03 Apr Congratulations to the Teams Selected To Participate In Healthy Urban Policy Workshop In Helsinki this May!

8 80 Cities is excited to announce that teams from Kingston, Burlington, Hamilton and Yellowknife have been selected as the winners of a National Healthy Cities Grant competition focused on implementing healthy urban policy. Teams will join us for an immersive workshop in Helsinki, Finland this May. 

In the Spring of 2024, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) launched a national grant competition, as part of the Healthy Cities Research Initiative (HCRI), to fund participation by four Canadian city teams comprised of health researchers and city leaders to attend a five-day immersive workshop hosted by 8 80 Cities in Helsinki.   

The funding initiative aims to bring together researchers and city leaders to accelerate the implementation of healthy urban policy that supports a healthier population. The teams will examine how Helsinki has designed, implemented and evaluated healthy urban policies such as housing and sustainable growth, healthy and active public spaces for all seasons and planning the equitable city for all ages. Helsinki is consistently ranked one of the healthiest and safest cities in the world. This is an opportunity to learn from how this model city has been able implement policies to support health and wellbeing for all people. 

8 80 Cities is thrilled to bring this cohort of leaders to immerse themselves in this rich learning environment and meet and learn directly from the leaders who have driven this transformational change.  We are excited to collaborate with these teams and host them in Helsinki this May to support knowledge exchange and action planning.  

The winning teams and projects selected are:  

Kingston, Ontario/Queen’s University  

Integrating Land Use and Transportation Planning as Healthy Urban Policy in Kingston, Ontario: Adapting Insights from a Model City for YG220K 

This project aims to learn from Helsinki’s successful integration of land use and transportation planning, identify strategies for addressing rapid urban growth, and generate insights to inform Kingston, Ontario’s YG220K initiative for creating a more livable, equitable, and prosperous city. 

Burlington, Ontario/University of Waterloo 

Healthy City-Building in Burlington: Toward Healthy Urban Policy Implementation 

This project aims to learn from Helsinki and 8 80 Cities’ healthy urban policies, focusing on growth management, community connectedness, mobility, and healthy spaces, to inform Burlington’s Vision 2040 plan and foster innovative solutions for enhancing infrastructure, promoting health, and improving residents’ quality of life. 

Hamilton, Ontario/Brock University  

Quantifying benefits of local active transportation investments: a collaborative health and engineering approach to mobilize on healthy urban policy  

This project aims to adapt Helsinki’s model for multi-level engagement in active school transportation to support Hamilton’s efforts in promoting physical activity among children and youth, while encouraging community collaboration to create urban environments that promote healthy, equitable mobility.

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories/Institute of Circumpolar Health Research

Guiding the City of Yellowknife towards the development of a healthy community plan that  supports active mobility and inclusive design standards through all four seasons. 

The project aims to learn from Helsinki on how to be more inclusive of all modes of transportation while also dealing with extreme winters. Knowledge gained through this workshop will be used to bring different actors together to identify relevant active transportation interventions that could be considered for inclusion in the City of Yellowknife’s Master Transportation Plan