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In It Together: Bringing Back Canada's Main Streets

In It Together: Bringing Back Canada’s Main Streets reinforces the value of main streets to cities and communities and assesses how they have been impacted through the COVID-19 public health emergency.

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Main Street Design Challenge Playbook

The Design Challenge Playbook reflects the importance of design in revitalizing our streets and showcases creative and practical interventions to help us build back better than ever.

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COVID Signpost: 200 Days

New CUI research released on the 200th day of COVID-19 pandemic shows that marginalized people and local economies across Canada’s cities are dealing with significant impacts from the pandemic.

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Cities call for united front eliminate homelessness and protect tenants

Convened by CUI and The Shift, the Right to Home Municipal Working Group issues an urgent Call to Action to end homelessness, protect tenants and ensure everyone in Canada has access to a safe, secure, place to call home.

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CityTalk Leadership Lecture

To mark CUI’s 30th anniversary, the Canadian Urban Institute and its Board of Directors are proud to present the first annual CityTalk Leadership Lecture featuring Dan Hill.

Revisit the lecture

A Call to Courage: An Open Letter to Canadian Urbanists

Jay Pitter, award-winning placemaker and CUI Senior Fellow, Equity-Based Placemaking, releases an open letter to Canadian urbanists with a toolkit of resources for responding to anti-Black racism in urbanist practices and conversations

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The Case for a Canadian Urban Policy Observatory

Research recommending the development of a “one-stop-shop” housing the best quantitative and qualitative data on Canada’s cities

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COVID-19 Initiatives

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment, one that calls for us to support our local governments and community agencies, and unleash our collective ingenuity.

Bring Back Main Street

A nationally coordinated research and advocacy campaign about finding the best solutions to ensure our main streets recover from COVID-19 and emerge more resilient than ever
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

CityTalk Canada

Candid conversations, analysis, and commentary on the new urban reality under COVID-19
#COVID19

COVID Signpost

Every 100 days, the Canadian Urban Institute is releasing a cross-Canada research report and convening a series of conversations about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next. These signposts offer important directions for urban Canada about the lingering challenges we must face as a nation.
#COVID19

CityShare Canada

A real-time, crowdsourced platform that houses resources, tools, and stories on how city-builders and residents are responding to COVID-19
#COVID19

CityWatch Canada

An interactive platform that tracks emergency response measures put in place by local governments across Canada, updated daily
#COVID19 #PublicFinance&Governance

Insights & Publications

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COVID Signpost: 200 Days

Research on the impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian cities over the first 200 days of the crisis shows that our experiences with the pandemic have depended largely on who we are, and where we live.
#COVID19

COVID Signpost: Regional Perspectives

As we pass the 200th day of COVID-19, seven Regional Perspectives dive deeper into trends and changes in different parts of the country, and what it means as we look ahead in a time of uncertainty and anxiety, but also of collective purpose in urban Canada.
#COVID19

A Call to Courage: An Open Letter to Canadian Urbanists

Jay Pitter, award-winning placemaker and CUI Senior Fellow, Equity-Based Placemaking, releases A Call to Courage: An Open Letter to Canadian Urbanists, with a toolkit of resources for responding to anti-Black racism in urbanist practices and conversations.

Events

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October 16, 2020

Main Street Action Week: Planning and Urban Design for Pandemic Recovery
Joining CUI host Ariana Holt for our final session of Main Street Action Week: Planning and Urban Design for Pandemic Recovery – are presenter, Rob Leblanc President of Fathom Studio; Jill Robertson, Principal of Landscape Architecture at Dialog Design; Hazel Borys, President of PlaceMakers; Jason Syvixay Principal Planner at the City of Edmonton; and Eric Lucic, Divisional Lead of Regional Planning for City of Halifax. This event is co-presented with Fathom Studio.
#Architecture&UrbanDesign #COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #Infrastructure&Development #MainStreets
Register here

October 15, 2020

Main Street Action Week: Rapid Placemaking for Main Streets
Joining Happy City co-hosts Emma Jones and Mitchell Reardon for our next session of Main Street Action Week: Rapid Placemaking for Main Streets – are Ebrahim Varachia, Principal at Bench Placemaking in Detroit; Andrew Nakazawa, Manager of Placemaking and Public Spaces at the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association; Olivier Legault, Co-founder of WinterLab in Montréal; and Elora Wilkinson, Planner at the Halifax Regional Municipality. This event is co-presented with The Happy City.
#COVID19 #Density&CompleteCommunities #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets
Register here

October 14, 2020

Main Street Action Week: Small Business-Friendly Policy for Main Streets
Joining CUI host Andre Cote for our next session of Main Street Action Week: Small Business-Friendly Policy for Main Streets – are presenters John Archer, Chief Development Officer at 360 Collective and Judy Morgan, Principal at 360 Collective; Dr. Alexandra Flynn, University of British Columbia;  Judy Lam, Manager of Commercial Districts and Small Business for the City of Hamilton; Chris Rickett, Director of Municipal and Stakeholder Relations at the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation; and Antoinette Rodrigue, Chargée de projet, Développement et innovation, Association des sociétés de développement commercial de Montréal. This event is co-presented with 360 Collective.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #Infrastructure&Development #MainStreets
Register here

CUI is Canada’s Urban Institute

The Canadian Urban Institute is the national platform that houses the best in Canadian city building – where policymakers, urban professionals, civic and business leaders, community activists and academics can learn, share and collaborate with one another from coast to coast to coast. Through research, engagement and storytelling, our mission is to ensure Canada builds vibrant, equitable, livable and resilient cities. (Registered charity #121844419 RR000)
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