire découvrir des œuvres d’art dans la zone commerciale locale, les activités de placemaking nous procurent toujours un sentiment d’appartenance. Tout au long de la pandémie, les communautés canadiennes ont expérimenté de nouvelles façons d’utiliser les espaces publics et les interventions numériques, mettant à contribution leur ingéniosité pour améliorer la mobilité, cultiver un sentiment d’appartenance et faciliter l’établissement de liens plus étroits entre les gens. De plus en plus de municipalités, d’organismes à but non lucratif et de groupes communautaires placent désormais le placemaking au cœur de leur stratégie. Mais qu’est-ce que le placemaking, exactement, et pourquoi est-il important de le soutenir au-delà de la pandémie?
Inscrivez-vous dès maintenant à la conférence « Argumenter en faveur du placemaking: de quoi s’agit-il et pourquoi est-il si important? » Cette présentation aura lieu le jeudi 18 mai 2023 à 10 h HP / 13 h HE. D’une durée de 75 minutes, elle sera animée par Mitchell Reardan de Happy Cities et Mary Rowe de City Talks pour l’Institut urbain du Canada. Elle abordera l’impact sur le bien-être des citoyens des espaces conçus pour favoriser l’engagement public: Qu’avons-nous appris de nos expériences de ces dernières années? Les changements menés par les communautés elles-mêmes ont-ils un superpouvoir? Comment pouvons-nous soutenir ces formidables initiatives?
Avec la participation de praticiens de tout le pays, cette conversation offre l’opportunité de recueillir les témoignages de ceux qui travaillent sur le rôle de l’espace public et des interventions numériques de placemaking pour cultiver des communautés saines, inclusives et résilientes. Nous espérons que vous vous joindrez à notre conversation sur cet important travail!
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wyQBD7kzSmSRyKanAzrnfw#/registration
Cette séance aura lieu en anglais avec interprétation simultanée en français.

Self-Regulation Workshop with Susan Hopkins of The MEHRIT Centre
2023-05-18 18:30 - 20:00 UTC | Virtual
Join Erin Mills Connects online for a FREE workshop series on Self-Regulation presented by The MEHRIT Centre, the people who literally wrote the books on Self-Reg Schools: A Handbook for Educators and Self-Reg. The series is on Thurs., April 27 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. ET and Thurs., May 18 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. ET. Register once for both workshops by visiting: onpathway.me/self-reg-pge.
This event is part 1 of a two-part workshops for parents/guardians and other caregivers

Skills for Change Spotlight Series: Reflecting on Anti-Black Racism
2023-05-23 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Virtual
“Hundreds demand justice in Minneapolis after police killing of George Floyd” – The Guardian.
One headline out of thousands, all talking about the tragedy that shocked the whole world. The year 2020 marked a watershed moment in the fight against Anti-Black racism. George Floyd’s incident led to protests, with millions of people demanding an end to systemic racism that the Black community has been facing for over 400 years. With the Black Lives Matter movement gaining momentum, powerful displays of solidarity were seen around the world, also highlighting the deeply rooted nature of Anti-Black Racism in our societies.
Unfortunately, three years later, Anti-Black Racism continues to be a pervasive issue in Canada, and around the world. With incidents such as Ralph Yarl’s, it is important we reassess our contributions as a community in the ongoing fight against this issue.
As such, we invite you to join us for a panel discussion as we engage in a discussion about Anti-Black racism and critically assess the progress made since 2020.
Join the conversation!

2023 Toronto Mayoral By-Election Debate
2023-05-25 18:15 - 20:00 UTC | Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St., Toronto, ON, M5S 1K6, Canada
This election, the future of our city is at stake. Toronto needs a dynamic, energetic change agent to lead the 4th largest city in North America and drive a reboot of the national economic engine. The future could be very bright for Toronto: we have been called a ‘quietly booming tech town’ with the innovation, entrepreneurial mindset and talent to lead new and emerging global sectors. However, we need to hit go on the issues facing our city, such as chronic congestion, declining affordability, public safety, homelessness, and fraying public services.
On May 25th, we’re inviting the leading mayoral candidates to the podium to discuss, debate and demonstrate how they will address the issues that impact Toronto’s livability and prosperity. This is their opportunity to prove they have the right mix of knowledge, skills, and experience to lead our city toward a successful future.
This debate will be broadcast live on The Agenda/TVO Today’s YouTube channel, and on TVO’s broadcast channel for those unable to attend in person.
AGENDA:
6:15pm: Doors Open
6:50pm: Opening Remarks
7:00pm: Debate Begins
8:00pm: Debate Concludes
Learn more here

CityTalk: How Can We Work Together on the Mental Health Crisis in Our Downtowns?
2023-05-31 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Location: Zoom
The on-going failure to provide widespread and adequate mental health services is a visceral reminder of the challenges to our housing and social service systems. This crisis continues to affect Canada’s downtowns, main streets, public spaces, and transit, negatively impacting many residents’ perception of public safety. If we are to build equitable and inclusive cities for all, how can we work together on the mental health crisis in our downtowns?
Join 6 amazing panelists for a deeper-dive into the approaches communities are taking to provide referral and care supports, and to restore public confidence in our public spaces and places. How are cities addressing the crisis? what are the proven best practices? and what other initiatives need to be considered to offer support systems for all?
Cam Guthrie – Mayor of Guelph (Guelph,ON)
Kyle Marcus – Managing Director, Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Area (Sudbury, ON)
Dr. Suzanne Shoush – Director of Indigenous Health Program at Inner City Health Associates (Toronto,ON)
Al Wiebe – Peer and Community Engagement trainer, Homelessness Advocate and host of “Of No fixed Address” (Winnipeg, MB)
Dr. Andrew Bond, Medical Director at Inner City Health Associates (Toronto, ON)
Superintendent Howard Tran, Vancouver Police Department, Investigative Support Services (Vancouver, BC)
Register here!

Canadian Climate Institute: Honouring Indigenous Climate Leadership
2023-06-15 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Virtual – Register for Links
Honouring Indigenous Climate Leadership

A roundtable discussion showcasing Indigenous-led research and policy responding to climate change.
Event Date: 15.06.23
To amplify and centre Indigenous voices at the cutting-edge of climate research and policy, the Canadian Climate Institute, in partnership with the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, will host a roundtable discussion on June 15 with the authors of three new case studies in our Indigenous Perspectives series.
These case studies showcase the work of Indigenous researchers, Knowledge Holders, water protectors, and community members. The discussion will highlight how Indigenous self-determination and knowledge are integral to designing effective regional, provincial, territorial, and national climate policies.
Moderator:
Shianne McKay, Senior Project Manager, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources
Opening remarks:
Rick Smith, President, Canadian Climate Institute
Speakers:
Sandra Lamouche (Bigstone Cree Nation)
Patrick Michell (Retired Chief, Kanaka Bar Indian Band)
Dr. Emily Dicken (Indigenous scholar, practitioner in Emergency Management)
Dr. Lilia Yumagulova (Program Director for the Preparing Our Home Program)
Sheri Lysons (Elders and Youth Council Coordinator, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council)
Casey Gabriel (Líl̓wat Nation, Volunteer Fire Department)
Randy Carpenter (Heiltsuk Emergency Coordinator)
Learn more and register here!

Sense-Making Session #3: Placemaking with City Staff
2023-07-12 13:00 - 14:30 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
The Healthy Communities Initiative is partnering with Happy Cities to explore the Power of Placemaking. Join us over the next few months to share your experiences, reflections, and lessons-learned through a series of sense-making sessions:
Session 3: Placemaking with city staff
Thursday, July 12 from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. PT
This session will be geared towards staff of municipalities as we cover placemaking and city staff. We will invite staff to share their experiences with placemaking initiatives, and discuss some of the successes and challenges they face in supporting placemaking projects. We will discuss the importance of placemaking with city staff and the role it plays in social connection and wellbeing.
Register for this session here!

Sense-Making Session #4: Activations
2023-07-20 13:00 - 14:30 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
The Healthy Communities Initiative is partnering with Happy Cities to explore the Power of Placemaking. Join us over the next few months to share your experiences, reflections, and lessons-learned through a series of sense-making sessions:
Session 4: Activations
Thursday, July 20 from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. PT
This session will cover urban activation events, such as markets, festivals, open streets, and art murals. It will also include conversation around activating transportation, community hubs, and community equity. We will discuss how urban activation events are valuable to communities and how placemaking through activation events impacts communities. We will discuss placemaking activations and the role they play in social connection and wellbeing.
REGISTER NOW FOR SESSION 4

Sense-Making Session #5: Placemaking with Funders
2023-07-27 13:00 - 14:30 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
The Healthy Communities Initiative is partnering with Happy Cities to explore the Power of Placemaking. Join us over the next few months to share your experiences, reflections, and lessons-learned through a series of sense-making sessions:
Session 5: Placemaking with funders
Thursday, July 27 from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. PT
This session will invite potential funders to discuss their goals and interests in supporting placemaking projects. During the session, we will explore what questions funders have around placemaking, and what they need in order to support these projects. Further, we will identify key challenges and barriers they face in funding placemaking projects. We will discuss the importance of placemaking funding in supporting social connection and wellbeing.
REGISTER NOW FOR SESSION 5

CUI CityTalk - Mobility as a Service: How can MaaS support better mobility access?
2023-08-16 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore glaring gaps in our transportation networks especially for those reliant on transit services. To meet our collective goals around transportation equity, climate change, and municipal fiscal responsibility, transit service delivery may require a different model, one already implemented in several cities across the world. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is an integrated platform that combines multiple modes including public transit, taxis, ride-hailing, scooter, bike, and car sharing, and sometimes even parking fees and road tolls on one easy-to-use navigation and payment app.
CUI and AECOM’s joint report, “Mobility as a Service: A Feasibility Study on Implementing MaaS in the Greater Toronto Area,” examines the region’s existing transportation infrastructure landscape and its current economic, political, technological, and operational conditions.
Join our panellists to explore the conversation around MaaS acceptance and implementation and how, if directed intentionally, the model can support better mobility access.
Tosh Chambers – Senior Program Director, Move PGH (Pittsburg, PA)
Justin Trevan – Vice President, Cities Growth Strategy at AECOM (Toronto, ON)
Deborah Wathen Finn – President, The Wathen Group (Westfield, NJ)
Register here!

Sense-Making Session #6: Placemaking in Small Towns and Rural Communities
2023-08-16 13:00 - 14:30 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
The Healthy Communities Initiative is partnering with Happy Cities to explore the Power of Placemaking. Join us over the next few months to share your experiences, reflections, and lessons-learned through a series of sense-making sessions:
Session 6: Placemaking in small towns and rural communities
Wednesday, August 16 from from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. PT
This session will cover placemaking in small towns and rural communities. We will discuss the impacts of placemaking in these communities and its importance. During the session we will explore the role placemaking plays in small towns and rural communities. We will discuss placemaking within small towns and rural communities and the role it plays in social connection and wellbeing.
REGISTER NOW FOR SESSION 6

Cities for Everyone: The City We Want Barcelona
2023-09-05 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Zoom (Registration Required)
Towards The City We Want, BarcelonaGuest:
Xavier Matilla. City Architect & Planner, Professor.
Barcelona, Spain
Tuesday, September 5th, 2023
11:00 AM EST/5:00 PM CET
About:
Xavier Matilla was Chief Architect of the city of Barcelona between October 2019 – June 2023. During this period, he has directed many urban transformations with the aim of achieving a healthier, friendlier and fairer city. Highlight being the “Barcelona Superblock” project, internationally recognized as an effective strategy to transform city streets into spaces with better environmental quality and more l ABOUT his presentation: At a time when cities need new urban models to approach the future with optimism, Barcelona has shown that it is possible to move towards a healthier, kinder and fairer city for it citizens thanks to the Superilla Project. Barcelona is a compact and dense city, with a polycentric urban model, but it has a significant deficit of green areas and a problem with its car-centered mobility model. Car use takes up more than 50% of public space and is also the main source of atmospheric and noise pollution. Superilla aims to improve all the city’s streets, while proposing a new, more efficient mobility model through promoting public transport, cycling and walking, so that it takes up less room, is healthier and pollutes less. This allows 1 out of every 3 streets to be freed up from through traffic, and to transform them into new “green axes” in such a way that they “naturalise” the city and promote local activities and social relationships, constituting a true environmental and social infrastructure, a true systemic change. During the last 4 years Xavi Matilla has promoted the project, defining a vision of the future for the whole city and at the same time executing a phase with 4 new green axes (4.65 Km / 10Ha) and 4 new squares (1Ha) that allow to demonstrate that it is possible to move towards the city we want.
Learn more and register here!
