Why Does This Matter?

Public spaces shape how we live, play, move and experience nature. While we are confronted by the daunting challenges of climate, equity, health and economy, we know that they are also connected. In a time of complex crises and scarce public budgets, we ought to be focused on solutions that bring us together in common purpose and solve multiple problems at the same time. Solutions that bring us together across our differences, engage new ideas and unlock enormous capacity across sectors and our communities. Good public spaces can do that.

By prioritizing nature-based solutions in our public spaces, we can make them spongey and able to absorb stormwater, support biodiversity, lower the temperature of neighbourhoods, and even sink carbon, essential ecological services in a changing climate. Good public spaces can do that.

To ensure the dense housing we need are in communities where people can thrive, where people who are already here can build relationships with those just arriving, we require common places for people to gather and get to know their neighbours. Good public spaces can do that.

Climate ready public spaces help us feel better, both mentally and physically. Research shows that they encourage us to move, reduce cortisol levels, and even reduce rates of chronic illness. These health benefits contribute to keeping us well and reduce the burden on our health care system. Good public spaces can do that.

Public spaces are often thought of as the leftover space that exists in the background, rarely the priority infrastructure. But they are essential. They are where can we find each other, build the trust we need to respond to the challenges before us, build resilience, and find joy in our communities together. Good public spaces can do that.

Despite their multiple benefits, public spaces remain underprioritized and underinvested. And vast community capacity to steward them remains untapped. To make the case for place requires us to demonstrate the impact they can have. At Evergreen, we know first-hand the power of public spaces. Working together with valued partners, we created this toolkit to make it easier for local leaders to understand and share the multi-solving value that public spaces provide and to articulate the need to prioritize them. This toolkit is an important first step in measuring the climate and wellbeing impacts of public spaces. We hope it supports you in your next public space project to better understand and unlock its potential for the health of people, our communities, and the planet.

The Places4Wellbeing tool was generously supported by TD Bank Group and Manulife.