Member News: Fall 2023

Welcome to the first-ever issue of Women in Urbanism Canada’s Member Newsletter! Our team has been busy in the past few months launching the new membership program, presenting at and hosting workshops, and publishing informative content for our readers. 

As a Member of Women in Urbanism Canada, we are happy to welcome you to the Members Hub, an online space where you can browse through our updates, resources, events, and the member directory. 

For this quarter, we have some exciting organization updates and opportunities for members to get involved (like openings on our board!). Keep on scrolling for more information!

Regards, 

Nicole Roach & Lilit Houlder
Co-Chairs

🏙️ Women in Urbanism Canada launched a membership program! This marks a significant step in growing our cross-Canada community. Read the announcement. 

🚴‍♀️ Co-Chair, Nicole Roach, presented on mobility and gender equity at “Mobility as More than Transportation” Webinar, hosted by The Centre for Active Transportation as part of the Mobilizing Justice initiative. Watch the recording. 

🌁 Vice-Chair, Sharee Hochman, presented for the Sustainable Cities and Gender session hosted by the team at RISE Winnipeg. 

🌳 Women in Urbanism Canada launched a three-part online workshop series focused on gender inclusive public parks. The series is made possible thanks to the funding support of TD and Park People, marking our first grant and public events! Read the announcement. 

🖼️ The Gender-Based Climate Adaptation at Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, NS workshop was hosted by our team. Local community leaders, Delivina Bernard and Zamani Folade provided their insights on the intersectionality of gender-equity and sustainability. Read the recap. 

🖼️ The Gender-Based Inclusion at St. John's Park, Winnipeg, MB workshop was hosted by our team. Local landscape designer, Desiree Theriault, introduced her work on physically linking inclusivity with public space design. Read the summary.

🫂 Treasurer, Varvara Belenko, presented on community resilience during LobbyFest, in Calgary, AB.

🎙️ Director, Ally Lord, spoke with Nicolas Haddad on CBC Radio about cities made for women. 

📰 The Case for a (Mostly) Car-Free World. Author Anthony Leong references Women in Urbanism Canada’s article “How Toxic Masculinity Drives Car Culture” to argue that toxic masculinity is deeply intertwined with car culture. Read the article. 

💻 How to Get Harrassment off our Streets blog written by Women in Urbanism Canada and Spatial Equality: Challenging ‘Default-Male’ Design (an article which we are featured in) are listed as key resources by Empowering Women: Public Spaces and Climate Change. See all resources. 

🕑 Our blog, How 15-Minute Cities Build Feminist Communities, saw the highest engagement numbers for this quarter - all thanks to our readers!

🏙️ We are now up to 75 members! This includes 55 Engaged and 20 Supportive. 

🗺️ We have members in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec! We also have international members in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

We encourage new members to visit the member directory to update their profile and find members that live in the same area, work in the same field, or have similar interests. Go ahead and say hi!

This edition’s member spotlight is on Jamie Stuckless (she/her), who has joined us from Hamilton, Ontario. Jamie is the owner and Principal Consultant of Stuckless Consulting Inc, a firm that helps co-create sustainable, inclusive, and healthy communities.

Recently having joined Women in Urbanism Canada, Jamie was excited to see an organisation leading mainstream conversations with a gender lens and taking action to address city design through thought leadership. As a member, Jamie’s favourite feature is the member resources page that she uses for her work.

Jamie is thrilled to introduce everyone to the free E-Bike Report that features research insights and strategies for increasing e-bike access.

🔭 We are looking for new members to join our Board of Directors! Interested in serving in the roles of Vice-Chair, Secretary, or Communications? Please apply using this form!

🚲 Women in Urbanism Canada is eager to see photos of you and your little(s) on a bike! Please send pictures of you biking with your kids to be featured in our Babes on Bikes blog!

🗞️ Has your community in Canada (or outside) recently integrated feminist policies or programs? If so, please drop us a line to help inform a future blog!

📖 New in Read. Public Spaces Where Women Thrive. Social Life Project shares a photo essay of how women of all ages and backgrounds use public spaces around the world. 

🎧 New in Listen. 4D Talks - Feminism. 4D - Talks podcast brainstorms with guest Nourhan Bassam on which design decisions result in gender inequality and how architecture can support equality and inclusivity for every gender. 

📺 New in Watch. Cities for Women, By Women, With Women. SPUR hosts a webinar to discuss how women experience the city differently than men, yet gendered realities are rarely considered in the way we design our cities. 

📝 New in Do. Women-Friendly Urban Planning Toolkit. Cities Alliance launched a toolkit that provides the tools and knowledge to incorporate women’s and girls’ needs and voices in urban planning.

🌳 Our team is hosting a free virtual workshop on Gender-Based Placemaking at Edworthy Park, Calgary, AB. Come join us for an interactive evening with local experts.

📖 Flâneuse: Walking through books: join this in-person book club that features a mix of urban planning and transportation themes, including women and walkability.