The 1st annual Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference, organized by the Housing for Health Project and its partners, is a 1-day conference providing participants with a unique opportunity to learn about the built environment, and planning for healthier communities. The Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference aims to enhance healthier planning, development, design, and construction in our towns and cities provincially and nationally. Strategies for building healthier communities have also been shown to have co-benefits for improving accessibility, the environment and the economy.
Our meeting event reminder and zoom link has been sent to all registered attendees February 23, 2021 at 3:15 pm (MST).
Event Details
The annual conference shares evidence-based strategies and practice-informed innovations for improving our buildings, neighbourhoods, streets and communities for Healthy Living, including Active Transportation and Active Recreation, Healthy Food and Beverage Access, and Social Connections. There will also be opportunities for connecting with other multi-sector attendees. The Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference will feature expert Keynote presentations and multi-sector panels featuring national and international speakers.
Agenda
Below is our agenda for this virtual half-day meeting, exploring new ways to plan and design our buildings, neighbourhoods, streets and communities to promote the health and well-being of the population!
Opening Remarks by Minister, Mayors, Councillors, Alberta Health Services, University of Alberta, and other Invited Guests
Including:
Mosom Rick Lightning, Elder in Residence for Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta - Prayer and Opening Remarks
Dr. Walter Dixon, PhD, Interim Vice-President (Research and Innovation), University of Alberta
Honourable Josephine Pon, Minister of Seniors and Housing
Her Worship Maryann Chichak, Mayor Town of Whitecourt
His Worship Don Iveson, Mayor, City of Edmonton
Reeve Paul McLauchlin, Ponoka County, and Rural Municipalities of Alberta President
Tanya Thorn, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Director of Towns South, and Councillor for the Town of Okotoks (on behalf of His Worship Barry Morishita, Mayor, City of Brooks, and AUMA President)
Dr. Verna Yiu, MD, FRCPC, President and CEO of Alberta Health Services
Dr. Richard Lewanczuk, MD, FRCPC, Professor at University of Alberta, and Senior Medical Director, Health System Integration at Alberta Health Services
Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta
Dr. Narmin Kassam, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta
Introduction from Dr. Karen Lee, MD, MHSc, FRCPC on Housing for Health
Overview of Health and the Built Environment, and the Housing for Health Initiative
Links:
Introduction of Keynote 1 and Panelists
Dr. Laura McDougall, MD, FRCPC, Senior Medical Officer of Health/Senior Medical Director, Population and Public Health (PPH), Alberta Health Services
Keynote 1: Improving Social Connections in our Communities
Speaker: Nadha Hassen, MPH, HBSc (Architectural Design), Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University
Website Link: nadhahassen.com
Twitter Link: Connect on Twitter
Panel 1: Improving Social Connections in our Communities
Panelists:
Laura Cunningham-Shpeley, Executive Director, Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues
Chris Dulaba, RPP, MCIP, Placemaker, Beljan Development Corporation
Charito Gailling, M. Ed, BA, Project Manager, Healthy Built Environments, Population and Public Health, BC Centre for Disease Control
Tanya Thorn, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Director of Towns South, and Councillor for the Town of Okotoks
Moderator:
Robert J. Summers, PhD, RPP, MCIP, Associate Director, School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Alberta, and Academic Director, University of Alberta Sustainability Council
Networking Breakout Discussion
Opportunity for Networking; Discussion Questions from Keynote 1
Introduction of Keynote 2 and Panelists
Sandeep Agrawal, PhD, AICP, MCIP, RPP, Professor and Director, School of Urban and Regional Planning, and Associate Chair, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta
Keynote 2: Designing a Fit NYC – Reimagining the Public Realm to improve Health and Wellbeing
Speaker: Jeffrey Shumaker, AICP, Director of Urban Planning, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), and Former Chief of Urban Design for City of New York
Panel 2: Improving Public Realm for Health and Wellbeing
Panelists:
Glinis Buffalo, RPP, MCIP, Director of Land Use and Environmental Planning, Treaty 8 First Nations, Alberta Professional Planners Institute Councillor
Tony Flores, BA, Advocate for Person with Disabilities, Government of Alberta
Eleanor Mohammed, RPP, MCIP, EP, President, Commonwealth Association of Planners; Past President, Canadian Institute of Planners
Kim Petrin, Branch Manager, Development Services, Urban Form and Corporate Strategic Development, City of Edmonton
Moderators:
Troy Pavlek and Mack Male, hosts of Speaking Municipally published by Taproot Edmonton
Links: https://speakingmunicipally.taprootedmonton.ca and https://edmonton.taproot.news
Opportunity for Audience Questions and Comments
Facilitated by H4H Team, and Responses from Dr. Karen Lee and others
Agenda
To preview or download a copy of the full agenda please click below
Preview Document
Professional Development Credits
Professional Development Credits
The Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference (virtual) has applied for professional development credits/continuing education credits to provide our attendees.
The following professional development credits/continuing education credits can be earned and collected from the associations below for attending the conference:
● 4.00 Professional Development Credits (PDC) from the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA)
● 3.00 Professional Development Hours (PDH) from the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors towards the Continuing Professional Competencies Program (CPC) using the CPC Code CPC-2021-002
● For other professional development credits/continuing education credits, such as for Planners, Architects, Physicians, Other Health Professionals, etc., please check with your respective associations/accrediting bodies about counting Conference attendance as Self-Directed or Unstructured Learning Hours.
If you require Conference documents to submit to your accrediting body, please email Housing for Health at [email protected].
Keynote Speakers
This year’s inaugural conference will explore emerging innovations in the planning and design of cities, municipalities and communities. Keynote presentations and panels will explore two topics:
- Improving the Public Realm for Health and Well-being - Jeffrey Shumaker
Jeffrey’s talk will focus primarily on the transformation of New York City during the Bloomberg administration. Across the city’s five boroughs, the city’s public realm was reimagined in ways never seen before and was the result of a unique collaboration across city agencies and disciplines including planning, transportation, parks and public health. Pedestrian plazas were carved out of streets once dominated by cars, including the iconic Times Square, and once-derelict waterfronts and abandoned infrastructure were transformed into precedent-setting parks and playgrounds open and accessible to all. In addition to projects, this unique collaboration also resulted in precedent-setting city-wide initiatives including the Active Design Guidelines, which for the first time linked the planning and design of the city’s built environment with public health. The talk will end with a few examples of projects Jeffrey is currently working on at BIG that build on his prior public sector experience and strive toward making NYC the most livable — and fit! — city in the world.
- Improving Social Connections in our Communities - Nadha Hassen
At a time when loneliness, isolation and mental health burden are rapidly increasing, what is the role of the built environment in promoting social connection? How can we develop and sustain connected, inclusive communities that enhance social belonging and social support?This presentation will share evidence-informed actions and promising interventions for improving social connection through the built environment at different levels - across buildings, sites and neighbourhoods. By highlighting tangible examples that researchers, policymakers and practitioners such architects, developers, urban planners, public health professionals and decision-makers can implement, we can glean insights into creating spaces, places and environments that increase social connection.
Jeffrey Shumaker
,
/e/fit-cities-fit-towns-canada-conference
AICP, Director of Urban Planning, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), and Former Chief of Urban Design for City of New York
Jeffrey Shumaker, AICP, has been working at the intersection of architecture and city planning for more than twenty years, in both the public and private sectors, focusing primarily on the design of the public realm. Jeffrey is currently serving as the Director of Urban Planning at the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) where he is working on many of the firm’s large-scale urban design projects including BiodiverCity in Malaysia, Toyota Woven City in Japan and a Public Realm Plan for Downtown Brooklyn. In addition to his private sector experience, Jeffrey also served as the Chief Urban Designer for the City of New York. For almost ten years, beginning under Mayor Bloomberg and Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden, Jeffrey worked to ensure a high level of design quality on public spaces across the city’s five boroughs and helped shape plans for neighborhoods as diverse as Coney Island in Brooklyn, Hudson Yards and the High Line in Manhattan, and Long Island City in Queens. He also played a key role in developing many citywide initiatives including the city’s first-ever Urban Design Principles, Street Design Guide, the NYC Plaza Program and the award-winning Active Design Guidelines. Jeffrey holds dual Masters Degrees in Architecture, Planning and Urban Design from MIT, is the recipient of numerous awards in urban design and planning, and teaches and lectures frequently.
Nadha Hassen
,
/e/fit-cities-fit-towns-canada-conference
MPH, HBSc (Architectural Design), Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University
Nadha Hassen is a doctoral candidate and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University. Her research, writing and projects explore health equity in different environments, and her doctoral work focuses on examining the link between urban green spaces and mental health and wellbeing for racialized populations, by exploring concepts like safety, access and belonging.
Nadha’s multidisciplinary academic trajectory has enabled her to take a critical approach to understanding and tackling the complex relationships between diverse communities, their environments, and the impacts on their health. She has a Master of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, specializing in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences. During this time, she completed the CIHR Strategic Training Program in Public Health Policy and the Community Development Collaborative Program. Prior to her degree in public health, she received her Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto, majoring in Architectural Design.
Nadha's website and Twitter links: