8 80 Cities

Create a city that's great for an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old, and you'll create a city that's great for all.

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

SAVE THE DATE! Want to learn more about the Ontario Community Changemakers program or have some burning questions about the application process? Join us on June 24th, 2026 at 1:00 pm EDT where the OCC team will be answering all your questions! Register in advance here:
https://t.co/qDtjFTs5Lg

Ready to Apply? Visit:
https://t.co/mbAbEhQCYB.

Applications close July 31st, 2026 at 5 PM EDT.

@Park_People

#OCChangemakers
#880Cities
#CivicEngagement
#SocialInclusion
#PublicSpace
#BalsamFoundation

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

At 8 80 Cities our work focuses on creating cities that are better for everyone: from 8 to 80. This week is a special one as it is Seniors Loneliness Awareness Week, a time dedicated to recognizing the growing issue of social isolation, disconnection, and loneliness experienced by older adults. By raising awareness and providing programs of support, we hope to encourage connection across the nation where seniors can thrive. 💛

Here are some tips to connect with seniors during this week:
1) Say hello to a senior at the coffee shop, in a lineup at a store, up the street, in an elevator or any place where a senior will safe to connect.
2) Take a senior that you know for a coffee or meal.
3) Take a senior for a walk outside in nature, around the block or in the garden.
4) Participate in the shared experience of a hobby or activity that a senior would enjoy doing with you.

At 8 80 Cities, we believe in the power of multigenerational collaboration. Our OCC program is now focused on expanding to older adults and we encourage seniors who have bold ideas to apply at https://t.co/mbAbEhQCYB

#SeniorsLonelinessAwareness
#GenWell
#CreatingCitiesForAll

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Happy Seniors Month, let's take a moment to honour all the amazing seniors in our lives and across the province! This year's theme 'Ontario Seniors — Let’s Get Moving' aligns perfectly with our vision of promoting intiatives that encourage wellness, social engagement and education, specifically for older adults. At 8 80 Cities, we make it a priority to create equitable engagement strategies that build excitement and reimagine underused spaces as spaces for people of all ages. 🌟

#SeniorsMonth2026
#880Cities
#CreatingCitiesForAll

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Last week, 8 80 Cities Project Manager, Tennesha Joseph, attended the School Food for All: Nourishing Futures Forum in Montreal as part of the panel "It’s All About the Kids: Co-Designing School Food Programs" representing the Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga project, alongside Maleah Omari (representing our partner organization, Ophea).
It was a fruitful two days of knowledge exchange and learning about shaping the future of school food and nutrition education for the next generation across Canada.
Learn more about Growing Healthy Places here: https://t.co/vkYP6Q78ys
@opheacanada
#GrowingHealthyPlaces #Mississauga #HealthyChildren #FoodEquity #GrowingHealthy #HealthyCommunities

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

🎉It's International Day of Play ✨❤️

🤾🏽‍♀️At 8 80 Cities, we believe in the power of play. It is a powerful tool for learning, connection, creativity, and belonging. While play is often associated with childhood, its benefits extend across all ages, supporting cognitive development, creative thinking, social connection, and overall healthy environments.

🤸🏼‍♀️Play is built into every aspect of our work, including projects such as 8 80 TowerPOPS, Growing Healthy Places, and the National Active School Streets Initiative. Whether it's through public space activations, community engagement processes, or workshops and training, we explore how playful approaches can help create healthier, more equitable communities.

🛴We are especially passionate about creating opportunities for free play, where children can explore, imagine, take risks, and develop independence and a sense of ownership over the spaces around them.

💥Today, we celebrate the role of play in helping people of all ages connect and learn!

📚Learn more about how we embed play in our projects:

🏢8 80 TowerPOPS: https://t.co/G66pN3MiQY

🍏Growing Healthy Places: https://t.co/aVRxNIFclK
National Active School Streets Initiative: https://t.co/YCPS4mTM1R

#InternationalDayofPlay #PlayMatters #880Cities #CreatingCitiesforAll #RightToPublicSpace

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

The selected Changemakers will receive $5000 in seed funding to implement one community project in one year.
These projects must address public space, civic engagement and/or foster social inclusion.
We are looking for projects that respond to community needs, build on local assets, and are implemented through collaboration. The projects must be in the Province of Ontario or First Nations territories
that are within the provincial boundary of Ontario.

Apply now! Deadline: July 31, 5:00 pm EDT

@Park_People

#OCChangemakers
#880Cities
#CivicEngagement
#SocialInclusion
#PublicSpace
#BalsamFoundation

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

🚲Happy Bike Month! Here at 8 80, we believe in the #RightToMobility, in other words, the freedom to move around, whenever and wherever! There's no better time to dust off your bike, explore a new route and experience your city on two wheels. This month, we're celebrating all the reasons people ride: for freedom, for fun, for health, for the environment, and for the simple joy of getting outside.

💬 Let us know in the comments: Why do YOU ride?

📸 Share your favourite cycling photos, routes, or Bike Month adventures and tag @880cities for a chance to be featured throughout the month!

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

The OCC program is open to residents of Ontario, 19+ years with a creative solution to public space, civic engagement and/or social inclusion challenges. Applicants may be activists, tactical urbanists, educators & more. We encourage those underrepresented in the placemaking sector, & from Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities, and 2SLGBTQI+ backgrounds to apply by July 31, 5:00 pm EDT.

@Park_People

#OCChangemakers
#880Cities
#CivicEngagement
#SocialInclusion
#PublicSpace
#BalsamFoundation

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

🌎Happy #WorldEnvironmentDay!

🚶🏽‍➡️🚲The future of our planet is shaped by our everyday choices, along with the cities we build. From walking and cycling to creating greener public spaces, when we design cities that prioritize people, we also create healthier and more sustainable communities.

🍃This World Environment Day, we’re celebrating active mobility, the power of public spaces and community action in building a greener future for all!

💭 What’s one change you’d like to see in your community that would make it more sustainable?

#WorldEnvironmentDay
#880Cities
#RightToPublicSpace
#RightToMobility
#NowForClimate

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

🎉Happy World Bicycle Day 2026!

🚲At 8 80 Cities, we believe in the #RightToMobility— because everyone deserves to move through their city safely and accessibly. From 8 to 80, streets should work for everyone: kids learning to ride, commuters heading to work, families enjoying a bike ride together, and older adults staying connected to their communities.

🚲Biking goes beyond transportation; it’s about freedom, health, climate action, and bringing life back to our public spaces. So today, we celebrate all the riders, advocates, and dreamers pushing for better streets. Because where bikes thrive, cities come alive! 🌱

#WorldBicycleDay
#880Cities
#CreatingBetterCitiesForAll
#BikeFriendlyCities
#Equity #ActiveTransportation
#StreetsForPeople #CyclingForAll

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

It's National Indigenous History Month. At 8 80 Cities, this month and throughout each year, we honour the land on which we are situated: the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, the Huron-Wendat, and Petun First Nations.

We are grateful to live and work on Treaty 13 territory, and as we reflect on the impacts of colonization and discrimination, we acknowledge the broken covenants and ongoing violations of human and treaty rights. We affirm the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and recognize the deep, enduring connections Indigenous communities have with land, place, and community.

As an organization, we are committed to reconciliation through action:

📚 Embracing continuous learning and unlearning
🤝🏼 Building authentic, reciprocal partnerships
🏙️ Co-creating inclusive, intergenerational public spaces that reflect Indigenous knowledge and presence
🌱 Strengthening relationships with Indigenous Peoples and Lands

Thank you to all the Indigenous partners and changemakers who guide and support our journey.

#NIHM2026 #880Cities

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Calling all changemakers in Ontario! 8 80 Cities is thrilled to announce the launch of applications for Year 6 of #OCChangemakers, open to anyone aged 19+!

Applications close on July 31, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Apply now! https://t.co/mbAbEhQCYB
Powered by 8 80 Cities and funded by Balsam Foundation.

#OCChangemakers
#880Cities
#CivicEngagement
#SocialInclusion
#PublicSpace
#BalsamFoundation

@Park_People

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

🎉Another edition of the 8 80 Cities Newsletter is out! We've been springing up, facilitating workshops as part of our projects, participating in conferences, co-organizing the Pedestrian Summit, and sharing with the community at Doors Open TO. The 8 80 May wrap is packed with articles, tools, resources and upcoming events. Happy reading!🌷🌞
🔗https://t.co/FLTm02xgf3
#880Cities #20Years #CreatingCitiesForAll

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

✨The School Street at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School was full of joy and excitement this past month.✨

Students led the celebration with a choir performance featuring songs they chose themselves. Families, children, teachers, and neighbours gathered to play, chalk, skip rope, and connect after school🖍️🎶

Congratulations to @citymississauga and the entire school community on a successful Spring pilot🙌

It was inspiring to see so many partners come together to support active travel from school, encourage play and movement, and reimagine neighbourhood streets as spaces for fun, connection, and community!

We loved being a part of this collaborative effort through planning and engagement. And hope to see the School Street return to the school next year!

@GovCanHealth @GrnCommunities @EcologieUrbaine @scyofbc @umontreal @ubc @queensu
@torontomet
#880cities
#SchoolStreets
#ActiveSchoolTravel
#RightToMobility
#RightToPublicSpaces

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Stay tuned! Applications for the next cohort of the Ontario Community Changemakers program launches on June 1, 2026.

@Park_People

#OCChangemakers
#880Cities
#CivicEngagement
#SocialInclusion
#PublicSpace
#BalsamFoundation

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Congratulations to the York Region District School Board and the City of Markham for launching their pilot #SchoolStreets at Black Walnut Public School! So many students and their parents showed up early in the morning for the launch. Phase 1 runs from May 19 to May 29 and will include a single lane closure, while Phase 2, which runs from June 1 to 12, will close the full road in front of the school to traffic.

It has been a pleasure for us at 8 80 Cities to support this team in Markham, as part of the National Active School Streets Initiative (NASSI), led by @grncommunities. All the best for Phase 2!
Learn more about 8 80 Cities's role in NASSI: https://t.co/W5elDdNmkx
Learn more about NASSI: https://t.co/aGvl83Ue7d
Funded by @GovCanHealth

#880cities #SchoolStreets #ActiveSchoolTravel #rightToMobility #RightToPublicSpace

@EcologieUrbaine @scyofbc @yrdsb @UMontreal @UBC @queensu @TorontoMet

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Join 8 80 Cities at Doors Open at 401 this Saturday, May 23, from 10 AM to 5 PM! Visit our studio (Suite 364) to learn more about our work and share your ideas on how to create cities that work for everyone—from an 8-year-old to an 80-year-old. While you’re here, explore the building and its vibrant community of tenants and amenities.
This free, family-friendly event has something for everyone—we hope to see you there!
#880Cities #CreatingCitiesForAll #401Richmond #401BuiltForArt #DOT26

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers! 🩷

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

The @citymississauga is one of 23 communities that are part of the National Active School Streets Initiative, the nationwide #SchoolStreets movement that @880Cities 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://t.co/TdVNahfOSZ

@GovCanHealth @grncommunities Centre d'écologie urbaine @scyofbc @UMontreal @TorontoMet

#SchoolStreets #Mississauga #880Cities #ActiveSchoolTravel #RightToMobility

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

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 🍂

#k880champs #KnightCities #CommunityConnection #CreativeExpression #LocalResilience #PublicSpace #CivicTech #880Cities #CreatingCitiesForAll #KnightFoundation #Akron #Macon #StPaul #Charlotte #Detroit #Miami #SanJose #Philadelphia

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

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.

[8 80 Cities @880Cities]

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.