SPONSORED BY: Real Estate Foundation of BC Affordable housing is just as vital and attainable in small and rural communities as it is in urban centres. Planners make it happen by adapting to local contexts, embracing different tools, and elevating community strengths rather than focusing on deficits. This session will highlight promising practices from across British Columbia, including exciting stories of policy design, community-led housing initiatives, and affordable housing development from towns and Indigenous communities of 30,000 people or less. We will show how housing is built in small and rural places, from need, to plan, to proposal, to ribbon cutting. We will also invite the audience to share their affordable housing stories, and encourage collective learning with our colleagues from across the country.

SPONSORED BY: URBAN STRATEGIES INC. It’s exciting that the term ‘equity’ is becoming popular in connection with planning practice. Integrating equity into planning practice makes sense - increasing equity can result in stronger, healthier and more resilient communities. But what tools are available to help planners figure out how to make a difference? How do we move beyond good intentions? Integrating equity isn’t just about setting up diverse committees or that providing childcare during community engagement events. Offering simple and often token responses could do more harm than good. To truly address inequities, you need to consider power. In this session we will explore three key areas of local government decision making: budgeting, community data analysis and community engagement. We will provide participants with concrete examples of tools that can be used to prioritize equity in each. Participants will learn about how to create real impact and shift dynamics of power that are embedded in the work of planners and local governments. We hope that those in attendance will be inspired to look at their work in a new, more equitable, way. Session presenters are Dr. Victoria Barr, Community Health & Equity Consultant from LevelUp Planning & Consulting, and Sarah Ravlic, Community Well-Being Practitioner from Urban Matters CCC.

SPONSORED BY: YOUNG ANDERSON BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm is a proud Yukoner and member of Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. Overcoming significant odds, Dana has succeeded both personally and professionally balancing real issues with systematic change, but it is his team, people, and communication skills that have helped him to bring people together around solutions. Youth, education, cultural exchange and climate are some of Dana’s passions. Dana speaks internationally on subjects such as: Bridging Indigenous Ways of Knowing with Western Best Practices, Youth Empowerment, and Climate Change and Renewable Energies in the North. VGFN Chief and Council passed a Climate Emergency Declaration, as well as a General Assembly Resolution to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. Dana has ambitious clean energy and climate mitigation plans and aims to have Old Crow at the forefront for Climate Change research and renewable technologies.

Module 4: Regulation: Improvements to Permitting Processes 
Delivered over four modules, this workshop will share lessons from Edmonton’s Infill Roadmap and the tools emerging from it to support age-friendly, multi-generational, and context-appropriate housing. These range from expedited infill permitting processes to improving access to open data to increase transparency relating to redevelopment decision-making and education. Workshop modules will include: a review ‘missing middle’ proformas and a glimpse into the hard/soft cost assumption of the market; a step-by-step tutorial on how to create an Esri StoryMap to better narrate neighbourhood context and reinvestment information; a review of mapping/visualization efforts to increase transparency around infill; and engagement best practices to fortify community support. 

Module 3 Program/Policy: Narrating Neighbourhood Context to Improve Access to Reinvestment Information 
Delivered over four modules, this workshop will share lessons from Edmonton’s Infill Roadmap and the tools emerging from it to support age-friendly, multi-generational, and context-appropriate housing. These range from expedited infill permitting processes to improving access to open data to increase transparency relating to redevelopment decision-making and education. Workshop modules will include: a review ‘missing middle’ proformas and a glimpse into the hard/soft cost assumption of the market; a step-by-step tutorial on how to create an Esri StoryMap to better narrate neighbourhood context and reinvestment information; a review of mapping/visualization efforts to increase transparency around infill; and engagement best practices to fortify community support. 

Module 2 Program/Policy: Missing Middle Infill Design Competition + Community Engagement 
Delivered over four modules, this workshop will share lessons from Edmonton’s Infill Roadmap and the tools emerging from it to support age-friendly, multi-generational, and context-appropriate housing. These range from expedited infill permitting processes to improving access to open data to increase transparency relating to redevelopment decision-making and education. Workshop modules will include: a review ‘missing middle’ proformas and a glimpse into the hard/soft cost assumption of the market; a step-by-step tutorial on how to create an Esri StoryMap to better narrate neighbourhood context and reinvestment information; a review of mapping/visualization efforts to increase transparency around infill; and engagement best practices to fortify community support.

Module 1 Program/Policy : How we created the Infill Roadmap 
Delivered over four modules, this workshop will share lessons from Edmonton’s Infill Roadmap and the tools emerging from it to support age-friendly, multi-generational, and context-appropriate housing. These range from expedited infill permitting processes to improving access to open data to increase transparency relating to redevelopment decision-making and education. Workshop modules will include: a review ‘missing middle’ proformas and a glimpse into the hard/soft cost assumption of the market; a step-by-step tutorial on how to create an Esri StoryMap to better narrate neighbourhood context and reinvestment information; a review of mapping/visualization efforts to increase transparency around infill; and engagement best practices to fortify community support. 

Public transit is one of the most fundamental transportation modes. Done right, it can be an equitable mode for all community members that also reduces GHG emissions and boosts local economies. New technologies, on-demand services and innovative partnerships offer great opportunities for increasing mobility in smaller centres. However, there is no one-size-fits-all magic solution: transit must be carefully designed to maximize effectiveness within available funding. This session will explore two case studies in contrasting communities with identical objectives: improving transportation options in a way that creatively meets citizen needs within available resources. • Black Diamond and Turner Valley, two small communities in Alberta with no existing public transportation and a desire to introduce it through new partnerships and funding streams • Yellowknife, a medium size community in the North with a desire to improve the effectiveness of existing transit services This presentation will aim to give attendees a better sense of the “transportation toolbox” available to smaller communities, how these options can best be applied depending on community factors, and lessons learned.

Ren Thomas is a researcher, writer, and instructor who is passionate about planning, with a focus on housing, transportation, growth management policies, and governance. Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University's School of Planning, she holds an MA and PhD from the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), and is a Founding Fellow of the MacEachen Institute of Public Policy and Governance. Ren has studied non-profit housing in Halifax and rental housing policy in Canadian cities. Her book on transit-oriented development will be published by Palgrave MacMillan this year.

Learn about the importance of community health and its link to key success factors for small to mid-size downtowns from two experts that bring decades of collective experience. David Witty will walk through the importance of community health and Michael von Hausen will outline what makes successful downtowns. The Downtown Health Assessment Tool developed by Michael will be presented and discussed based on more than 20 Downtown Plans. This tool has been used from Whitehorse, Yukon to Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia to reveal the key strengths and weaknesses of downtowns across Western Canada. Dave Witty will conclude discussing the important link between health and downtowns as part of an insightful response strategy to COVID-19. Michael’s presentation is based on his comprehensive recent book Small Is Big: Making the Next Great Small to Mid-Size Downtowns available on Amazon.ca or the Vancouver Island University bookstore.