Edition 26: February 2024

In the News:

💻 Running in the dark: women need more than streetlights to feel safe. Lighting doesn’t undo the centuries of societal misogyny that make men feel it’s ok to catcall and harass women in public spaces. Read the blog. 

💻 Why we need queer urbanism. Heteronormative planning structures exclude and can even endanger queer people, especially those who are trans and BIPOC. Read the blog. 

📰 Flemingdon Park climate trailblazer gets residents out of highrises and into ravines. Nawal Ateeq organizes park meets, ravine walks, and local litter clean-ups in her neighbourhood. Read the article. 

📰 How neighbourhoods are built to keep single women out. Cheryll Case outlines that if we want more affordable housing, then we need to stop designing communities for traditional families. Read the article. 

📰 The key to happiness might be living within walking distance of a coffee shop. A recent study found that well designed urban density was positively correlated with well-being and happiness, whereas poor design was correlated with decreased well-being. Read the article. 

📰 ‘She’s out here trailblazing’: these 10 Black environmentalists are building community. Black scientists, researchers, and environmental advocates discuss the importance of mentors, protégés, and friends in their field. Read the article. 

📄 Dementia-inclusive planning and design guidelines. A guide created by Happy City and researchers from Simon Fraser University outlines how neighbourhoods can support people living with dementia. Read the guide. 

🎙️ 4D Talks - Equality. This discussion outlines the tools that architects could use in their battle against structural inequalities. Listen to the episode. 

🎙️ The Meaning of Home: Episode 15. This episode’s theme is ‘disparity’, discussing the complexities and connections between home and homelessness and how it relates to the inequitable design of cities. Listen to the episode. 

🎙️ Being Black in public and its implications for sustainable transport policy. Jay Pitter talks to The Brake about racism on the street. Listen to the episode. 

On the Blog:

Feel-Good Stories:

🇨🇦 Government of Canada announces $15 million for My Main Street program. The investment supports the stabilization and revitalization of main streets and neighbourhoods. See the announcement. 

🚴‍♀️ Hamilton pitches $60 million plan to build more bike lanes, faster. The plan would double the amount of cycling lanes and paths added each year. Learn more. 

🚍 The Ontario government launches the “One Fare” program. Transit riders in the GTA can transfer for free between the TTC and other participating agencies. See the announcement. 

🏙️ Saskatoon unveils design concepts for downtown core. The new project is to include an arena, as well as shopping spaces, restaurants, convention facilities, and nightlife. See concepts. 

🚲 Children’s balance bikes are now permitted on TransLink buses. Bikes with wheels up to 14 inches in diameter may be carried on board the bus, space permitting. See news.

Resources:

📖 Something to Read. Integrating equity, diversity and inclusion into municipal climate action. In order to address issues of inequality and ensure a better quality of life for all residents, municipalities must integrate equity, diversity and inclusion into each stage of their climate action planning.

🎧 Something to Listen to. Taking Up Space Podcast. This soon-to-launch podcast by BIPOC Healing and Wellness Centre hopes to represent racialized people being their authentic selves, claiming a seat at the table, and being seen and heard in the fullness of their experiences. 

📺 Something to Watch. Black Influence in Urban Planning. This CityTalk webinar by the Canadian Urban Institute highlights community leaders across Canada working to make our cities more just and equitable for all. 

✍️ Something to Use. The Community Playbook. Developed by the City of Toronto and Social Planning Toronto, this playbook was designed to assist community leaders with concrete knowledge and tools they could use in their local engagement work. 

🖱️ Something to Do. Fearless Cities Survey. Fearless Cities is a project fighting gendered-islamophobia and racism within the GTA. The survey aims to gather information about encounters and perceptions of safety in public spaces. 

🗣️ Something to Participate in. Conversational Interview for PhD student study. Indigenous women residing in Winnipeg are invited to share their experiences of trail, park and bike use in an interview. The study utilizes a decolonizing approach and an honorarium is provided. Contact Leah Nicholson to participate.

Around the World:

🇵🇸 ‘Scared, exhausted, and expecting the worst’ - Women in Gaza describe humanitarian crisis. More than 24,620 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and more than 1.9 million have been displaced, including almost 1 million women and girls. Learn more. 

🇬🇧 Teen girls feel ‘unwelcome and unsafe’ in UK parks designed for boys. Girls face aggression and sexual threats from boys and young men who ‘territorialise what they see as male space’. Learn more. 

🇫🇷 Parisians vote in favour of tripling parking costs for SUVs. The referendum came as the city aims to reduce emissions by targeting wealthy drivers in large, polluting cars. Learn more.

Events to Attend:

📍Virtual. Hidden Filters: Decoding your Unconscious Bias - University of Alberta. Sign up for this engaging session to examine the various filters through which individuals interpret the world. 

📍Toronto, ON. #FillthePodium Mixer and Movie Night - They Cycle. This fundraising event on February 29, 2024 supports programming that breaks down barriers to participation for gender-diverse athletes. 

📍Virtual. Feminist Urban Futures - IHS. Register for this event on March 4, 2024 that aims to ignite discussions, exchange ideas, and inspire collective action towards building the gender-equitable city of the future.

📍Virtual. FEM. Network International Women’s Day Celebration - The Gendered City. Register for this international networking event happening on March 7, 2024.

📍Calgary, AB. Black In - Planning and Housing - University of Calgary. As part of EDI week, this panel discussion will explore how planning policies and practices were used to displace historical Black communities and the impact that has had on Black equity in housing. 

📍Hamilton, ON. SheMoves: Celebrating Women in Public Transit Careers - Hamilton Street Railway. Register for this International Women’s Day celebration on March 8, 2024. 

📍Calgary, AB. International Women’s Day Celebration - Women’s Centre of Calgary. Sign up for this event to honour and celebrate women from all walks of life on March 8, 2024.

On the Job Board:

Job Openings

Senior Community Planner with CP Planning - rolling basis. 

Junior Urban Planner with Smart Density - open until filled. 

Manager, Placemaking & Public Spaces with Downtown Winnipeg Biz - open until filled.

Storytelling Lead, Canada Healthy Communities Initiative with the Canadian Urban Institute - apply by March 4, 2024. 

School Travel Planning Facilitator with Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region - apply by March 10, 2024.

Project and Development Coordinator with Centre d’ecologie urbaine - apply by March 24, 2024.

Volunteer Roles

Board Member with Peg City Car Coop - Winnipeg, MB. 

Board Member with Ecosource - Mississauga, ON. 

Executive Board Member with Building Equality in Architecture Prairies - Prairies.

Volunteer with Bike Ottawa - Ottawa, ON. 

Board Member with the Canadian Institute of Planners - Across Canada.

Funding Opportunities:

🧕 Community Spaces Funding. This Co-Op fund was developed to support projects in communities across Western Canada. Projects can apply for capital funding in three categories: recreation, environmental conservation, and urban agriculture. Apply by March 1, 2024.

Want to get involved?