More and more, local governments in BC and beyond are appointing social planners to focus specifically on improving the well-being of their community members. In 2016, the City of Delta made the decision to create a social planner position to assess the social needs of the community and develop a Social Action Plan to address them. Gillian McLeod, a former librarian with a 30-year career in the public service, was up to the task.
This tool kit is intended for use in rural communities. Municipalities, including planners, health authority staff, and elected officials are the intended audience, although the tool kit will also help other interested community members advocate for healthier communities and populations. Overall, this tool kit is meant for those interested in how the built environment and local development impacts health.
More local governments in BC will now be able to embark on projects to improve community health and well-being for their constituents, thanks to $125,000 in new grants and additional customized supports recently awarded by PlanH, a partnership of BC Healthy Communities Society and the Ministry of Health.
The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation works to improve understanding of issues and opportunities that are of common interest to rural residents across Canada. Their members include rural leaders, rural organizations, development practitioners, government policy makers, researchers, students, and other stakeholders both in Canada and internationally.
The pressures facing our cities is intense. At the same time, there is immense hope as we look to each other to co-create the future we desire. Cities of the Future is a global movement focusing on people, government, initiatives, technologies and organizations working to increase the quality of life in today’s cities.
BCHC’s Vice-President, Trevor Hancock and Program Manager, Victoria Barr will be presenting at the upcoming Building SustainAble Communities conference in Kelowna this November, 2017.
Applications are now being accepted under the summer intake of the 2017/18 Regional Community to Community Forum program. The goal of a Regional C2C Forum is increased understanding and improved overall relations between First Nations and local governments. For more information, visit the C2C program page.
In the words of Marshall McLuhan, ours is an “all at once world” where we find ourselves in a constant flow of communication. The ease with which information travels is softening the borders between varying levels of government as leaders at all levels communicate through common platforms. Ideas, initiatives, needs and solutions are shared all at once in real time. The national conversation is no longer dominated by one voice, but has many voices and many perspectives.
PlanH partnered with each health authority on a series of five forums taking place in each region to take stock of: the impacts of collaborative efforts between local governments, health authorities, and other community partners; the key factors that are enabling this success; and how we can grow this impact moving forward.
Find stories, presentations from the events, photo galleries and visual notes at the following links:
This article from the Tamarack Institute explores the idea of community resilience as an ability, a process and an outcome, and examines ways in which communities can become more resilient.
