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It's time to make cycling safer: Ontario's doctors
by Beth McKechnie 11 Aug '11

11 Aug '11

It’s Time to Make Cycling Safer: Ontario’s Doctors*Toronto, August 10, 2011*- The most recent report on cycling injuries revealed that in 2009, there were 26,000 emergency department visits and over 1,300 hospitalizations in Ontario. With increasing interest in cycling across the province, Ontario’s doctors are urging the provincial government to make cyclists’ safety a priority. Dr. Stewart Kennedy, President of the Ontario Medical Association, released a comprehensive and in-depth report, “Enhancing Cycling Safety in Ontario<https://www.oma.org/Resources/Documents/OMACyclingPaper09-08-2011.pdf>,” before he cycled through downtown Toronto to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike event. The report included a number recommendations aimed at increasing cyclists’ safety. Among the recommendations, Ontario’s doctors are calling for: - The provincial government to develop policy and programs, including funding, to facilitate safe cycling, and for municipal governments to redouble their efforts to build much-needed cycling infrastructure; - Connected networks of roads with paved shoulders in rural settings, to allow for the much needed separation between cyclists and fast-travelling vehicles on rural roads; - The Ontario Drivers’ Manual to be revised to include a comprehensive section on vehicle-bicycle interaction, and furthermore that the Ontario’s Drive Test include this in the examination of new drivers; - Ongoing delivery of bicycle safety education for young children through such programs as Can-Bike, and that such training be mandatory for all Ontario primary school students; and - Education material for both drivers and cyclists that emphasizes intersection-specific dangers. A safer environment for cycling is crucial to creating a healthier population. Ontario’s doctors want to make sure that Ontarians feel safe when riding their bicycles. For the complete list of recommendations from “Enhancing Cycling Safety in Ontario” please visit www.oma.org * Quotes *“Two-thirds of Canadians are inactive, putting them at greater risk of chronic disease. Cycling is a great a way to stay fit and a way for people of all ages to add essential physical activity to their daily lives and improve their health.” *Stewart Kennedy, MD, President of the Ontario Medical Association *“The debate about bicycle infrastructure is so often politically driven, but should really be about the health of the population and safety of those who choose to cycle. Ontario’s doctors are committed to working with the province and municipalities to create a safer Ontario for our cyclists.” *Stewart Kennedy, MD, President of the Ontario Medical Association Quick Facts * - Annually more than 2,000 cyclists are injured in vehicle-bicycle collisions alone; - 68 per cent of car-bike collisions happen at intersections and these most frequently involve children riding off of the sidewalk; and - In the past five years cycling fatalities from these collisions have averaged 20 per year. For more information please contact: OMA Media Relations at (416) 340-2862 or toll-free at 1-800-268-7215 ext. 2862 www.oma.org @Ontariosdoctors <http://twitter.com/#%21/OntariosDoctors>

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I like this Mayor's stance on parking in bike lanes
by Erik Dickson 10 Aug '11

10 Aug '11

If only... http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/mayor-lithuania-crushes-car-tank- parking-bike-lane-204422571.html Regards, Erik Dickson WE'VE MOVED Suite 1120 201 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3B 3K6 ph: (204) 927-3444 ext. 242 fax: (204) 927-3443 web: www.scatliff.ca blog: http://scatliff.tumblr.com Please consider our environment before printing this message.

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Bicyclist harassment outlawed by LA City Council
by Beth McKechnie 08 Aug '11

08 Aug '11

Bicyclist harassment outlawed by Los Angeles City Council New law makes it a crime for drivers to threaten cyclists verbally or physically. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bicycle-law-20110721,0,3219222.story By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times July 21, 2011 The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday passed a pioneering new law intended to protect bicyclists from harassment by motorists. The ordinance, which backers described as the toughest of its kind in the nation, makes it a crime for drivers to threaten cyclists verbally or physically, and allows victims of harassment to sue in civil court without waiting for the city to press criminal charges. Its passage comes one day after a 63-year-old bicyclist was struck and killed by a car on a downtown street — an incident that bicycle advocates say underscores the dangers cyclists face. The new law is the latest bicycle-friendly measure to hit L.A., where an increasingly vocal community of activists has been calling for more protections. Several of them showed up at City Hall on Wednesday to share stories of harassment; they described motorists who threw objects, shouted insults and tried to run them off the road. As the number of cyclists on L.A. streets has swelled — local census data from 2008 show that about 13,000 commute to work on bikes, a 48% increase over the last eight years — so too have conflicts between motorists and bicyclists. Some motorists have accused cyclists of flouting traffic laws, while cyclists have complained that they are treated like second-class citizens. The new law allows cyclists to sue in civil court and collect up to three times their damages, plus attorney's fees. Ross Hirsch, a lawyer who helped craft the law, said the potential for high compensation will make attorneys more likely to take on cyclists as clients. Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, said no other city offers bicyclists an equivalent civil recourse. "It's a groundbreaking move," he said. L.A. lawmakers have garnered national attention with several bike-friendly measures in the last two years. In 2011, the Los Angeles Police Department<http://www.latimes.com/topic/crime-law-justice/police/los-angeles-police-de…>convened a bicycle task force and launched new training that acquaints officers with laws that protect cyclists, including traffic codes that relate to bicycle lanes and rights of way. And earlier this year, the city passed an ambitious new bicycle master plan<http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2010/10-2385-S2_MISC_07-11-2011.pdf>that calls for the paving of more than 200 miles of new bicycle routes every five years. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/bill-rosendahl-PEPLT007508.topic>, who championed that plan and wrote the new anti-harassment law, said, "It's about time cyclists have rights." He became an advocate for the community in 2008 after two cyclists pedaling on a curvy road in his Brentwood district were seriously injured when a driver slammed on his brakes in front of them. The motorist, physician Christopher Thompson, was convicted of numerous charges, including assault with a deadly weapon. At the state level, legislators are considering a law that would require drivers to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space while passing. Senate Bill 910 is cosponsored by the city of Los Angeles, and it has won the support of local politicians, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/antonio-villaraigosa-PEPLT007500.topic>, who recently launched a "Give Me Three!" safety campaign. Villaraigosa knows how dangerous riding a bicycle can be. Last summer, he bruised his head and shattered his elbow when he was jolted off his bike by a turning taxicab. *kate.linthicum(a)latimes.com* Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times <http://www.latimes.com/>

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Feel Good Story: Winnipeg Bike Valet
by Anders Swanson 08 Aug '11

08 Aug '11

I though you would be interested in seeing a picture of people in Bombers' jerseys holding their bikes and waiting in line at a bike valet: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Relax-car-culture-its-gonna-b… I spoke to David on Saturday and he told me that his numbers of bikes parked at Bomber's games have doubled since starting up just a year ago. Only 120 or so, but he keeps having to bring more racks and steal more space to make room at the site. (Although 120 may seem like an insignificant # compared to overall attendance, the # is growing rapidly....and 120 bikes represents alot of parking spaces, no matter what way you look at it. (Using the standard size on wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_space>, it seems to works out to 21,600 sq. ft. (or half an acre) of asphalt saved.) ..now if we can just find a way to weld tailgates on all bikes, we'd be set. Regards, Anders For more info, or to volunteer, please visit: http://www.bicyclevaletwinnipeg.ca/

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Mark your calendar! Aug 17 webinar: Designing Bridges for Active Transportation
by Beth McKechnie 04 Aug '11

04 Aug '11

Bike to the Future and Green Action Centre invite you to join us for this webinar being presented by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP): * *Location:* EcoCentre boardroom (303 Portage Ave, 3rd floor)* * * ** ** *Designing and Retrofitting Bridges for Active Transportation* *Wednesday, August 17 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Central Time *** Bridges are highly visible and symbolic pieces of infrastructure; they act as gateways and when done right can showcase a city's commitment to creating great places for bicycling and walking. With national attention on the USA's degrading and deficient infrastructure, bridge repair and rehabilitation will be a major engineering focus in coming years. This represents a historic opportunity to incorporate bicycle and pedestrian facilities in bridge design for future generations. Engineers, planners, advocates, and agency staff at all levels of government should attend this webinar to get up to speed on the policy, planning and design issues specific to building bridges that meet goals for supporting and increasing active transportation. Attendees will learn: • to identify the role of bridges in bicycle and pedestrian networks as critical links for accessibility between trip generators and popular destinations; • to define bicycle and pedestrian issues that arise during bridge rehabilitation in order to increase bicycling and walking mode share and safety; • to identify facility designs that safely manage transitions from different facility types, as well as how to select the appropriate cross section (i.e. how to divide space among different roadway users); • to recognize that bridge rehabilitations often involve multiple jurisdictions, and to discuss the complexities and lessons learned from working with numerous agencies and stakeholders. Examples will be taken from Massachusetts' accelerated bridge retrofit program in the Charles River Basin. Click on this link<http://www.apbp.org/link.asp?e=jessie@greenactioncentre.ca&job=426763&ymlin…>to learn the background about LivableStreets Alliance's Charles River Better Bridges Campaign. Click here<http://www.apbp.org/link.asp?e=jessie@greenactioncentre.ca&job=426763&ymlin…>to read the League of American Bicyclists' policy report, *Bridging the Gaps in Bicycling Networks: An advocate's guide to getting bikes on bridges*. Presenters are Jacqueline Douglas, Director, LivableStreets Alliance, and Nick Jackson, the Regional Office Director for Toole Design Group in Boston. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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Bikeshare makes for a nice ride in Minneapolis
by Beth McKechnie 03 Aug '11

03 Aug '11

Bikeshares are popping up across North America, with Montreal's Bixi<https://montreal.bixi.com/>being the first. Here's a short video on the success of Minneapolis's system called Nice Ride <https://www.niceridemn.org/> (purchased from Bixi), which is now one year old. One thing to keep in mind is that bikeshares work best in cities with significant amounts of bike infrastructure (bike lanes, separated on-road bike paths, pathways, etc). http://www.grist.org/biking/2011-08-01-bikeshare-makes-for-a-nice-ride-in-m… cheers, Beth

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NYC Spring Bike Counts Show Steady Growth of 14 Percent
by Beth McKechnie 03 Aug '11

03 Aug '11

Spring Bike Counts Show Steady Growth of 14 Percent by Noah Kazis <http://www.streetsblog.org/author/noah-kazis/> on July 28, 2011 http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/07/28/spring-bike-counts-show-steady-growth… *The growth of cycling in New York City shows no signs of letting up.* The Department of Transportation’s latest count of cyclists entering the center of the city posted a 14 percent increase this spring<http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c7…>compared to last spring. If the trend holds up for the rest of 2011, it will mark the fifth consecutive year<http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/commuter_cycling_indicator_and_da…>of double digit growth. “More and more New Yorkers are choosing to get around town by bicycle, and by creating more bike lanes, we’re giving New Yorkers the option to safely choose to bike,” said Mayor Bloomberg in a statement. “It’s the City’s responsibility to adjust to trends in commuting and ensure our streets are safe for everyone on the road, and by improving our street network and strengthening enforcement of traffic laws, we’ve made our streets safer than ever – for everyone.” As noted by Andrea Bernstein at Transportation Nation<http://transportationnation.org/2011/07/28/breaking-new-york-city-biking-is…>, the new numbers were released by the mayor’s office, not the Department of Transportation. That, along with Bloomberg’s statement, is an encouraging sign that the mayor is embracing the increase in cycling as a major achievement — perhaps in recognition of the broad public support for expanding the bike network<http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/07/28/bike-lanes-more-popular-than-god/> . According to the DOT count, the number of commuter cyclists this spring rose 62 percent compared to the spring of 2008. Since 2000, the number has increased by 262 percent. Until now the city has released the annual screenline counts all at once each fall. DOT says they will now release the counts more frequently. One thing to look for in the next release: How the Manhattan Bridge bike detour<http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/07/18/wanted-better-protection-for-thousand…>, which includes several harrowing blocks on the Bowery, is affecting bike commuting over that bridge and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge. The screenline count, which the city has been collecting for decades, has its advantages and disadvantages. By counting the number of cyclists crossing the East River bridges, on the Hudson River Greenway at 50th Street, and at the Staten Island Ferry, the city captures a certain set of trips that doesn’t necessarily reflect the full citywide picture<http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/04/27/how-many-new-yorkers-bike-each-day/> . Census data actually showed cycling decreasing<http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/10/01/did-nyc-bike-commuting-decrease-in-20…>citywide in 2008 and 2009, but the Census has its own flaws. It only tracks people’s primary commuting mode, hiding non-work trips and people who commute by bike less than half the time. The numbers DOT announced today, in contrast, count actual, observed bike trips.

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Transportation and social justice: The sentence is in on the Raquel Nelson case
by Beth McKechnie 02 Aug '11

02 Aug '11

Transportation and social justice: The sentence is in on the Raquel Nelson case by Sarah Goodyear <http://www.grist.org/people/Sarah+Goodyear> 26 Jul 2011 1:13 PM http://www.grist.org/transportation/2011-07-26-the-raquel-nelson-case-and-t… Could the Raquel Nelson case be a turning point in the way pedestrian rights are seen in this country? I write this shortly after the sentencing in Nelson's case. In case you haven't heard of her, Nelson is the Atlanta-area single mother who was convicted of vehicular homicide after her 4-year-old son was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver who later admitted to drinking and being on painkillers. Nelson and her three children, ages 9, 4, and 2, were trying to get from a bus stop to their apartment complex directly across a busy road, and there was no crosswalk or pedestrian signal to protect them. It was a shocking, and fatal, case of bad street design<http://www.grist.org/infrastructure/2011-07-20-when-design-kills-the-crimin…>. Such autocentric design is only too common around the country<http://www.grist.org/sprawl/2011-07-21-pedestrians-and-transit-riders-theyr…>; in this case, it was compounded by a mystifyingly aggressive prosecution. Today, in Cobb County State Court, Nelson was sentenced to 12 months probation and 40 hours community service<http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/mom-gets-choice-in-1042791.html>. Crucially, the judge also offered her an alternative: A new trial that would clear her of wrongdoing in the heartbreaking case. I'm waiting for word on which course she chooses. No matter what, the sentence is far better than the three years in prison she could have gotten. But why was Nelson in that courtroom to begin with? Nelson's conviction earlier this month on the vehicular homicide charge<http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/pedestrian-convicted-of-vehicular-1014879.html>, and the relatively light sentence received by the driver in the case (he got off with just hit-and-run charges, resulting in six months served and probation) attracted outrage from around the country. Advocacy groups like Transportation for America (T4A) took up the cause immediately. T4A's David Goldberg wrote a powerful blog post on the case<http://t4america.org/blog/2011/07/18/prosecuting-the-victim-absolving-the-p…>, following up on reporting by Tanya Snyder at Streetsblog Capitol Hill<http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/07/14/mother-convicted-of-vehicular-homicide…> . Over at Change.org, Eliza Harris of Orlando, Fla<http://twitter.com/#%21/@myurbangen>., started a petition in support of Nelson<http://www.change.org/petitions/cobb-county-ga-release-grieving-mother-of-h…>that also called for a crosswalk in the place where her son, A.J., was killed. Yesterday morning, the petition had about 58,000 signatures. By the time the sentencing happened, that number had jumped to about 140,000. That big boost in the last 24 hours before Nelson's sentencing is probably due in large part to her appearance on the *Today *show<http://www.grist.org/cities/2011-07-25-mother-facing-jail-in-sons-jaywalkin…>. And this is what gives me hope: that a mainstream outlet like the *Today*show, with its mass audience and its incredible reach, even saw this as a story. Could it be that this country might finally be waking up to the idea that access to affordable, reliable, safe transportation is a serious public concern -- a matter of civil rights and full enfranchisement in our society? Today, Wired's Autopia blog ran a piece entitled "Transportation as a Civil Rights Issue<http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/07/transportation-as-a-civil-rights-issue/>." It follows up on a report from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights <http://www.civilrights.org/transportation/> about transportation equity as a central issue of social justice: The way the Conference sees it, access to transportation is key to connecting the poor, seniors and those with disabilities to jobs, schools, health care and other resources. It is essential to widening opportunities for all. Many of us take our mobility for granted, but getting around can be a real challenge for millions of Americans. This is a key issue as Congress considers the surface transportation reauthorization bill, which essentially maps out federal transportation spending and priorities for the next six years. "Smart and equitable transportation systems connect us to jobs, schools, housing, health care services -- and even to grocery stores and nutritious food," Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Conference, said in testimony presented to the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee<http://www.civilrights.org/archives/2011/04/1198-transportation-equity.html>. "But millions of low-income and working-class people, people of color and people with disabilities live in communities where quality transportation options are unaffordable, unreliable, or nonexistent." Transportation systems, and streets, need to be not only smart and equitable They also need to be safe. According to the Leadership Conference's report, Hispanic pedestrians suffer a death rate 62 percent higher, and African Americans almost 70 percent higher, than non-Hispanic whites. Several months ago, I spoke to Angela Glover Blackwell of PolicyLink<http://www.grist.org/article/2010-10-29-angela-glover-blackwell-talks-about…>about the connection between transportation and social justice. When I ran into her recently at the Ford Foundation forum on "The Just City<http://www.grist.org/cities/2011-07-15-building-better-cities-so-people-can…>," I told her how often I have had occasion to reference our conversation. Here's what she told me then: [M]ost of the civil rights struggle in this country has centered around transportation, in one way or another, starting with *Plessy v. Ferguson *[in 1896]*.* That had to do with access to train cars. Then we have Rosa Parks sitting down on a bus. We had the Freedom Riders trying to do something to show that black people ought to be able to ride a bus across jurisdictions, they ought to be able to ride through the South on a bus without having to go to the back of the bus. The whole urban renewal, which people often call "black removal," because that's what happens, in the 60s, was a fight around highways coming in, going right through communities that had been vibrant, often destroying the financial district in an African-American community. So if you go all the way from *Plessy v. Ferguson* right up to the urban renewal, you will see that the fights have often been around transportation, and how transportation decisions have been made. It seems to me that the Raquel Nelson case has taken a place, however small, in this historic tradition. Maybe that's too optimistic. But at least it's a beginning. Sarah Goodyear is Grist's cities editor. She's also on Twitter<http://twitter.com/buttermilk1> . Mother convicted in son’s street-crossing death speaks out on Today show [VIDEO] http://www.grist.org/cities/2011-07-25-mother-facing-jail-in-sons-jaywalkin…

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Safe, Healthy and Active Transportation Toolkit
by Beth McKechnie 31 Jul '11

31 Jul '11

*Safe, Healthy and Active Transportation Toolkit (U.S.)* http://safestates.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=263#BuiltEnviron… The Safe, Healthy, and Active Transportation Toolkit is comprised of select resources [U.S.] designed to provide public health professionals (particularly those in injury and violence prevention), planners, and others with presentations, seminal articles, case studies, fact sheets, and other sources of information that can be used to support and advance Smart Growth, livability, and improved built environment efforts. The goal of this toolkit is to provide resources and evidence for those that want to reach out to their fellow colleagues in the areas of transportation, land use, and public health to make a stronger case for why *health is a transportation issue*. -- *Beth McKechnie* | Workplace Commuter Options <http://greenactioncentre.ca/>Green Action Centre<http://www.greenactioncentre.ca/> <http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> 3rd floor, 303 Portage Ave | (204) 925-3772 | Find us here<http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/ecocentre-directions-and-travel-options/> Green Action Centre is your non-profit hub for greener living. Support our work by becoming a member<http://greenactioncentre.ca/support/memberships/>

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G&M: What makes a Canadian community great?
by Beth McKechnie 30 Jul '11

30 Jul '11

What makes a Canadian community great? SIRI AGRELL — URBAN AFFAIRS REPORTER Published Thursday, Jun. 30, 2011 11:00PM EDT http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/what-makes-a-cana… When Kerry Jang was growing up, his community was defined by boundaries. His East Vancouver neighbourhood was the indisputable territory of the working class, his Chinese heritage a classification no one seemed willing to hyphenate, even though his parents were second-generation Canadians. “I think their community was pretty much defined by the Chinese community in Vancouver,” he says. “It was very much just keep your head down.” Since then, his world and the notion of community have expanded exponentially. For Mr. Jang, like most Canadians, the term has taken on connotations beyond ethnic background or physical environment, and now refers to the banding together of like-minded individuals. But fundamentally, it’s still about where we live. Now 49, Mr. Jang still lives in East Van, where gentrification has created an urban mosaic of different types, colours classes and castes. Like his neighbours and his neighbourhood, he defies easy categorization. He is a psychiatrist and city councillor, an activist and a father. But when he talks about community now, it isn’t about boundaries, but about how to make where he lives even better. “People confuse neighbourhood engagement with NIMBYism,” he says. “The big change in Vancouver that I’ve seen is that people are actually more involved in solving a problem instead of just opposing something.” Fifteen years ago, a Harvard academic named Robert Putnam wrote about the death of community in an essay called Bowling Alone, later expanded into a much discussed book. In it, he cited American statistics that showed a drastic and steady decline in participation at the neighbourhood level. People weren’t joining their local choral societies and football clubs any more, he found, and they weren’t voting or canvassing for votes, reading their local paper or volunteering at the neighbourhood school. There was no longer a sense of community beyond the actual physical lines that separate one neighbourhood from another. Across Canada, it’s hard to imagine that anyone is still bowling alone. In the time since Mr. Putnam’s findings were published, the urban tide has turned, at least up here, and created a flood of interest in all things local. Recently, when The Globe and Mail asked readers to nominate the best communities in Canada, no one sent us messages about fancy houses or high-tech infrastructure, or places they are living out their comfortable lives in isolation. People who brag about their neighbourhoods today talk about a place where people know one another, where they are loved. These are places, we are told, where you can walk to the bookstore and the grocery store, to your kid’s school and your own office. These are places where green space is not just found around the large “P” marking the nearest multistory parking lot, but where a connection to nature is part of the urban plan. These places are easy to get around, but are not one size or one style. Some are urban, some are rural and some occupy the tree-lined spaces in between. In these communities there is a mix of people of different backgrounds, different ages, different jobs, all of whom take part in the same rituals, from summer festivals<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/what-makes-a-cana…>to evening strolls. Julia Deans, chief executive officer of CivicAction, Toronto’s city-building organization, remembers growing up in a time when community development was dominated by wealthy, Anglo-Saxon families such as the Bassetts and Eatons. “They really led the community investment and put in place some of the big institutions that have served us as a community since,” she says. Now, she sees the city’s institutions being built by people with such names as Singh and Chang, reflecting a changing population and its needs. “We’re building a new kind of community that equally reflects where the new power and leadership fits,” she explains. *WALKABILITY IS KEY* Even if Canadian communities are populated by a different mix of people today, what those people want has not changed, says John Tory, a former Toronto mayoral candidate and CivicAction chair. “If I go back to thinking about what mattered when I was a little boy, it was the park at the end of our street, where we had a hockey rink in the winter, and the local churches, where we had Cub Scouts, and the public school where I went,” he says. “If you think about what was important, it was that sense that you lived in a safe place with nice places to go and play. I don’t think it’s much different now.” What has changed, says Ken Greenberg, an urban planner and author of Walking Home: The Life and Lessons of a City Builder, is the map of where those places can be found. Gone is the idea that quality neighbourhoods must be built around large suburban yards or that anywhere worth living has a two-car garage. “There’s a big difference between passing someone in the driving lane of an arterial and passing them on the sidewalk, where you make eye contact,” he explains. Today, the focus in urban planning boils down to one word: walkability. A strong community is one where you can walk to all the things you need: the grocery store, school, public park and pub, whether you’re in the heart of the city or a small town. “To me, the key is to have that combination of things in close proximity and in variety, not to have things that are homogeneous,” Greenberg says. Lenore Swystun, a Saskatoon-based community planner and urban consultant, believes the country is also shifting back to a sense that neighbourhoods must includes a shared outdoor space where communing with nature and one another goes hand in hand. “Whether you’re in an urban environment or a remote rural environment, that call back to the natural landscape is very profound,” she says. “It’s going back home, so to speak.” *COMMUNITY IS INCLUSIVITY* But in Canada, building a real sense of community will always be more complicated than marking off green space and strolling to the local farmer’s market. Where we live is all tangled up with who we live among, and for neighbourhoods to work, everyone must be welcome to participate. Leslie Spillett of the Winnipeg-based, First Nations non-profit Ka Ni Kanichihk, says her group is trying to build a sense of community that allows native people to feel good about who they are while also bonding them to the rest of the country. “For me, healthy community is being fully accepted for everything we have brought to this country and what we continue to contribute, but also fully accepting ourselves as well,” she says. In Nova Scotia, 24-year-old Swantje Jahn is trying to make her city more accepting of newcomers through her work as the community engagement co-ordinator for the Halifax Refugee Clinic. The office helps about 25 new arrivals each year, many of whom were persecuted, and arrived with no real experience of what a home can be. The city is too small to have ethnic enclaves, says Ms. Jahn: “There is no Chinatown here.” And so she works to create new communities by introducing her clients to the people of Halifax and vice versa. Next week, she will hold a baby shower for a newcomer from Iraq, the gifts provided by local moms motivated by a shared experience that transcends nationality. “We have so many differences, but at our core, we all want the same thing: We all want to belong,” Ms. Jahn says. “That’s what community is.” *What are some great recent initiatives in community planning?* *Greeting Fluency:* How often do you say good morning to your neighbours? Ever do it in their native tongue? This initiative of former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan and his organization, Global Civic, encourages citizens to learn a few words of greeting and has identified nine basic phrases, such as “‘hello,” “thank you,” and “how are you?” Greeting Fluency provides instructional videos in Cantonese, Punjabi and Tagalog, and is meeting provincial education officials in a bid to bring the program into schools. Mr. Sullivan says that anyone who makes the effort is “really showing respect” – and will see how difficult it is for “people coming here and learning English.” *Awesome Cities:* Created in Boston in 2009, the Awesome Foundation awards monthly $1,000 grants to neighbourhood projects and their creators. Chapters have sprung up in Toronto, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Edmonton, Montreal and Calgary. Awesome Calgary was founded by Lori Stewart, a former eBay<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/what-makes-a-cana…>executive who worked on Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s election campaign. Last month, her group heard pitches on projects ranging from an outdoor demo space for a local circus school to a poetry event and a community walk. The budding acrobats and jugglers won out. *Project Neutral:* In Toronto, two neighbourhoods are vying to become carbon neutral. The pilot program is pitting Riverdale against the Junction (in the friendliest way possible) to see which community can be the first to drastically reduce its carbon footprint. A project of the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance, the project hopes that neighbourhood allegiances can be used to get people involved in making a radical change. *Sustainable subdivisions:* With just 400 residents, Hafford, Sask., is a small town with big ambitions. Located near the Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve, the community developed a plan in 2007 to become one of the most sustainable towns in Canada. The off-grid community is the first in the province to have a growth boundary. “We don’t need to grow, we want to nurture that small sense of place,” said Lenore Swystun, the community planner who helped develop Hafford’s sustainability plan with funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. “It’s a visionary community.”

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