Nelson Square Pocket Park Grand Opening
This past Saturday, August 26, was the grand opening of the Nelson Square Pocket Park, our latest placemaking project with the City of Brampton. As we celebrate this fantastic project, we look back to last year's Vivian Lane activation that spurred injections of vibrancy all across downtown Brampton. Come check out how great this temporary park looks and enjoy Brampton's newest green space 🌱 at 2 Diplock Lane.

Municipal World: Young Ontarians Recognized For Efforts To Improve Their Communities         

Ibrahim Daair from Municipal World writes about the opportunity for our 2023 #OCChangemakers, 20 brilliant young Ontarians, to make an impact and how they are looking forward to activating public space, enhancing civic engagement, and fostering social inclusion in their communities through this mini-grant program powered by 8 80 Cities with support from Balsam Foundation. Some main impacts include creating space for racialized individuals within the environmental movement, engaging a community to raise awareness about food security, connecting Indigenous people with their heritage and learning about Métis culture. The Ontario Community Changemakers program also offers leadership development and training to help the recipients implement their ideas and address community service gaps.

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What We Are Reading

Why Green Schoolyards Are A Good Idea

Outdoor play for children is essential to their learning and well-being. However, as global temperatures rise, schoolyards are becoming less accessible for outdoor play. James Norton discusses green schoolyards as a solution to the challenges posed by extreme heat. Check out how researchers in Austin, Texas, are exploring solutions and advocating the integration of more natural elements into schoolyards to provide not only cooler play areas but also mental health benefits, air quality benefits, and equitable access to nature-based play for marginalized communities.

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The Benefits And Costs Of Completing Sidewalk Networks

Todd Litman, founder and executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, discusses how incomplete sidewalk networks in many communities inhibit walking and induce traffic congestion. However, recent studies indicate that it would take double or triple the annual spending on sidewalks to complete these networks and bring several benefits. The article dives into these benefits and how investing in completing sidewalk networks can help achieve multiple social, economic, and environmental goals through different funding models available.

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Sociability: Public Space As An Antidote To Isolation

What makes a great place? According to Katherine Peinhardt, sociability is one of the four main tenets of a great public space. Check out how sociability fosters connections among diverse communities and defeats isolation. Explore the connection between creating inclusive public spaces and public health and the power of sociability to overcome barriers and create a positive atmosphere as it offers comfort and representation in a space.

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Black Counternarratives In Planning History

This article by Jess Shakesprere reviews how mainstream narratives written by dominant white perspectives regarding planning history have ignored and inaccurately portrayed Black communities in the past. It discusses the importance of planning history to focus on Black experiences to counter the dominant narratives that overlook and misrepresent Black communities. Moving forward, it is important to understand why planners must acknowledge racism in planning history and build a more assets-based approach that utilizes a more accurate representation of history and accepts the harms caused to overcome present challenges and build a more equitable world.

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How Do Civic Infrastructure And Shared Prosperity Connect?

Reimagining the Civic Commons discusses how targeted investments in public spaces can generate more significant economic benefits than other strategies. The article demonstrates how a place can obtain significant power in attracting and retaining businesses or people and how the quality of various factors, such as green spaces, community amenities, and recreational opportunities, are key contributors to economic growth. It discusses how important it is to acknowledge long-term perspectives, the value of public spaces, and the history of underserved communities to create vibrant, inclusive, and economically prosperous communities.

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What We Are Watching

Tools & Resources

Canada Needs a Paradigm Shift to Transform its Long-Term Care Systems — National Institute on Ageing (niageing.ca) 

About the Shared Micromobility Industry - North American Bikeshare & Scootershare Association (nabsa.net) 

NBS for Cities — Urban Systems Lab  

Events & Announcements

Toronto Western Waterfront Public Life Studies

Interested in gaining hands-on experience conducting public life studies? Join us on August 31st & September 2nd! 8 80 Cities is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to assist in public life studies along the Toronto Western Waterfront. Public life studies provide data on public space usage that will help identify amenity gaps and design and programming opportunities to best inform the Western Waterfront Master Plan Refresh.  Engagement incentives provided! There's still time! Sign up here.

Cities For Everyone With Gil | The Webinar


Upcoming Sessions

September 5th. The City We Want_Barcelona. Guest: Xavi Matilla. Architect, City Planner and Professor. Barcelona, Spain.
Register here.

September 19th.  A Good City for Children will be a Good City for All. Guest: Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana, Albania. Register here.

October 3rd. Child-Friendly and Playful Cities. Guest: Dr Sara Candiracci, Associate Director at Arup – Cities. Milan, Italy. Register here.

October 17th. Tactical Urbanism: Transform Your City, Today! Guest: Mike Lydon, Co-Founder/Principal, Street Plans. Brooklyn, New York, USA. Register here.

Watch past webinars here.

Our friends Ken and Eti Greenberg have just published their new book Exploring Toronto. The official Book Launch is September 7th, right downstairs from our 8 80 Cities office. Join us to celebrate this beautiful gift to our beloved city! Get your tickets here! 
 

The 2024 AIPH #WorldGreenCityAwards acknowledges cities with outstanding urban nature initiatives. Think your city should be one of them? Then submit your projects by September 15, 2023! Apply here.
 

Our friends @AARPLivable have opened registration for the #AARPlivable Economic Development workshop on Sept 27 & 28! 30+ speakers presenting insights on real proven strategies to make communities more livable for ALL. Join the conversation for free! Register here.

Join PARKITECTURE: The Ultimate Design Contest created by World Urban Parks. Participate for a chance to win over $50,000 in prizes. Join PARKITECTURE now and shape the future! Click here for more information.

Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Catalyst Grant Now Open
Applications for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Catalyst Grant are now open. To apply and learn more, click here.  Deadline: September 19, 2023.

Thank you, Amira & Shameel!

We want to express our gratitude to our summer interns, Amira Babeiti and Shameel Chankar, for their valuable support on all our projects and programs. We are thankful for your positive attitude, the conversations, learnings and laughs. Good luck in your next chapter!