Yellowknifers head to Helsinki for healthy cities workshop

Five Yellowknifers head to Helsinki on Friday to join a workshop with other cities about “healthy urban policy that supports a healthier population.”

The trip is led by the non-profit 8 80 Cities and Canadian Institute for Health Research.

The Ontario communities of Hamilton, Burlington and Kingston are also taking part.

Canadians will learn from Finnish experts about “Helsinki’s human-centred approach to urban design, which prioritizes accessibility, inclusivity, and sustainability,” the Yellowknife team said in a news release.

“Helsinki is a northern community just like ours. They have deep winters yet the design of their city allows for people to move in many different ways,” said Becca Denley, one of the Yellowknife representatives on the trip.

“Helsinki really thinks about how all people live in the city – not just people going to work but children and Elders – and how when you design a city that’s for the youngest and the oldest, all of a sudden you create an environment that is quite welcoming for all people to live in a healthy way.”

Denley, an architect and senior facility planner at Housing NWT who also co-founded a bike-share program in Yellowknife, is joined among volunteers on the city’s team by:

• Susan Chatwood of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research;
• Rob Warburton, a city councillor and real estate investor;
• Kyla Wright, a doctor of naturopathic medicine; and
• Thomsen D’Hont, a family physician.

“Following the workshop, the team looks forward to sharing what they’ve learned with the Yellowknife community,” the five stated.

“They will explore ways to engage local residents and community stakeholders in conversations about inclusive, sustainable, and adaptable solutions to improve mobility and make the city more connected and accessible throughout the year.”

Denley said the City of Yellowknife’s work to create a new transportation master plan – with the help of consultants – is an obvious outlet for some of the knowledge the group expects to pick up in Helsinki.

“We think a lot of what we learn, they’ll want to know about. We plan on possibly doing a presentation to them and city planners and workers, but we also want to create a community engagement model of sorts,” she told Cabin Radio.

The trip is also expected to include elements related to housing policy, health systems and snow maintenance.