Your monthly roundup of news, tools, and events from the world of 8 80 Cities.

Google and Sidewalk Labs: A Futuristic Urban Experiment

It’s likely that Google is a part of your everyday Internet experience; but now its sister company, Sidewalk Labs, is looking to become a part of your everyday experience in cities, beginning with a waterfront experiment in Toronto.
For this article, Katherine Peinhardt (from Project for Public Spaces) interviewed Rit Aggarwala to find out more about the project, “real-estate play”, and technological innovation in cities.

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#BuildTheVisionTO

At 8 80 Cities, our mission is to improve the quality of life for all people living in cities no matter their age, ability, or socioeconomic status. For too long our streets have been measured using one priority- the movement of cars. We must break free of this thinking. Our streets belong to all of us, they should be safe and active places that improve our quality of life, not places where lives are taken away.

8 80 Cities is proud to be part of a coalition advocating for safe and active streets for all through a call to action report and survey called- #BuildTheVisionTO. The primary purpose of the report and survey is to give voters an easy tool to see where municipal candidates stand on road safety measures in Toronto. These evidenced-based solutions and priorities can be easily applied in any city interested in making road safety an election priority.

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Protected Intersections for Bicyclists

We all know about protected bike lanes. But do you know about protected intersections? Or why they’re important? Or what qualifies as good design? Because if you don’t, this 5-minute video by Nick Falbos, is well worth a watch.

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Gil’s Take on Creating a Liveable City
Creating a great city isn’t necessarily simple, but it is doable (and worth it!). First, you need to ask the question: “what makes a great city?”. Here are some pearls of wisdom from Gil Penalosa’s Tucson visit, where he shared some insights about how to build liveable cities that are inclusive, enjoyable, and functional. Living Streets Alliance has all the details in this article.

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Streets as Playgrounds
Meet Alice Ferguson, founder of Playing Out. Her recipe to fight isolation and childhood obesity is simple: close a street to cars and open it to kids.

Alice championed a way to bring community spirit back to city streets and now other cities are following her lead, including Toronto (courtesy of Earth Day Canada).

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Urban Revolution: Considering the Needs of Seniors

How to make cities age-friendly is arguably one of the most important issues in city planning today. Yet cities often down cater to the needs and interests of senior citizens. Why is this, and what can be done about it? Anne Karpf explores this topic in her excellent Guardian article.

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