Blog comparing Calgary and Columbus with respect to the redevelopment of its downtown over the past 20+ years.  There are some similarities to what Columbus faced 30 years ago and what Calgary is facing today.

The goal of the 2021 Community Sustainability campaign is to reciprocate local giving; this time, offering a helping hand to the Edmonton-based businesses that have supported the community. By committing to becoming a monthly donor for Boyle Street Community Services, donors will also be supporting a local business of their choice. Donors will be sent a gift card equal to the value of the first month’s donation to the local business of choice

A new pop-up park is taking root downtown! Enjoy the fresh spring air at Root 107 – an inclusive public space filled with colourful mural art, greenery, and unique seating areas made from recycled materials. Grab some takeout at one of the neighbouring restaurants or food trucks and enjoy in the sunshine!

Located in the Downtown Warehouse District, the Warehouse Campus Neighbourhood Central Park will cover 1.33 hectares (roughly 13,300 square metres or just over 2 football fields) between 106 Street and 108 Street and Jasper Avenue to 102 Avenue. The downtown population is expected to significantly increase in the next decade. This park will serve as a major public amenity for residents and businesses. The design of 106 Street from Jasper Avenue to 102 Avenue will be integrated into the scope of work for Warehouse Campus Park. This project is a significant catalyst project identified in the Capital City Downtown Plan, and is fully funded by the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy.

See contest rules below:
1. To enter for the grand prizes support at least three of the participating restaurants by ordering takeout or visiting their outdoor patio.
2. Post your food/drink item while tagging both @empireprovisions and the restaurant. Use the tag #YYCRestoBingo. Each tag counts as one entry. BINGO (5 posts) will get an automatic $20 GC from Empire Provisions and count as ten entries into the grand prize draw.
3. Participants need to be following the restaurants they are tagging to qualify. The hashtag #YYCRestoBingo must be used to be entered as we are using it to track the entries.
4. Participants must be 18+ to play.

Linda Zhang, professor at Ryerson’s School of Interior Design in the Faculty of Community & Design, created this board game to create dialogue about what’s worth preserving and what the city’s Chinatowns should look like in the future. It’s on display now, including a large-scale 3D printed installation of Chinatown East Gate, at Vancouver’s Griffin Art Project as part of an exhibit called Whose Chinatown?, a collection of projects by Chinese Canadian artists about Chinatowns throughout the continent.

The program designed to bring growth to the core of the city, eligible projects must be built in a defined “Centre City” area. The incentives include freezing property taxes until 2027. The intent of the program is to provide financial relief for construction projects in the city’s core that might not be able to proceed without that support.

Each box lets the purchaser support over a dozen local businesses and helping them and their family have a better holiday season as well. There are two options: pick up or local delivery.

This includes:

• implementation of 25 « winter stations » designed to allow Montrealers to enjoy the city’s outdoor public places — including squares, parks or vacant spaces near commercial hubs — during the winter. The winter stations were designed in collaboration with local architects and designers and are part of the city’s effort to encourage Montrealers to buy local, as the downtown stations will be situated near shops.
• winter activities in Montreal parks and beyond. This will include winter markets, but also winter sporting activities in almost every major Montreal park beginning in December. Since sports-related activities are prohibited in COVID-19 red zones, the city is allowing for outdoor play by making cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, ice skating and fat biking available. Montrealers can borrow equipment for free.
• heated areas and restrooms will be available to allow Montrealers to warm up after a day of activities.
• parks will also offer an outdoor « ocean » expedition presented by the Biosphere, to allow Montrealers to observe the birds, flora and fauna of the area.

Activities can be booked online through the city’s website. More details will be made available in the coming weeks on the city of Montreal’s web portal.

The City of Calgary, the University of Calgary, the Calgary Downtown Association, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and Bow Valley College have been working on the 9 Block program, a series of safety initiatives to improve vibrancy and safety in the nine blocks that surround City Hall. The program works collaboratively with neighbours and community partners to improve the area.

The centrepiece of these improvements is the installation of a canopy and lighting at the bus stop in front of the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) downtown campus. Mauricio Soto-Rubio, the research lead, and students from SAPL designed and fabricated the installation to improve the safety and vibrancy issues in their neighbourhood.

A local Edmonton blogger spearheaded this campaign which is on its third iteration. Struggling businesses are nominated to be adopted and people sign up and commit to spending a certain amount in the shop (i.e., $60). The list of shops represented 50% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour)-Owned shops. In November 2020, 200 sign up spots were filled for #AdoptAShopYEG: ATB Neighbourhood Hop! At a $60 minimum spend per person, we’ll collectively spend $12,000 at 64 businesses across Edmonton. Patrons are also encouraged to post on social media. 

In the Downtown Eastside, Hastings and Powell streets are lined with vacant storefronts, dogged by the area’s social issues. The City of Vancouver is aiming to create policies that could potentially help reverse this trend.

Six new actions include:

• installations in the downtown area for the winter season designed to “add to the shopping experience”
• financial support for campaigns implemented by merchants’ groups and chambers of commerce
• adding $1.5 million to the Commercial Activities Consolidation Fund, designed to support small businesses to ensure they can increase the quality of services, including on the digital market and the physical development of their place of business.
• free on-street parking on weekends
• businesses can extend opening hours to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. on weekends from Nov. 14 to Dec. 31
• support and promotion to continue urban delivery for local merchants

To generate such an economic recovery strategy, Heartland Forward (HF) has undertaken an extensive and detailed analysis of the NWA region’s strengths, challenges and opportunities. Our team has arrayed and assessed comprehensive data on its economy and industries, its small businesses and startup ecosystem, talent base, changing demographic composition and quality of place that stems from its arts, culture and recreation efforts and initiatives to develop a robust strategy for post-COVID-19 recovery.

By Ross DeVol, Richard Florida, Joel Kotkin and Dave Shideler

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.

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.

Ottawa’s small and locally owned businesses are woven into the fabric of the city. To help support as the local economy reopens, useful links and resources are assembled on this page.

1. #MyOttawa Pass is Ottawa’s very own local savings passport, complete with an impressive collection of discounts and offers from businesses across the city.
2. Shop Ottawa is an online directory of local businesses, products and services.
3. Local Eats Ottawa offers a compiled list of Ottawa restaurants offering food delivery or pickup.
4. SavourOttawa.ca is a one-stop site on how to buy locally produced food and beverages in the Ottawa region.
5. Together-Apart.ca is a resource for the residents of this city to find local spots to order from and support.
6. Edible Ottawa to ensure that local food communities remain strong.
7. Love Local Delivery to order from Ottawa’s best independent, locally owned and operated food businesses! Easy Scheduled & On-Demand delivery provided by dedicated, carefully vetted and smart-serve trained drivers.
8. And links to local BIAs that offer detailed information on local business offerings

Victoria 3.0 has three main goals. The first and immediate focus is on supporting businesses to adapt to a new normal and become more resilient in light of experiences and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has shown us how precarious our small businesses and our local economy are.  The South Island Prosperity Partnership has created a Rising Economy Taskforce with 13 subcommittees that cover all aspects of our regional economy. Victoria 3.0 is meant to be complementary to and nestle within this important regional work.

La sélection d’un groupe de soumissionnaires qualifiés et compétents permettra ainsi à la ville d’être plus agile dans l’attribution de contrats de service professionnels d’un commun accord. De cette façon, les arrondissements et les services municipaux ainsi que les Sociétés de développement commerciale pourront faire appel à des équipes préqualifiées pour concevoir et mettre en œuvre des mesures qui traitent de leurs problèmes, tels que les itinéraires modifiés et la mobilité des utilisateurs, l’embarquement sécuritaire et le débarquement des usagers du transport en commun, les files d’attente pour les entreprises, les zones de vente et de consommation en plein air, les espaces de ramassage et de livraison fonctionnels et techniques et de livraison. , aires de repos et mobilier urbain (p. ex., toilettes, bancs, réceptacles d’ordures sans contact). Étant donné la nature expérimentale des projets de développement temporaire en cours et à venir, il est important de faire bon usage d’une gamme ou de solutions de haute performance qui peuvent être déployées dans toute la ville.

Run a restaurant or food service business? Have questions about reopening and operating safely during COVID-19? Join us Wednesday, June 10th 10AM – 11:30AM for a FREE Q&A session. The expert panel includes the Chief Medical Officer for Island Health and the BC Restaurant and Food Association. These sessions are co-hosted by the Downtown Victoria Business Association and Community Micro Lending. As we adjust to living and working with COVID-19, we’re offering two sessions to help businesses reopen and operate safely: Two webinars planned:
Restarting Restaurants & Food Services on Wednesday, June 10th 10AM – 11:30AM
Restarting Retail on Thursday, June 11th 11AM – 12:30PM

Un projet pilote à Ottawa espère accroître leurs chances avec le financement participatif communautaire, qui est devenu un outil essentiel pour le secteur de l’impact social. Pourrait-il fournir un modèle pour les rues principales à travers le Canada?

Un projet pilote à Ottawa espère accroître leurs chances avec le financement participatif communautaire, qui est devenu un outil essentiel pour le secteur de l’impact social. Pourrait-il fournir un modèle pour les rues principales à travers le Canada?

Trois domaines d’intérêt : DOWNTOWN TO GO, un #Supportlocal campagne; BUSINESS est OPEN, des informations sur les entreprises du centre-ville de Kamloops qui sont fermées (temporairement), offrant des magasins à emporter, pick-up, des magasins en ligne et d’autres modèles d’affaires qui aideront la communauté à rester #ykastrong; COMMUNITY et INNOVATION présentant le pivot des entreprises du centre-ville de Kamloops; et RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

Les artistes de Vancouver travaillent ensemble pendant la pandémie coVID-19 pour créer de la beauté grâce à des peintures murales publiques. Une grande partie des zones les plus fréquentées de la ville se sont transformées en villes fantômes et les vitrines sont à bord. Mais le Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) commande aux artistes de transformer ces fronts avec des œuvres d’art temporaires.

La Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association a lancé une version en ligne des magasins et services de la rue à l’adresse www.quinpool.shop. Le site comprend des liens vers de nombreux magasins Quinpool, services et restaurants qui ont fait la transition de leurs entreprises dans les ventes en ligne, les livraisons et le ramassage organisé.

La Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association a lancé une version en ligne des magasins et services de la rue à l’adresse www.quinpool.shop. Le site comprend des liens vers de nombreux magasins Quinpool, services et restaurants qui ont fait la transition de leurs entreprises dans les ventes en ligne, les livraisons et le ramassage organisé.

Eatlater aide les gens à trouver des restaurants, des bars, des établissements vinicoles par emplacement à travers le Canada, et les soutenir par le biais des cartes-cadeaux.

La Campagne pour sauver la rue Main est un site Web qui permet aux clients d’acheter des certificats-cadeaux pour les petites entreprises locales de Cornwall, Akwesasne et comtés de SD et G.