Edition 31: July 2024

In the News:

💻 Bouncing forward: cultivating connection, belonging and collective resilience. Anne Gloger of Catalysts’ Circle explores the principles and practices that can unlock the potential of connected communities. Read the recap blog. 

💻 Building queer space. In this op-ed, by Aaron Poluck, he outlines his experience as a gay architect working on the Place of Pride project, Canada’s first 2SLGBTQ+ campus that combines affordable housing with community programming. Read the blog. 

📰 Cities are designed for men’s convenience - not for women’s health. This article by Eva Epker outlines some of the key challenges facing women in cities around the world, and highlights how placing focus on women’s needs can improve safety, comfort, and well-being. Read the article. 

📰 Can urban design have a gender? In Vienna, the answer is yes. A new community in Vienna, Austria is being built on the urban design philosophy known as ‘gender mainstreaming’. Read the article. 

📰 How the Bentway linear park put Toronto on road to regeneration. The controversial Gardiner Expressway has carved a trail of blight through the city, but the space below it is being transformed into an urban oasis of leisure and culture. Read the article. 

📰 The critical role trees play during heat waves. Modern cities have become concrete jungles with buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorbing and retaining heat. Extreme heat caused by climate change exacerbates this public health issue. Read the article. 

🎙️ ”I joke that I want cities to have good bicycle infrastructure and dismantle the patriarchy”. Léa Ravensbergen, an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth, Environment & Society, joins the Moment, Mentor, Memento podcast to discuss how to make cities more welcoming for cyclists, particularly women. Listen to the podcast. 

📺 A severe summer storm floods Toronto. The storm dumped more than 10 cm of water on Toronto, causing flash floods, closing highways, and knocking out power, generating discussions on urban climate resilience. Watch the video.

On the Blog:

Feel-Good Stories:

👡 Gastown pedestrian pilot begins in Vancouver. After months of construction, the Water Street Pedestrian Pilot Project kicked off on the Canada Day long weekend. Learn more. 

🚴‍♀️ Winnipeg students are excited as new bike trail plan is unveiled. An École Stanley Knowles School teacher set the wheels in motion for a trail to be built near the school, and his students encouraged him to keep working to make it happen. See the trail plans. 

⚧️ The City of North Vancouver’s Community Wellbeing Strategy has been endorsed by City Council. The strategy prioritizes connection, equity, and investment in social infrastructure. See the strategy. 

🚲 Bike sharing sees huge growth across Canada. Montréal’s Bixi reports 2023 ridership numbers being up 31% since 2022, and up 55% since 2021, and Bike Share Toronto has also been seeing double-digit growth in usage. Learn more. 

🚌 Government of Canada announces the Canada Public Transit Fund. Beginning in 2026, the fund will provide up to $3 billion annually to strengthen public transit and active transportation across the country. See the announcement. 

🚶‍♀️City of Edmonton proposes renewing Wîhkwêntôwin to prioritize pedestrians. The City is currently looking for feedback on its design proposals for new bike infrastructure, traffic-calming measures, and linear parks in place of portions of roads. See the design proposals. 

🎨 Downtown Vancouver unveiled a transformative strategy to rejuvenate alleys. In collaboration with hcma, they’ve developed an action-oriented five-year plan to create a new iconic attraction for Vancouver. See the strategy.

Resources:

📖 Something to Read. Gender-Based Heat Map Images of Walking Settings: A Reflection of Lived Experience. This study found that women and men participants appeared to “see” different things. For example, women participants tended to focus on areas outside the walking path, such as bushes and dark areas, whereas men’s focus was on the path ahead. 

📺 Something to Watch. Cities are failing women on bikes, but we can fix it. This video, published by Shifter, delves into why, in almost every city in the world, fewer women than men ride bikes for transportation, why this matters, and what we can do about it. 

✍️ Something to Use. Public Life Study Tool. Happy Cities has publicly launched their award-winning methodology. The tool offers a flexible, low-barrier method to measure changes in health, happiness, and inclusion - and advocate for greater investment in shared spaces.

Around the World:

🇳🇱 Amsterdam secures $150 million euros to fund a bicycle bridge over the IJ River. The bridge, which will connect Amsterdam Noord to the city centre, will provide a seamless connection for between 20-25,000 cyclists per day who currently use a ferry to cross the river. Learn more. 

🌍 Study examined city-wide 30 km speed limit benefits in Europe. This study allows the quantification of the benefits in safety, environment, energy, traffic, livability, and health before and after the speed reductions. Learn more. 

🇬🇧 London Legacy Development Corporation has launched “Creating Places that Work for Women and Girls”. This handbook was developed for local authorities, developers, and designers to ensure places are designed to be equitable for everyone. Learn more.

Events to Attend:

📍Virtual. Indigenous Milk Medicine Week - Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective. The sixth annual celebration is happening from August 8-14, 2024. The theme this year is “Mind. Body. Milk Medicine” and will delve into the vital connection between well-being, mental health, and milk medicine. 

📍North York, ON. Learn to Ride a Bike - Cycle Toronto and the Women’s Cycling Network. Learn to ride workshops for people of all ages are happening throughout the month of August, including on August 3, 10, 17, and 24.

On the Job Board:

Job Openings

Project Manager - Urban Planning and Design at DIALOG - rolling basis. 

Relationships & Outreach Coordinator at Nature-Based Solutions Foundation - apply by August 1, 2023. 

Postdoctoral Fellow at Mobilizing Justice - apply by August 2, 2024. 

Regional Programs Manager at Fora: Network for Change - apply by August 11, 2024. 

Co-op Housing Coordinator at Caroline Co-op - apply by August 13, 2024.

Indigenous Programs Coordinator and Naturalist Teacher at High Park Nature Centre - apply by September 15, 2024.

Volunteer Roles

Director with TTCriders - based in Toronto, ON. 

Volunteer with the Gender Studies Student Collective - London, ON. 

Director with Social Planning Toronto - based in Toronto, ON.

Want to get involved?