June 18, 2020: News From Main Street

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June 18, 2020 / canurb.org Main Street Design Challenge  The Main Street Design Challenge has been launched! This coordinated engagement effort for all Canadians interested in design and the future of Main Streets will result in a free, open-access playbook of innovative tools that communities will need to rebuild after this global health emergency. This joint effort by CUI and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada invites participants to develop innovative, responsible, sustainable, and resilient design solutions that can be implemented during COVID-19 recovery and post-pandemic. The submission portal opens June 22 - help us spread the word to placemakers, designers, and community organizers!  Learn more Read our latest Memos Memo #6  An Explainer on Main Street Small Business By John Archer and Judy Morgan, 360 Collective Memo #7 Reallocating Main Street Space to Support Community Wellbeing By Mitchell Reardon and Emma Clayton Jones, Happy City St. James Town Storeys St. James Town Storeys is a podcast about a diverse, densely-populated, dynamic, but often overlooked neighbourhood called St. James Town, in the eastern section of downtown Toronto. Each episode brings together the voices of residents who come together in countless ways to solve needs and problems, build social bonds of friendship and support, and improve life in their neighbourhood.  These podcasts highlight the response of several Main Street businesses to the unique challenges of high-rise apartment living during COVID-19, including food delivery, senior care, and repair services. Listen to St. James Town Storeys Pivot project showcases SMEs PIVOT is an action-research project aimed at amplifying the voices of Canadian SME leaders during the COVID-19 crisis. Check out these short videos, in both English and French, asking small business owners what challenges they are facing, and how they can overcome them. PIVOT is an initiative of the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative and the National Film Board of Canada. Five Bright Ideas Signs of innovation, creativity, and resilience on our main streets: A company based in Baltimore, MD has created "bumper tables" - inflatable inner tubes on wheels - to allow people to practice social distancing while eating and talking in outdoor settings.  Victoria's My Great Neighbourhood Grant Program introduces a new category called Community Recovery and Resiliency, to further reinforce community actions that support residents due to the impacts of COVID-19. Melissa Gonzalez of design firm MG2 offers some suggestions on how to reformat store design to successfully adapt to today and tomorrow's realities.  The city of Vancouver is fast-tracking patio permits for restaurants and bars, as well as making template drawings and dedicated staff available to businesses to hasten the process. Design Montréal, the City of Montréal's Office of Design, is launching a call for innovative designs to rethink public space and enable economic recovery during the post-pandemic period. 'Before Tomorrow' Photos Toronto-based photographer Dmitri Levanoff began documenting the effects of the COVID-19 shutdown on local businesses in his neighbourhood along Dupont St. in the West end of Toronto.  This passion project was driven by Levanoff's assertion of how little of substance had been said concerning these businesses, most participating in a gig economy, all of whom have had their professional lives shattered in a few short months.   In his words, "I’ve been taking pictures for close to two months now; it’s been awful to hear some of the stories. And yet, in every single one of these photos, they all smile." See more photos on Before Tomorrow Carla, Dave, baby and the crew at Mattachioni, Dupont St. Photo credit: Image Foundry Tiffany, Browbeaute, Dupont St. Photo credit: Image Foundry Peter, P. Feeney Bespoke Footwear, Dupont St. Photo credit: Image Foundry Thank you to our partners We are grateful to all of our partners for supporting us in building a stronger urban Canada. Donors and Program Funders Bring Back Main Street is supported by Business Improvement areas and Economic Development organizations across Canada, Vancity and Vancity Community Investment Bank Partners Black Business and Professionals Association, Bloor-Yorkville BIA, Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council, Canadian Business Resilience Network, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Institute of Planners, City of Calgary, City of Edmonton, City of Toronto, Downtown Halifax, Downtown Yonge BIA, Financial District BIA, National Preservation Council, National Trust for Canada, Ontario Business Improvement Area Association, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Regina Downtown BID, Retail Council of Canada, Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, Rues principales, Save Canadian Small Business, St. Lawrence BIA, Tamarack Institute, The Waterfront BIA, Toronto Entertainment District BIA, Trinity Centres Foundation Main Street Design Challenge Partners Canadian Institute of Planners, Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, Council for Canadian Urbanism, ICOMOS Canada, National Trust for Canada, OCAD University, Rue principales, STEPS Initiative, Trinity Centres Foundation Research Team 360 Collective, Happy City, Simon Fraser University, Fathom Studio, JC Williams Group About CUI CUI is Canada's Urban Institute. We are the national platform that houses the best in Canadian city building – where policymakers, urban professionals, civic and business leaders, community activists and academics can learn, share and collaborate with one another from coast to coast to coast. Copyright © 2020 Canadian Urban Institute Canadian Urban Institute 30 St. Patrick Street, 5th Floor Toronto, ON  M5T 3A3  Canada Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.