Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference

1st Annual Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference - February 24, 2021

The 1st annual Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference, organized by the Housing for Health Project and its partners, was 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 aimed 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.

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 were opportunities for connecting with other multi-sector attendees. The Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada Conference featured expert Keynote presentations and multi-sector panels featuring national and international speakers.

This year’s inaugural conference explored emerging innovations in the planning and design of cities, municipalities and communities. Keynote presentations and panels explored two topics:

Improving the Public Realm for Health and Well-being - Jeffrey Shumaker, AICP, Director of Urban Planning at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG); former Chief Urban Designer, City of New York
Improving Social Connections in our Communities - Nadha Hassen, MPH, BSc (Architectural Design), Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University; formerly at Wellesley Institute, Public Health Ontario, and Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto

Thank you for joining us for this virtual half-day exploring new ways to plan and design our buildings, neighbourhoods, streets and communities to promote the health and well-being of the population! We hope to see you at next year’s conference (anticipated February 2022). Please check back on this site for next year’s conference information or email hforh@ualberta.ca to be notified when conference registration information is available. All Housing for Health partners and first conference attendees will be notified when more information is available.

Conference Recordings

Introductions, Opening & Closing Remarks

Dr. Karen Lee, Introduction

Mosom Rick Lightning, Opening Remarks

Dr. Walter Dixon, Opening Remarks

Honourable Josephine Pon, Opening Remarks

Her Worship Maryann Chichak, Opening Remarks

Reeve Paul McLauchlin, Opening Remarks

His Worship Don Iveson, Opening Remarks

Tanya Thorn, Opening Remarks

Dr. Verna Yiu, Opening Remarks

Dr. Richard Lewanczuk, Opening Remarks