8 80 Cities

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers! 🩷

The City of Mississauga is one of 23 communities that are part of the National Active School Streets Initiative, the nationwide School Streets movement that 8 80 Cities supports. Throughout April, 8 80 Cities supported the City in engaging the school community through local project planning meetings and pop-up engagements. The City launched their School Street on Woodington Drive in front of the Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School is part of this movement. The School Streets will run from May 4 through May 29, during afternoon school dismissal time on school days only. ❔ What are School Streets ❔ 🏫These are car-free spaces for children in front of schools at the start and end of the school day. 🪁These streets are open for children’s play, increasing rates of active travel, improving road safety and fostering social connection. 🏃🏽🤸🏽🚲 🔗Learn more about School Streets in Mississauga: https://www.mississauga.ca/projects-and-strategies/city-projects/school-streets/location/ @healthycdns @greencommunitiescan @ecologieurbaine @scyofbc @umontreal @universityofbc @queensuniversity @torontomet #SchoolStreets #Mississauga #880Cities #ACtiveSchoolTravel #RightToMobility #RightToPublicSpaces

Our very own Executive Director, Amanda O'Rourke, will be speaking at the 2026 #EvergreenConference to talk about Lonely cities: Designing cities for serendipity, along with fellow speakers Erika Nikolai (Park People), Jakob Norman-Hansen (BLOXHUB) and Sarah Yaffe (TPL). The session will explore how cities can foster meaningful social life. Get your tickets today and connect with practitioners across the country who want to create more climate-resilient, inclusive and joyful communities! www.evergreen.ca/conference Evergreen Canada

Our very own Project Manager, Praneti Kulkarni, will be speaking at the 2026 #EvergreenConference to share how 8 80 TowerPOPS is reclaiming public space through renewal and place-keeping. The session will explore how residents and community partners are co-creating meaningful public spaces in tower neighbourhoods, claiming back asphalt and underutilized landscapes into places that celebrate local culture, community, connection, and resilience. Get your tickets today and connect with practitioners across the country who want to create more climate-resilient, inclusive and joyful communities! @evergreencanada

Across cities in the U.S., Knight Emerging City Champions are building partnerships, testing ideas, and shaping the direction of their projects. Let's take a look at some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into community projects. 🌟 In Miami, Jacoub is bringing people together through workshops that connect art, ecology, and public learning. Xiem is convening community garden leaders in Saint Paul around long-term planning and succession. In Philadelphia, Kadafi is bringing together residents and preparing to launch a platform shaped by their input, while Jessica continues refining a multilingual dental health resource to improve access to care. Others are navigating partnerships, funding, and future direction. Lorena in Charlotte is building relationships across cities, Andrew in Akron is exploring local collaborations, and Ellie in Saint Paul is planning for multiple futures in a shifting landscape. Champions are also doing the work that makes projects possible and sustainable. This is the part of what holds everything else up 💙 Stay tuned for more updates as we close out the fellowship year in the Fall 🍂 @knightfdn @maixiem @sju_icb @invasiveimpact @ecolorena @summitsportsandsocial @elho9439 #k880champs #KnightCities #CommunityConnection #CreativeExpression #LocalResilience #PublicSpace #CivicTech #880Cities #CreatingCitiesForAll #KnightFoundation #Akron #Macon #StPaul #Charlotte #Detroit #Miami #SanJose #Philadelphiable

Today, we acknowledge Red Dress Day, a National Holiday of awareness. remembrance, and action for Missing and Murdered Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People. We honour the victims and recognize the systemic violence and stand with families and survivors in their search for healing and justice. Learn more and explore support resources here: https://ow.ly/NqeA50YVels https://ow.ly/xgYo50YVelr #RedDressDay #MMIWG2S+ #HonourThem #NoMoreStolenSisters

Across cities in the U.S., Knight Emerging City Champions are bringing their ideas to life in tangible ways with a few months remaining in this fellowship year✨ In Detroit, Jeremiah engaged 250 youth, distributed over 2,000 books, and led a mural that will live on at the Detroit Zoo. Jerjuan is gathering stories and building a growing archive shaped by his community. Creative spaces are popping up across cities. In San José, Jessica has been hosting art workshops and exhibitions for mothers and children, while Miranda is bringing people together in Miami through community-led art and storytelling. In Akron, Dominique is collaborating and engaging with youth of all ages, to bridge art, creativity, and STEM education. Projects are showing up in public space. Raven is moving through phased installations toward a Spring opening in Charlotte and Marcus is working with youth through photography and storytelling. While, DeMarcus continues to build out festival spaces for neurodivergent folks in Macon. Some projects are already live. Others are unfolding in real time. Stay tuned today to see our Champs doing work behind the scenes. And for more exciting updates as we close out the fellowship year this Fall! 🙌 @knightfdn @jeremiah.steen @steen.foundation @jerjuan.howard @howardfamilybookstore @forthemamazz @artnflowww @buenprovecho.collective @akronsneakeracademy @domkwaters @lionsservicesclt @demarcusbeckham @thelockeye #k880champs #KnightCities #CommunityConnection #CreativeExpression #LocalResilience #PublicSpace #CivicTech #880Cities #CreatingCitiesForAll #KnightFoundation #Akron #Macon #StPaul #Charlotte #Detroit #Miami #SanJose #Philadelphia

Announcing the topics for our breakout sessions! These facilitated breakout sessions offer focused engagement on specific topics, with a chance to hear about conversations at all breakouts at the end. Get excited, meet other interested people, and plant the seeds for future action! Generously sponsored by @thebikinglawyer . Full List of Breakout Topics: -Pedestrian Infrastructure for All Ages and Abilities -Pedestrian Streets -Walking and Transit Connections -Open Streets -Zoning Reform -Laneways -The Climate Housing Connection -Climate Friendly Streets -Public Realm (Street Furniture and Infrastructure) -Vision Zero The Pedestrian Summit TO is happening Sunday May 3 starting at 5:00pm. Tickets are available to purchase here: https://www.cycleto.ca/pedestrian_summit_2026 or at the link in our bio. The $25 cost covers expenses for the venue and meal. We are offering more affordable tickets for lower income community members, and pay-it-forward tickets for folks who can afford to pay a little more to help others attend. #WalkTO #PedestrianSummitTO

📣Our April Newsletter is out and packed with specially curated content: Articles on walkability, libraries and their power to support social connections; climate change, metro superheroes and tools and resources that inspire our practice, plus a blog post about our 20 years of creating cities for all, updates on our Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga project and information about upcoming events.🙌🏼 🔗Read it at the link in our bio! #880Cities #20Years #CreatingCitisForall

Announcing the panelists for the panelists discussion at Pedestrian Summit TO. Generously sponsored by @thebikinglawyer ! Have you got your tickets yet?!? Get tickets here or at the link in our bio: https://www.cycleto.ca/pedestrian_summit_2026 The summit is happening Sunday May 3 at 5:00pm. The $25 ticket cost covers expenses for the venue and meal. We are offering more affordable tickets for lower-income community members, and pay-it-forward tickets for supporters who can afford to pay a little more to help others attend. #PedestrianSummitTO #WalkTO #SafeStreetsSaveLives

(le français suit) "When students feel healthy, active, and supported, they are better able to learn and lead. Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga is helping us bring our community's shared vision to life [...]. Together, we're creating a school environment where every student can thrive." - Michele Cummings, Principal at Silver Creek Public School We’re excited to share a new press release about Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga, highlighting Ophea’s ongoing work with our partners @880cities , @novonordisk , @BrockUniversity , @PeelSchools , @RopPublicHealth , @peelregion.ca and @citymississauga . Next steps of the program include: - Developing equipment lending programs - Enhancing before and after-school programs - Working with schools and community partners to implement and expand programs that are welcoming, inclusive and supportive. Learn more about Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga by reading the press release. (Link in bio) ---- « Lorsque les élèves sont en santé, actifs et soutenus, ils sont mieux disposés à apprendre et à faire preuve de leadership. Le programme "Cultiver des environnements sains : Mississauga" nous aide à concrétiser la vision commune de notre communauté [...] Ensemble, nous créons un milieu scolaire où chaque élève peut s'épanouir. » -Michele Cummings, directrice de l’école publique Silver Creek Nous sommes ravis de partager un nouveau communiqué de presse sur « Cultiver des environnements sains : Mississauga », qui met en avant le travail continu d’Ophea avec nos partenaires @880cities , @novonordisk , @BrockUniversity , @PeelSchools , @RopPublicHealth @regionofpeel et @citymississauga . Les prochaines étapes du programme comprennent : - Développer des programmes de prêt de matériel - Améliorer les programmes parascolaires -Collaborer avec les écoles et les partenaires communautaires pour mettre en œuvre et étendre des programmes accueillants, inclusifs et solidaires. Pour en savoir plus sur « Cultiver des environnements sains : Mississauga », lisez le communiqué de presse. (Lien dans la bio) #GrowingHealthyPlaces #HealthyCommunities #GrowingHealthy #CultiverDesEnvironnementsSains #VieSaineEtActive

🎉 It's National Volunteer Week! 💚At 8 80 Cities, our work flourishes through collaboration with partners, board, clients, and funders. The commitment of our volunteers exemplifies our mission and drives our projects and programs. 🙏🏼 We thank all our committed volunteers who help us in different capacities—from behind-the-scenes logistics and communications to on-site public life studies, pop-up activations, community engagement, and more. 🙌🏼 Your dedication to what we do ignites change in our communities and contributes to creating cities for all. #NVM2026 #IgniteVolunteerism #880Cities #CreatingCitiesForAll #RightToPublicSpace #RightToParticipate #RightToMobility #REsponsibilityToTheLand