Our Work

Through responsive research, engagement and storytelling, CUI/IUC is building new forms of connective tissue across and within Canada’s communities to build a more vibrant, equitable, livable, and resilient urban Canada. Explore our library of work.
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Coming Up: October 1

COVID Signpost 200 Days: How Do We Realize the Right to Home in the Next 100 Days?
Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our second series of COVID Signpost, 200 Days: How Do We Realize the Right to Home in the Next 100 Days?- are Micheal Vonn, CEO of PHS Community Services in Vancouver; Nakuset, Director at the Native Women’s Shelter in Montreal; Martin Blake, Vice-President at Daniels Corporation in Toronto; Derek Ballantyne, Partner at New Market Funds and Chair of CMHC in Toronto; and Catherine McKenney, City Councillor of Somerset Ward, Ottawa.  
#Business #COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #Infrastructure&Development #MainStreets

Coming Up: September 30

COVID Signpost 200 Days: How Should Our Cities Prepare for Winter?
Joining our guest host Catherine Craig-St-Louis of CUI and Rues Principales for our second series of COVID Signpost, 200 Days: How Should Our Cities Prepare for Winter? - are Olivier Legault, Project Managerat Rues principales and Co-founder, Winterlab; Isla Tanaka, Wintercity Planner at the City of Edmonton; Sheena Jardine-Olade, CoFounder of Night Lab; and Rami Bebawi, CoFounder and Partner at KANVA.
#Business #COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #Infrastructure&Development #MainStreets

Coming Up: September 29

COVID Signpost 200 Days: What is the State of Our Cities at Day 200?
Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our second series of COVID Signpost, 200 Days: What is the State of Our Cities at Day 200? - are Sadhu Johnston, the City Manager at the City of Vancouver; Jay Pitter, an Equity-Based Place-maker in Toronto; Andre Cote, the Acting Director of Research at the Canadian Urban Institute; and Ken Bautista, Partner Makespace Group and Co-Founder of Startup Edmonton.
#Business #COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #Infrastructure&Development #MainStreets

Cities in the Time of COVID-19: How can we leverage the power of design and engagement to make better main streets?

Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our ongoing series of candid conversations – How can we leverage the power of design and engagement to make better main streets? – are Anjuli Solanki, Program Director of The STEPS Initiative; Jason Robbins, Principal Architect at JC Robbins Architecture and 1st Vice President of the RAIC Board; Devin Segal, Director of Landscape Architecture at Fathom Studio; Mitchell Reardon, Experiments, Urban Planning & Design Lead at The Happy City; and Mark Lakeman, Founder of City Repair.
#Architecture&UrbanDesign #COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Cities in the Time of COVID-19: How are restaurants and nightlife adapting to the pandemic?

Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our ongoing series of candid conversations – How are restaurants and nightlife adapting to the pandemic? – are Alicia Scholer, Vice President of the Responsible Hospitality Institute; Matt Webber, owner of Berkeley North; Patrick Watt, Senior Partner, Foodservice and Strategy Expert at J.C. Williams Group; Chef Vikram Vij, owner at Vij's Restaurants group; and Wendy Nicolay, co-owner of Cascade Restaurant Group.

#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #4: Types of Main Streets Across Canada
A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative on the impacts of COVID-19 on different types of main streets across Canada
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #5: New Online Models Helping Main Street Businesses during COVID-19
A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative on how businesses have 'gone digital during COVID-19
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #3: How to Make CECRA Work for Main Street
A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative documenting responses to the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #2: Scan of Provincial Main Street Re-opening Plans
A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative with an at-a-glance summary of the proposed provincial/territorial timelines for re-opening main streets during COVID-19
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #1: Why Main Streets Matter
A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative about what's at stake for our communities and their main streets during COVID-19.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Initiatives

Programs and projects developed with partners to build vibrant, equitable, livable and resilient cities

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Right to Home

Archived

CUI, The Shift, and 14 coast-to-coast partners hosted week of virtual film screenings and live panel discussions from coast to coast about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we (re)imagine the right to home.
#COVID19 #Housing&Homelessness

CityShare Canada

Active

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

Active

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

CityTalk Canada

Active

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

Bring Back Main Street

Active

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

COVID Signpost

Active

With our many partners, CUI is committed to producing COVID Signpost reports every 100 days during this pandemic, until whatever time they are no longer relevant. These signposts offer important directions for urban Canada about the lingering challenges we must face as a nation.
#COVID19

Publications & Tools

Research and tools for action that promote effective urban policies and best practices

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Bring Back Main Street: Block Studies

To better understand how COVID-19 has impacted main streets and businesses, Vancouver City Savings credit union (Vancity), Vancity Community Investment Bank, and the Canadian Urban Institute conducted a series of seven Block Studies in British Columbia and Ontario.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Rapid Placemaking to Bring Back Main Streets

The Pandemic Recovery Toolkit for Local Communities provides examples of programming and interventions, as well provides advice on how to use inclusive process for rapid placemaking. It is can be used by residents, community groups, BIAs/BIDs, and city staff working to revive main streets and core spaces in big cities, suburbs and small towns.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

COVID Signpost 100 Days

Research on the impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian cities over the first 100 days of the crisis shows that our experiences with the pandemic have depended largely on who we are, and where we live.
#COVID19

The Case for a Canadian Urban Policy Observatory

Research calling for the development of a “one-stop-shop” housing the best quantitative and qualitative data on Canada’s cities, as a building block toward greater intergovernmental dialogue on urban priorities.
#COVID19 #PublicFinance&Governance

Environmental Scan of Seniors Social Housing Models

Insights into the delivery models that better connect low- and moderate-income seniors living in social housing with health-related and supportive services
#AgeFriendlyCommunities #Housing&Homelessness

The Ontario Food Terminal: A Priceless Hub in Ontario’s Food Value Chain

An overview of the Ontario Food Terminal, its role in providing Ontario-grown and other fresh produce and horticultural products to the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and an analysis of its locational importance
#Infrastructure&Development

Insights

Briefs and videos featuring original insight, analysis, and stories about what’s working, what’s not and what’s next for urban Canada

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Memos From Main Street #14: Who has the right to reallocated space?

A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative on designing space with the needs and desires of diverse users at the core
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #13: Main Street Faith Buildings: Evolving through COVID-19 and Beyond

A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative on how COVID-19 has affected faith buildings on main street.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #12: A Snapshot of Main Street Commercial Real Estate

A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative on main street commercial real estate.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #11: How COVID-19 Has Impacted our Attitudes, and What it Means for our Main Streets

A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative on how COVID-19 has impacted attitudes about main streets.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #10: Rediscovering Rural Main Streets

A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative from FBM Planning Studio on rural main streets.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Memos From Main Street #9: Safety, Social Inclusion, and the Success of Main Streets

A short brief from the Bring Back Main Street initiative from the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area on safety and inclusion on main streets.
#COVID19 #Downtowns&MainStreets #MainStreets

Events

Forums and events that link city builders to the most effective solutions and ideas

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Coming Up: September 29

COVID Signpost 200 Days: What is the State of Our Cities at Day 200?

Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our second series of COVID Signpost, 200 Days: What is the State of Our Cities at Day 200? – are Sadhu Johnston, the City Manager at the City of Vancouver; Jay Pitter, an Equity-Based Place-maker in Toronto; Andre Cote, the Acting Director of Research at the Canadian Urban Institute; and Ken Bautista, Partner Makespace Group and Co-Founder of Startup Edmonton.
#Business #COVID-19 #Downtowns & Main Streets #Infrastructure & Development #Main Streets
Register here

Coming Up: September 30

COVID Signpost 200 Days: How Should Our Cities Prepare for Winter?

Joining our guest host Catherine Craig-St-Louis of CUI and Rues Principales for our second series of COVID Signpost, 200 Days: How Should Our Cities Prepare for Winter? – are Olivier Legault, Project Managerat Rues principales and Co-founder, Winterlab; Isla Tanaka, Wintercity Planner at the City of Edmonton; Sheena Jardine-Olade, CoFounder of Night Lab; and Rami Bebawi, CoFounder and Partner at KANVA.
#Business #COVID-19 #Downtowns & Main Streets #Infrastructure & Development #Main Streets
Register here

Coming Up: October 1

COVID Signpost 200 Days: How Do We Realize the Right to Home in the Next 100 Days?

Joining CUI host Mary W. Rowe for our second series of COVID Signpost, 200 Days: How Do We Realize the Right to Home in the Next 100 Days?- are Micheal Vonn, CEO of PHS Community Services in Vancouver; Nakuset, Director at the Native Women’s Shelter in Montreal; Martin Blake, Vice-President at Daniels Corporation in Toronto; Derek Ballantyne, Partner at New Market Funds and Chair of CMHC in Toronto; and Catherine McKenney, City Councillor of Somerset Ward, Ottawa.  
#Business #COVID-19 #Downtowns & Main Streets #Infrastructure & Development #Main Streets
Register here