Covid-19

Cities in the time of COVID-19

This new CUI series of online, candid conversations brings together city builders of all stripes to discuss what’s working, what’s not and what’s next for urban communities across Canada.

Upcoming Discussions

September 29

Are we talking about a revolution? A case for the core

Join us for our next CityTalk, as we explore to the future of downtowns across the country.  This session coincides with the release of our Case of the Core report, which presents three future scenarios to provoke thinking, dialogue, and positive change, based on nine key functions of Canada’s downtown cores, and is the result of CUI’s cross-country Bring Back Main Street initiative to support the recovery efforts of Canada’s downtowns.
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Recent Discussions

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A new normal: What’s next for Canada’s cities post election?

In this CityTalk, we explored what's next for cities across Canada post election. Our panelists joined us from coast to coast and included Merran Smith (Victoria), Founder and Executive Director of Clean Energy Canada, Carol Anne Hilton (Victoria), Chief Executive Officer at Indigenomics Institute and Founder of the Global Center of Indigenomics, Mayor Mike Savage from the City of Halifax and Dale McFee, Chief of Police (Edmonton).
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Getting to Zero: Solving Homelessness

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How can cities address the challenge of encampments?

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What’s next on the urban agenda for Canadian youth?

Building off of the Urban Youth Impact COVID-19 Report that analyzes data from six of the largest Canadian cities and relevant census metropolitan areas including, Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto and Vancouver, we’ll explore how current issues such as race and discrimination, health, employment, cost of living and civic engagement affect youth and hear about their priorities and hopes for the future as we begin the journey to recovery. What do we need to change? And how can we leverage the experience and expertise that youth bring to the table to build more inclusive cities?
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Big Ideas to Close Canada’s Urban Gender Gap

What are the big ideas and specific policy actions that will be needed to close Canada’s gender gap? This event provides a summary of what advocates, experts and policy makers in Canada are currently doing to improve the wellbeing of women and girls – and showcases efforts emerging out of COVID towards achieving gender equity.
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Addressing Canada’s Urban Post-Covid Gender Gap

The first event of “Leading Canada’s ‘shecovery’ from the ground up” virtual events establish the context for the day, providing a close and personal look at the gender gap in Canada’s cities as we emerge from a global pandemic and she-cession. This session takes an intersectional look at what groups of women and girls decision makers need to be most focused on today.
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CityTalk Blog

Original insight, analysis and stories on how local government and communities across Canada are responding to the new urban reality under COVID-19.

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The democratic deficit in Canadian cities during COVID-19

Municipalities across Canada have been faced with some of the most challenging governance issues in the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the decisions most directly affecting the daily lives of Canadians have been made by municipalities. By Anneke Smit, Hana Syed, Aucha Stewart, Terra Duchene, and Michael Fazzari Read the full report here.
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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.
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COVID-19 has exposed how vulnerable Canadian cities really are

Now that we have seen how our cities truly function at their most vulnerable, what possible excuse do we have to not emerge solely committed to fixing them?
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