Abundant community programming. Mentorship and training programs for children and youth are plentiful in community centres and schools, to prepare them for success in career development and life skills. We have a community-led, prevention-oriented approach to social development, which meets our neighbours’ basic needs and creates opportunities for social connection. Ethnocultural groups form bonds of connection between members of their own communities, while also supporting collaboration between different groups. This happens through festivals, multifaith and interfaith dialogues, volunteering, and joint programming. We have a community hub in every neighbourhood that is free to access and provides social, recreational, and health services. We have inclusive and accessible childcare, accessible after-school programs, affordable extracurricular activities, and well-connected community centres. Our neighbourhoods are peaceful and energetic: there’s always something to do, and there’s always a place to belong. Community programming is expected to offer a variety of scheduling options, disability accommodations, and sliding-scale pricing in order to be accessible. Municipalities facilitate sharing of resources, including space, to neighbourhood associations and community groups. Some community groups own and manage their own spaces, and attitudes of NIMBYism have decreased as people understand the opportunities that come with neighbourhood change.

Discouraging vacancy & neglect. Heritage conservation policies are applied equally to renovations and to new builds. We protect buildings against demolition-by-neglect, and vacant properties are subject to a land value tax to encourage their productive use.

Abundant public amenities. There is ample public access to clean and accessible washrooms, drinking fountains and showers. We have more public plazas and parks that can be animated without special permission. There is more green space in urban areas, with the introduction of new parks, street trees, planters, and natural areas. We have reduced barriers for the turnkey operation of public performance and event spaces. Placemaking takes into account multi-age, multi-cultural, and multi-neighbourhood needs.

Everything close by. Our communities are all walkable, with trails and safe streets connecting all of our daily needs. Neighbourhoods that are too spread out to easily support community infrastructure have welcomed new neighbours in order to attract the local businesses and community services they need, and to establish new public transit routes. We have vibrant community centres that are centres of teaching, creation, and collaboration. Many neighbours have shorter and more flexible working days, so people have time to enrich their life with after-work activities and rich cultural experiences. Children are able to walk to school and adults are able to walk to work. There is more connection and integrated planning between school boards and neighbourhood associations. We have established a map of baseline neighbourhood resources, identifying the gaps and the opportunities for sharing those resources. Playgrounds are accessible and they are a safe space for all. Third spaces are common, including outdoor and indoor spaces, recreational facilities, social spaces that are free to access, and spaces that are integrated with healthy food options and public washrooms. Parks, libraries, schools, places of worship, and community centres are hubs of connection in every neighbourhood.

Distributed regional structure. Core services are located all throughout the region recognizing our distributed nature with multiple urban downtowns, post-secondary campus nodes, and rural hubs.

Third spaces. People feel safe in their neighbourhoods, with positive and spontaneous casual interactions among neighbours. There are plenty of third spaces to meet others, including spaces that are free to access. This includes libraries, parks, community centres, schools, and other social infrastructure. Public spaces encourage joy, connection, spontaneity and play, through artistic interventions, recreational spaces, equipment, programming, and events.

Safety. Safe consumption opportunities are built into public spaces as a stigma-free amenity. Public spaces are well-lit, surrounded by a mix of uses at different times of day. Safety ambassadors and community-led safety initiatives ensure that there is healthy conflict resolution and maintenance of common amenities. 

Decision-making. Our land use planning has been reoriented around public abundance, rather than short-term profits, NIMBYism, and fear of the other. Neighbourhood parks are designed with collaborative input and participatory budgeting from the people who live nearby. Meaningful public consultation guides official plans, zoning by-laws, station area planning, and secondary planning, with a narrower scope of public process for individual projects. Those who have traditionally been underrepresented from public consultation, including future residents, are taken into account.

Public spaces: measurable outcomes

• Green space per capita (by neighbourhood)
• Capacity vs. actual usage of public spaces like libraries, community centres, places of worship, schools 
• Number of commercial, employment, recreational, and community amenities (by neighbourhood)
• Vacancy rate, residential and commercial (by neighbourhood)
• Rate of neighbourhood stability (residents staying in neighbourhood after 5, 10, 20, 50 years?)
• Number of sport facilities (by neighbourhood)
• Number of bookable community spaces (by neighbourhood)
• Number of rent-free meeting spaces (by neighbourhood)
• Number of schools, community centres, parks, and libraries (by neighbourhood)