Active Communities Start with Smart Design
Every Ontario municipality must plan how its land is used—now and in the future. This shapes where we live, learn, work, shop, and play. A healthy community is one that recognizes the needs of all residents — where it’s easier for everyone to be active, feel safe, and connect with others. Where we live, shapes how we live. Communities that are walkable, green, and well-connected help people stay active, and feel more connected.
What Makes a Community Active?
🔍 Take a closer look at where you live, learn, work, and play. Does your community:
- Provide a network of connected sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails that are safe and easy to get you to the places you need to go?
- Offer free and low-cost access to parks, trails, and other places to be active?
- Keep streets and public spaces safe with good design features for all users?
- Build and maintain public spaces (including sidewalks, trails and bike lanes) and recreational facilities for all ages, abilities, and incomes?
- Create and maintain free public outdoor and indoor spaces to meet, socialize, and belong?
- Protect, increase and provide access to natural features, trees, green spaces and blue spaces (bodies of water)?
- Provide opportunities to engage through surveys or information sessions to make it easy for residents to get involved in local decisions?
How we work for you to build more active communities:
- Review and provide feedback when municipal land use plans are up for renewal to encourage policies and design principles that promote healthy community design, including walking or wheeling for all residents.
- Engage with municipalities through committee work in areas such as trails, transit, and healthy aging.
- Work with municipalities, school boards, schools, and community groups to encourage students to walk or wheeling for the school journey.
- Support communities to seek Age Friendly, Walk Friendly, or Bike Friendly status.
How your voice can shape your community:
🏡 Spend some time in your neighbourhood. Try walking, cycling, or wheeling through your community, and see how far you can safely go without a car.
- Are there changes that would make your journey easier, safer and more enjoyable?
- Find out the name of your local Councillor and provide that feedback to them through email or a phone call.
- See what local community groups may be concerned about the same issues and connect with them through your socials or at a local event.
📝 Every municipality has an Official Plan, this is your community’s roadmap for land use, growth, and development. An Official Plan identifies:
- 🏡 Where homes, parks, and schools go
- 🛍️ Where shops and businesses are built
- 🚰 How services like water and sewers are managed
- 🌾 How farmland and green spaces are protected
📣 When updates are proposed on municipal planning documents, your input is needed:
- Check out your municipal website and look for an “Engage” section. Usually this is where you will find the documents or issues that are open for public comment.
- Subscribe to your municipal newsletter or website to get updates sent to your inbox.
- Follow your municipality on your socials to get the latest scoop on local events and meetings.
- Attend a council meeting in person or virtually to get a feel for how decisions are made that affect you. Then learn how to speak out about an issue that you feel impacts your health or the health of your community.
- Get involved with a local group that is concerned about the same issue and learn how you can contribute to their efforts.
