Happy Cities

Some news: We've decided to release our award-winning Public Life Study tool today, for free! Download the tool today to get started: https://lnkd.in/gJ8N5SYA Why? We know intuitively that shared spaces are critical to our health and wellbeing. But we often lack the data to understand why a particular space is working or not, or whether it is truly inclusive of everyone in a community. Many years ago, we developed a unique Public Life Study tool to start answering these questions. In short, it offers a flexible, low-barrier method for community organizations, planners, and residents to measure changes in health, happiness, and inclusion in shared spaces. We spent years developing and refining the methodology, working with cities from Vancouver to Halifax to measure the impacts of big and small changes, like transforming a street block into a public plaza, or adding a summer events program to a shared space. But we haven’t yet seen impact we want to create. Our Public Life Studies have helped city staff tweak and improve public space projects. But it's not just cities who are doing this work. Many community organizations don't have the resources to hire researchers to assess the great work they are doing. They see impactful changes and hear positive feedback from community members. But funders—and municipalities—often want hard data before they will invest more in community-led projects. We’re releasing our method for free to help gather more evidence on wellbeing in #publicspaces, and to build the case for more placemaking. Because great public spaces are for everyone. #happycities #happycity #placesforpeople #publicspace #placemaking Evergreen Canada Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) Canadian Institute of Planners PlacemakingX Project for Public Spaces Social Life Project Placemaking Canada

🌟 Exciting Opportunity for the Burnaby Community! 🌟 I am thrilled to invite everyone to our Urban Accessibility: Promoting Inclusive Environments Experiential Pop-Up Event on October 18, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Active Studio, Bonsor Community Centre. This family-friendly event is open to all and provides a unique opportunity to engage with urban accessibility through hands-on, interactive stations. Join us to explore maps, data visualizations, and insights gathered from various neighborhoods in Burnaby. This is a chance for community members to experience accessibility challenges firsthand and contribute their perspectives to drive meaningful improvements in urban planning. 💡 Your voice matters! Please share this invitation with your network, especially those who may be interested in accessibility issues. Let’s work together to create a more inclusive community for everyone! For more details and to register for the session, click here: https://lnkd.in/gX7T79rb A special shoutout to Atiya Mahmood and Inclusive MAP- SWAN PROJECT team, and DemSCAPE BC at SFU Department of Gerontology and Madeleine Hebert at Happy Cities for organizing this event! I look forward to seeing you there!

Want to get into placemaking, but don't know where to start? Sometimes the smallest changes are the most impactful. In one example in Calgary, a local community association got a small grant plus support from Home Depot to buy 60 blue adirondack chairs. The association simply placed the chairs around parks, pathways, and other public spaces in the neighbourhood, with QR codes directing people to visit the association’s website and learn more about its activities.  “People love them,” said Lynn Jobe, from the Shawnee-Evergreen Community Association. “When we took [the chairs] away in the fall, people were practically pulling them away from us to say, ‘No, no, we need these here!’ ‘I sit here every day and I have my coffee here,’ or ‘I read a book here’ [....] It wasn’t until we did that chair project that people really understood at a real gut level, ‘Oh, this is what placemaking is. This is how a placemaking project can change how people feel and behave.’” Explore more stories and resources: https://lnkd.in/g4bsxUMA

Come join us at the Livable Cities Forum! We'll be speaking to the benefits of social connection in housing, and touring the recently completed Our Urban Village Cohousing.

Looking forward to sharing Happy Cities Public Life Study tool at the #EvergreenConference this week! Download our free tool to measure health, wellbeing and happiness in the public realm: https://lnkd.in/gdq4uMTc

Places that people want to spend time in strengthen local economies, drawing visitors to main streets and creating opportunities for residents. With open streets and summer patio projects wrapping up for the season, we took a look back at how #placemaking can create stronger, more resilient communities. Written together with Canada's Placemaking Community, this article shares evidence, success stories, and tips on how to create a thriving main street. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/eWktuzd3

Places that reflect local cultures and communities strengthen a sense of belonging and foster social connections. Last month, we hosted a Community Conversation with Canada's Placemaking Community, a space for placemakers to share and reflect on how placemaking can contribute to #reconciliation and centre Indigenous voices, cultures, knowledge, and history of place. We were grateful to be joined at the session by Cory Douglas, a cultural consultant with an architectural and engineering background, a Coast Salish artist, and a Squamish Nation member. Participants in the session explored how city policies and placemaking projects can prioritize and create more space for Indigenous voices, knowledge, and contributions. “This becomes a very playful ground for us to expand on what we’re calling ‘cultural contributions,’” said Douglas. “But that’s the beauty of it, being able to come up with more creative solutions [….] This gets me excited to join the team to be in the room smiling and thinking, ‘What could be done a little bit differently?’” 💡 Read more learnings on supporting reconciliation through #placemaking: https://lnkd.in/gJW2-NHu This article is part of a series exploring the connections between placemaking and community #wellbeing, written by Happy Cities and the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative’s (HCI) Placemaking Community (hosted by Canadian Urban Institute (CUI)). Explore the project resources: https://lnkd.in/gQwfFT6J

Will we see you at the Livable Cities Forum this October? HNC’s Project Director, Michelle Hoar, will moderate a conversation between Madeleine Hebert, Senior Housing Specialist with Happy Cities and a few local planners about design and local government work on Day 2 of the conference, from 3:30-5:00 PM! Let us know if you'll be there! https://lnkd.in/euQWQf_q ICLEI Canada #Multisolving #LCF2024

“Changes to boost social interaction needn't be very expensive, they might just be adding a couple of nice chairs in a common area.” Check out this article featuring Madeleine Hebert: https://lnkd.in/g44ywmTR It focuses on how design tweaks in multi-unit buildings can encourage more social and neighbourly interactions. Happy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective recently published their Building Social Connections Toolkit, sharing design strategies to ensure new homes strengthen health, social connection, resilience and inclusion. https://lnkd.in/gWh_KiZ2   We’re excited to collaborate with both of them in their next phase of work to expand their toolkit with national workshops that highlight the interconnections between design for climate mitigation, social connectivity and more❣️ #SocialConnection #MultiUnitHousing #BC #Resource

New homes can improve housing choices, affordability, and wellbeing all at the same time. Join Happy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective on Oct. 3 for the launch of our new design toolkit on building social connections in multi-unit housing! Register for free! https://lnkd.in/gAA3d7QF This conversation will share: 🏙️ How planners, architects, and housing developers and operators can ensure denser housing supports community resilience and social connection 💡 Design strategies to nurture wellbeing in housing for people of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, household sizes, and incomes 🗨️ Opportunities for deeper engagement with the project