About

CUI’s mission is to work collaboratively with partners to address urgent social, economic, environmental, and cultural challenges while supporting long-term resilience, vibrancy, and prosperity in communities across Canada.

Applied Research
CUI’s Applied Research Lab translates best practices into practical guidance, drawing on data analysis and best practices from across Canada and globally. 

Main Street Canada
CUI’s national platform dedicated to uplifting main streets and downtowns offers data tools and advisory services to support decision-makers.

Program Stewardship
CUI designs and delivers high-impact programs that deliver broad scale objectives on the ground, to deliver resources to where they are needed most and can have the greatest impact.

Partner Convening
CUI is a convener of urban champions and aims to foster meaningful dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across sectors to advance collective progress.

Our vision is for a future where every community is resilient, vibrant, and prosperous.

Resilient

Resilient cities are built to adapt. They respond to climate, economic, and social shifts with flexible infrastructure, community-driven planning, and policies that anticipate change. They are prepared for disruption—and able to recover, evolve, and thrive.

Climate Change & Resilience | Housing, Transit & Infrastructure

Vibrant

Vibrant cities are alive with activity. They create opportunities for people to connect through arts, culture, green spaces, public events, and daily life. These are walkable, welcoming places where creativity, care, and community are present and accessible to everyone.

Placemaking & Culture | Health & Wellbeing | Main Streets & Downtowns

Prosperous

Prosperous cities grow local economies in ways that are inclusive and sustainable. They create good jobs, support entrepreneurship, and invest in long-term stability—ensuring all residents can thrive, regardless of background or income. Equity is central to prosperity: opportunity must be shared.

Local Economic Development | Equity, Inclusion & Reconciliation | Sustainable Communities

Excellence

CUI holds itself to the highest standards, CUI delivers measurable impact through evidence-based approaches and proven practices from across Canada and internationally.

Equity

CUI prioritizes inclusion, reconciliation, and justice by centering diverse perspectives within the organization and its work to reflect and serve all communities, especially those historically excluded from decision-making.

Integrity

CUI’s independence and non-partisanship ensures unbiased, transparent, and principled work that prioritizes the public good.

Collaboration

CUI forges partnerships across public, private, civil society, and community sectors, recognizing that complex challenges require collective effort.

Place-Based

CUI’s work is oriented around place, ensuring that our solutions are grounded in the specific contexts of the places and people we serve.

Responsive

CUI responds with agility to emerging needs and opportunities to ensure our work remains timely, relevant, and community informed.

Scalable

CUI brings on-the-ground insights to a national stage, surfacing local innovations, informing pan-Canadian priorities, and identifying opportunities to scale.

Innovative

CUI’s sightlines across sectors, geographies, and communities allow us to imagine innovative solutions that leverage new technologies and partnerships.

Impactful

CUI develops multi-solving solutions that are practical and immediately implementable to serve short and long-term community needs.

Founded in 1990, the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) was created to serve as Canada’s national platform for urban issues — a place to connect people, share knowledge, and drive solutions to build more resilient, inclusive, and vibrant cities.

CUI emerged at a time when Canada’s cities were facing rapid change and complex challenges. From the beginning, we brought together diverse voices from government, business, community organizations, and academia to tackle critical questions about how our cities grow and thrive.

Over the decades, CUI has led initiatives on topics ranging from downtown revitalization and main street recovery to housing affordability, infrastructure, and climate resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CUI stepped forward to provide real-time support to city leaders across the country, convening hundreds of conversations and creating practical tools to help communities navigate uncertainty.

Today, CUI continues to act as a “do tank,” working side by side with local leaders and partners to turn research into action. We share what works on the ground, help shape policy, and empower communities of all sizes to meet the needs of their residents.

Headquartered in Toronto and active across the country and internationally, CUI is proud to be a trusted voice and catalyst for change in Canada’s urban landscape.