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September 21 and 22
2 days, 2 disciplines, 2 ways to participate – defining our professional roles and uniting to build more equitable, accessible and inspired communities.
#2GETHER2022
Round Table
It is no secret that COVID-19 has impacted neighbourhoods and businesses in an unequal fashion. Primary research on the strategies and activities of businesses and business improvement associations (BIA) completed in fall of 2020 revealed diverse reactions and initiatives to help businesses survive and to help neighbourhoods thrive. These included business-retention strategies, adaptive use of public space, new methods of community engagement, and triage methods to help the community’s most vulnerable. Some examples of the work of BIAs, planners, and economic development officers will be provided to frame a round-table discussion based on first-hand actions and observations in participants’ communities. In doing so, this session focuses on the following questions: What COVID-related strategies for business retention and neighbourhood resilience can be applied in a post-COVID context? How can planners advocate for the use of public space to help with business retention? What planning and economic development strategies have helped businesses survive and neighbourhoods thrive during these difficult times? What in the current regulatory environment inhibits the adoption of COVID-related strategies for long-term neighbourhood resilience? This session is designed as a facilitated discussion for anyone who has observed or participated in neighbourhood change in the context of COVID.