All drivers will be required to take the same strict COVID precautions, and will be masked while doing deliveries.

The CaféTO program aims to provide more outdoor dining areas to help some restaurants and bars create physical distancing for patrons on patios during the summer months. A CaféTO Placement Guidebook has been created to better understand program requirements and other details necessary. Link provides details on requirements for curb lane patios, patios on private property, use of portable heaters & tents/enclosures.

Social enterprises are so important – reducing inequalities, keeping wealth in their communities and empowering the people they support. Polling has shown that people want to support a different and better way of doing business – 76% said they’d prefer to buy products from businesses which have a positive impact on the wider community and 77% stated that they’d like to see more businesses set up which use their profits and businesses operations to have a positive impact on the community. With the social investment market having grown and developed extensively since its creation, there’s now more opportunity for newly set up social enterprises to find investment that is relevant to them, be that start-up capital, blended finance or working capital so that they can grow their products and services enabling more consumers to #buysocial

https://www.goodfinance.org.uk/latest/post/blog/choose-communities-buy-social

The inaugural Thanksgiving campaign dubbed “The Feast” is organized by the community organization BLACQ (Black Leading African Canadian Queens), a group of African Canadian business women who have raised money for scholarships and business grants in the past.

CFIB is undertaking monthly surveys and collating results showing the recovery of Canadian small businesses by province, recovery timelines by sector & why they are experiencing difficulty

Establishments whose dining rooms will remain closed during the 28 days of efforts to counter the second wave of the pandemic will benefit from assistance in promoting their take-out meals and deliveries. On the side of the management of Métro Média, the hope is that the initiative will help support several local players in the restaurant sector through this difficult period.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, 20 artists took part in what they called a “street-level demonstration of love” by painting 25 murals on garage doors, utility boxes, front doors, garden walls and mailboxes of homes in Toronto’s west end.

There’s a lot to consider when designing for winter, but the philosophy is basic: Create places where people want to be, give them a way to get there, and create ‘sticky’ events—events that draw attendees in and give them reasons to stick around—to help people discover new places.

Join the Downtown Business Association, Downtown Edmonton Community League, and partners on the Downtown Recovery Task Force for a huge Downtown Clean-up Event.

On October 23rd between 3-5 pm, Edmontonians will take to the streets to help keep our city clean to the Core. Once complete, help us celebrate the kick-off of winter patio season Downtown! The first 200 registrants will receive a $5 voucher from the DBA redeemable at select Downtown patios that evening. All registrants will receive an e-notice within two days of the event noting their street clean-up assignment and where to pick-up their appropriate clean-up gear courtesy of the City of Edmonton Capital City Clean Up team.

We are making temporary changes to our streets to help residents physically distance and mitigate the risk of COVID-19 to our communities by:

• Room to Move. Repurposing street space for more walking, rolling, and cycling along Beach Ave.
  
• Pop-up Plazas. Creating pop-up plazas so people can gather outside
• Temporary Patios. Approving temporary patios so people can dine out and businesses can continue to serve customers
• Sidewalk Widening. Making more room for walking and queuing along busy streets
• Room to Queue. Making more room to line up and board buses at some key bus stops
• Slow Streets. Calming traffic to make ‘slow streets’ more comfortable for people walking, rolling, and cycling

These measures also support our ongoing effort to create safer streets, limit the effects of climate change, and increase social connection between residents. We are monitoring the impacts of these initiatives and getting feedback from the public to understand what could become longer term.

Each tool you find here was created by neighborhood-specific coalitions of community organizations, architects, engineers, lawyers, and planners. They came together as part of Neighborhoods Now, a rapid-response initiative launched by New York-based nonprofits Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute. This site will continue to be updated with additional designs and strategies from the Neighborhoods Now working groups over time. Detailed reports from each group, posted on the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute websites, provide full context for each resource and greater insight into this collaborative, community-led process.

Contributions will help bring warmth and hope and dignity to marginalized people

The Word On The Street bulletin board is also a place for important news and community announcements, accessible 24-7 in the bookstore window. People without access to the internet can find weekly headlines, jokes and a map of local services. Community agencies can submit program updates or information on events and opportunities, to be added to the display. Send your announcements to streetword@literacycentralvi.org, tell your clients about this resource and stop by to check out the board! Literacy Central Vancouver Island, 19 Commercial Street, downtown Nanaimo.

A team of some 50 volunteers have been putting together hygiene kits and distributing them every night to the growing number of people sleeping in encampments and on Toronto’s streets

Independently owned restaurants, service businesses, retailers, tour operators and experience providers have continued to make Edmonton a place to be proud of, even when business could no longer operate as usual. In fact, many of Edmonton’s trailblazing entrepreneurs have found a way to give back to the community while working to keep their local businesses afloat during these uncertain times. Read on to learn more about the inspiring Edmontonians behind local businesses, and how they are stepping up through creative thinking and a spirit of community. Click here for even more entrepreneurs who are making a difference.

The Change is Brewing Collective aims to give people who are underrepresented in the sector a voice, and help those interested in making beer enter the industry. Half of the proceeds from the Blackberry Freedom beer will be donated to the Blxckhouse, a North Preston-based youth program, and the YMCA on Gottingen Street in Halifax.

The temporary authorization will remain in effect until March 31, 2021. A provincial review of the program during this temporary reform will help government determine the financial costs and benefits of the change.

The City conducted a web survey & also randomly interviewed people in the street. The “pandemic tracks”, these protected cycle paths installed on major arteries in the city, have garnered a very high level of support to the tune of 80%+, despite demonstrations by businesses in some spots. The pedestrianization of certain commercial arteries for the summer period was also greatly appreciated, shows the same survey – between 74 to 83%.This includes the allowances made so that restaurant owners could enlarge their terraces to enable more outdoor seating. 

A jury evaluated the submissions based on feasibility, accessibility, health considerations, material and installation costs, inclusivity, climate comfort, sustainability, and flexibility. A key design principle is making sure the finalists are not only scalable for large and small establishments, but also cost effective for businesses already struggling from the impact of the pandemic. Running a restaurant in the time of COVID requires creativity and consistency to keep everyone healthy. Still, a willingness to pivot and try new off-premise options will help operators execute these restaurant innovations for COVID and stay afloat.

The City of Chicago has prepared a one page guidance document for restaurants and bars to continue operating outdoors safely and responsibly.

Over the next 2 months, Toronto After the First Wave: Measuring Urban Vibrancy in a Pandemic will track the continuing impacts of COVID-19 on the city and Toronto’s road to recovery with respect to public health, prosperity and public life.

Jersey City has worked with the business and residential communities to install temporary parklets throughout the City. To aid local businesses during COVID-19, Jersey City has expanded its Parklet Program by allowing restaurants to apply for parklets to expand outdoor seating. If you are interested in installing a parklet in the parking space in front of your business, please review the Jersey City Parklet Guide and submit an application.  To view the parklets installed in 2020, please refer to our online map. To learn more about the City’s efforts to help local businesses, please visit www.jcnj.org/reopens.

A crowdsourced google document that compiles policy, zoning, design, toolkits, & other interventions to support public health & economic recovery. Managed by Hazel Borys hazel@placemakers.com, Scott Bernstein scottbernsteintoo@gmail.com & Jason Syvixay syvixayjason@gmail.com

A page dedicated to our collective response to Covid’s impact on the public realm and public life, including writings and a “podcast” – #CovidCityStories – a curated collection of audio stories from citymakers all over the world. Find out more about our initiative and record your audio stories of life in the trenches of this pandemic from the lens of a citymaker.

Measures include:

• Several public spaces will be redesigned in keeping with health guidelines, with 1,000 low-cost parking spaces made available at Complexe Desjardins and Palais des congrès to entice drivers.
• Seven large terrasses and public squares will be set up at locations such as Jardins du Centre St-Jax, Place d’Youville and the corner of St-Laurent and René-Lévesque Blvds.
• Pop-up performances — from live music to circus acts and mobile cabaret — will take place on weekends in various locations from Thursday through Oct. 15. More than 150 artists will be involved in giving roughly 200 surprise performances.
• Discounts on various attractions, hotels and restaurants will be offered via the mtl.org website.

Patrons are confined within a social bubble inside of the dome. Each dome can hold up to eight people and no mixing of social bubbles are allowed.

This report documents how drop-ins across Toronto stretched and pivoted to respond to the intensification of the food and water needs for people in the communities they traditionally work with, as well as for people who were new to drop-in spaces. At its core, it seeks to make visible the life-saving work of drop-ins.

During this time, the City will suspend certain code and permit requirements to enable greater use of outdoor space for dining and retail patrons. Safety and accessibility requirements still apply. Details of the specific guidance are available in the LiftUp Local Guidebook for Phase 3.