Working toward a caring Ottawa
Ottawa has the chance to lead the Caring Cities movement in Canada. CAWI’s Caring Cities initiative is working toward that goal by listening to communities, sharing what we learn, and advocating for decisions that centre care.
We’re imagining a city that cares for all
Our Caring Cities work is grounded in an intersectional feminist approach to city planning. That means putting diverse voices, stories, and lived experiences at the center of how we imagine and help shape Ottawa.
Our approach keeps evolving as we learn from the community and listen to people most affected by inequality. This helps us move closer to our vision of a fair, inclusive and care-focused city.
CAWI’s early thinking on Caring Cities is shared in our first report, Putting People First: From Policy to Planning (PDF). While our understanding has grown since then, the report is still a helpful resource for learning about key ideas and global examples.
We’re learning from communities
We’re doing community-based participatory research to understand what people truly need to feel seen, valued and supported in their neighbourhoods.
Community Care Walks
By listening to residents as we walk through their neighbourhood with them, we gain a deeper understanding of daily life and how care shows up in their community. Our Care Walks explore questions like:
- Can you move safely through your neighbourhood?
- Are the sidewalks accessible?
- Can you easily reach grocery stores, health services, green spaces, and gathering places?
- Is there food nearby that’s affordable and right for your culture?
We aim to publish a report on every neighbourhood where we do a Care Walk:
- Vanier Care Walk Report
- Centretown – Report coming soon
- Overbrook – Report coming soon
- Merivale – Report coming soon
Find an upcoming Care Walk or apply to lead a Care Walk in your area. Leaders can choose between two types:
- Walk and Observe: gather practical data using clear evaluation tools
- Walk and Reflect: explore care in your neighbourhood through prompts that invite noticing, feeling, and imagining
Focus groups
Care starts with a conversation and grows into many. Alongside our Care Walks, we’re planning to host small focus groups with neighbours, friends and community members. Our aim is to spark meaningful, grassroots discussions that help us co-create an Ottawa that truly values care.
Want to lead a conversation in your own community? Contact our team to learn about opportunities.
Care Mapping workshops
City planning often misses how people actually experience their environment. Our Care Mapping workshops ask residents to explore how urban spaces make them feel. What do you notice in your body? What do you smell, hear, or sense? Do you feel safe or tense? Do you take up space or make yourself small?
This process values people’s lived experience as real knowledge. It centres the voices of care workers, local residents, and people who face systemic barriers.
Through Care Mapping, we learn what helps people feel included or left out. And together, we imagine what a more caring neighbourhood could look like — reclaiming the right to shape the places where we live.
We share insights and recommendations
We aim to shift how cities are designed and governed by putting care and equity at the centre. To support this, we plan to offer training and education for urban planners, policymakers, and other decision makers.
The training will be grounded in lived experience and shaped by the findings of our community-based participatory research. It will reflect the everyday realities of people who know the city best.
We’ll create space for reflection and dialogue, and share practical tools to help embed care into policy, planning, and public investment.
Learn more about care, equity and inclusion training in Ottawa.
We advocate for care in planning and policy
We use what we learn from our community-based research to shape our advocacy. That means keeping a close eye on what’s happening at City Hall, speaking up when care is missing from planning decisions, and connecting with leaders who can help move our vision forward.
Active campaign: Transit Therapy
How’s the “New Ways to Bus” initiative working for you? OC Transpo’s major route changes rolled out in April 2025 — and they’ve had a big impact on people who rely on transit for caregiving, work and daily life.
We’re collecting stories and feedback from bus riders to understand what’s working and what’s not. Tell us about your transit experiences here. Your input will be shared with OC Transpo and the City to push for changes where they’re needed most. Every story helps!
