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Your monthly roundup of news, tools, and events from the world of 8 80 Cities.
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From the 8 80 Blog: School Streets Taking Off Across The GTHA

This past spring, four School Streets were piloted across the Greater Toronto Area with support from 8 80 Cities and Green Communities Canada, in a project called ‘Ontario School Streets Pilot’.  The project is funded through Ontario Active School Travel, with the goal of encouraging active school travel for students, parents, and the broader school community. By Laura Smith 

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 What We Are Reading 

The Future Of Cities Lies In Vibrant Civic Spaces

For many years, the downtowns of cities have been designed for office space and have neglected the importance of spaces for leisure and recreation. However, as many employees plan to continue working from home for the foreseeable future, cities must re-imagine their downtowns to continue to see engagement in downtown spaces. This provides an opportunity for cities to invest in cultural amenities, parks and improved transportation options to create more vibrant cities that are people-centric. The pandemic forced us to see the importance of public space and social services, creating new expectations for what we can expect from our cities. By Brooks Rainwater.

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A Sense Of Belonging

Social isolation is a serious public health issue that needs to be addressed through improved community design that prioritizes social connections. This article provides three strategies for mitigating social isolation through city development and provides a strong argument for cities to invest in improving social connectedness. By Risa Wilkerson

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Necessary Conversations: Talking Frankly About Race

This article by Alonzo Plough discusses the major themes in his new book entitled Necessary Conversations. Alonzo’s book includes written pieces from 50 different contributors discussing the ways racial inequity creates barriers to good health. From food insecurity to overrepresentation in the criminal justice system, this article touches on the many ways racism in North America affects health.

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Image credit: ICLEI USA

Three Innovative ICLEI USA Cities Utilizing Nature-Based Solutions

As local governments look to restore environmental health, and ecosystem services and improve access to healthy green spaces, three US cities serve as case studies of nature-based solutions to urban problems. The article explores nature-based solutions in Portland, Oregon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the City of Fort Collins, Colorado. Planners and urban designers can find inspiration from the work across these three cities to better incorporate nature into the urban environment. By ICLEI USA

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Sowing Seeds For Healthy Habits

The Farm to Early Care Education (F2ECE) Program seeks to enhance children’s health and wellbeing by connecting them to local foods. The program involves creating and sustaining gardens at early childhood care centres to allow children to grow their own food. Gardens have proven to be beneficial to children’s health by providing opportunities for nature play and increasing their consumption of fruits and vegetables. The program continues to gain popularity across North Carolina based on the multitude of benefits and the fairly low cost to implement. By Mindy Davis

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Longevity Success Story

According to the 2021 census, Canadians are living longer and more healthily than ever. What are the secret ingredients to a healthier lifestyle while we age? In this article, Robin Roberts explores the many answers to that question while talking to Canadian experts on health and aging populations. Exercising, socializing and keeping ourselves active despite challenges like the pandemic or the heavy weight of social isolation are some of the tips offered! 

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 What We Are Watching 

A Bike Bus For Barcelona: Kid Wheel Power
This video by Streetfilms shows the power of "Bicibús", a mini-revolution that started in Barcelona to encourage active transportation, and now is encouraging cities worldwide to follow them.
Watch it here...
The success of School Streets in Markham 

The Markham School Streets Pilot was recently launched at John McCrae P.S.The pilot project is part of Ontario Active School Travel and will help to create safer streets and encourage students and families to walk or bike to school.
Watch it here...

 Resources & Toolkits 

Just launched, The 2022 Canadian City Park Report features the most important trends and opportunities in Canada's city parks in the last year. Based on data from 30 Canadian cities and a survey of 3,000 Canadians, this year's report explores the critical role parks play in nature connectiondecolonizationhouselessness, and more.

Rural America Placemaking Toolkit: A very cool resource that will help you identify placemaking projects that align with your community capacity.

Complete Streets Projects in Washington: Three smaller Washington cities—Airway Heights, Arlington, and Wenatchee— came together to learn from the National Complete Streets Coalition and one another while building their skills in safer street design, and creative placemaking, and community engagement through quick-build pilot projects. This tells the story of their demonstration projects.

 Events & Announcements 

Join our team of fun, creative and amazing people. Applications close on Tuesday, July 5th, by 5:00 pm. Check the job posting here.
 

The applications for our Ontario Community Changemakers program are now closed. Thank you to all who applied. Stay tuned for news on the 2022 winners.  Learn more about OCC here.
 

A Walk in the Park with Gil 

Tune in on July 12th for another interesting session with Gil and guests.  Rouge Park, Canada Parks' first urban park. It’s 23 times the area of NYC’s Central Park, in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area. Present: Pascale Salah and Omar McDadi, Parks Canada. 



Upcoming sessions:

July 26th – Walkable, Green Streets: Advancing Health, Wellness & Economic Vitality. Presents: Dan Burden.
 

September 21-23, 2022, The Park People Conference will bring together park professionals, community park group leaders, non-profit organizations, municipal staff and urban enthusiasts to create an abundant future for city parks. Sign-up here.
 



Shortlist for the Inaugural AIPH World Green City Awards 2022 Announced 

The AIPH World Green City Awards 2022 are designed to champion ambitious nature-orientated approaches to city design and operation. Specifically, it recognizes initiatives relying on greater use of plants and nature to create better city environments – helping to fulfil local aspirations for improved economic, social and environmental resilience. Learn more here.
 




Save the date! World Urban Parks Congress, 14 - 18 November 2022, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

 




Webinar alert! July 7, 2022, 9:00 am EST. 
More Cycling, Lower Costs: The Economic Benefits of Cycling  Register here.

 

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