The CityStudio Model
The Story
CityStudio was founded in Vancouver in 2011 to accelerate sustainability in higher education and provide students with direct opportunities to work in and with the city on urban challenges - developing tomorrow's leaders by turning the city into the classroom. As such, it was born out of the need to energize and engage students in civic issues that mattered where they lived and worked.
Citystudio is a proven, locally adaptive, and trust-based partnership model between municipalities, communities, and academic institutions to link municipality's needs and civic issues with the expertise and creativity of local researchers, faculty experts, and driven students.
The Theory
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If we build trust-based relationships between students, city staff, faculty and community.
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We can more easily co-create projects that advance specific city goals.
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This will inspire action and students to be more engaged citizens.
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Which will ultimately as the power to shift culture inside City Hall and higher education.
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This momentum, in turn, contributes to the global movement aiming to make our cities more sustainable, joyful, equitable and inclusive.
The Focus
The City of Ottawa’s Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) plan outlines how the City will work with community partners to improve the safety, health and well-being of Ottawa residents.
Our initial focus will be the six priorities of the CSWB Plan:
1. Housing
2. Integrated and simpler systems
3. Discrimination, marginalization and racism
4. Financial security and poverty reduction
5. Gender-based violence and violence against women,
6. Mental well-being
The How:
From Engagement to Impact
The CityStudio Ottawa model works through a project cycle where citizens come together to collaborate on projects and co-create solutions:
