Our Streets, Our Spaces is an active transportation initiative with aims to increase the use of public spaces and strengthen community connectedness. Through funding from Canada Healthy Communities Initiative and in partnership with the City of Calgary, this project works to adapt and modify existing public spaces, including parks, residential roads and pathways. It also uses temporary tactical urbanism interventions (aka temporary infrastructure modifications) to make it easier for citizens to get around their community. Finally, this project increases awareness of and encourages ongoing use of community spaces and travel routes. 

Three Calgary communities – New Brighton in the southeast quadrant, Rundle in the northeast and Scenic Acres in the northwest – have been the focus of this project. Community members have had multiple opportunities to contribute to the creation of safe and vibrant public spaces and the improvement of active transportation routes along a 2km corridor or loop.

Barriers to active transportation exist in each community in a unique way, so community consultation is key. Three Calgary communities – New Brighton in the southeast quadrant, Rundle in the northeast and Scenic Acres in the northwest – have been the focus of this project and have had multiple opportunities to contribute their thoughts. 

The Our Streets, Our Spaces project brings partners together to bring relevant interventions to life that can reduce or remove identified barriers through temporary traffic calming, outdoor learning and exploration, building community capacity through a joint initiative, and an invitation to community members to experience change and understand the potential in their neighbourhood.

Through some fun event days, this project has had a positive impact on the communities it served!