The Capital Urbanism Lab, presented by the National Capital Commission, is back for a third season! Since 2014, this initiative has engaged thousands of people though session attendance and consultation. The 2016 series kicks off September 20th with a session led by the neighbourly Washington D.C. based National Capital Planning Commission.
The Lab series is a fantastic platform through which the NCC has presented fascinating topics: from the wolves of Gatineau Park to social media engagement and city planning. This year’s series will look at a wide range of issues from local farms to the physical heritage of this community. It’s free, but organizers request that you register because space is limited. Alternatively, if you can’t make it in person to their Elgin Street headquarters, they stream Lab episodes on the NCC Youtube channel.
The goal of these engaging session is meaningful civic engagement. “The Lab has 3 main objectives: identify existing and emerging trends and challenges in building our Capital, expand our capacity as a creative partner to develop solutions and best practices for addressing these challenges and bring together partners to support and promote excellence in the Capital,” says Mario Tremblay, NCC Media Relations.
Attendees can interact directly with presenter and NCC management by asking questions or making comments. The public can also contact the NCC with recommendations for future Lab series topics. In addition to streaming the talks, the NCC is also looking to engage more residents through Twitter #UrbanLab.
If you’re reading Apt613, you’re already a fan of our city. This forum is an exciting opportunity to take advantage of Ottawa’s status as a national capital, connect with like minded people and get involved with this community.
For more information on upcoming lectures and presentations, check the Lecture Series 2016-2017 calendar at ncc-ccn.gc.ca/lab. If you can’t make it to tonight’s session, you can check out the PowerPoint presentation here.
Upcoming talks include: