Webinar recap: How three municipalities are designing for social wellbeing
Fostering neighbourly connections through residential building design
On June 24, 2026, Hey Neighbour Collective, Happy Cities and United Way BC’s Seniors’ Housing Working Group co-hosted “How three municipalities are designing for social wellbeing.” This webinar was the third and final session in a three-part series focused on building social connection in housing.
In the first webinar, we explored innovative, community-driven programs that foster social connections in housing. In the second, we looked at how housing operators can support and enable these programs within their buildings (and what they gain when they do.)
Watch the recaps of webinars 1 and 2 here and here.
In the third webinar, Happy Cities showcased how the design of housing itself can create the conditions for stronger social connections and more connected communities, and planners from the cities of Port Moody, New Westminster and Burnaby presented about how they are putting social wellbeing at the centre of housing policy.
From research to policy
The 90 minutes were jam-packed with learnings. Happy Cities shared an overview of the Housing that Connects Us research and toolkit, then planners talked about how they’re translating evidence (including from post-occupancy studies) into practice and policy (like incentive-based design guidelines).
Over 215 people joined in from across Canada, representing over a dozen sectors, which made for an engaging Q&A.
“I am taking away how everything is moving towards social wellbeing by building social connections and that policies should be modified to foster this”
Attendee
“Excellent speakers and information.”
Attendee
Thank you to our amazing presenters!
Speakers
Moderator: Michelle Hoar, Project Director, Hey Neighbour Collective
- Madeleine Hebert: Director, Happy Cities
- Sheree Emmanuel: Urban Planner, Happy Cities
- Shareen Chin: Social Planner, City of Port Moody
- Melissa Pais: Planning Assistant III, City of Burnaby
- Alana Wittman: Senior Land Use Planner, City of New Westminster
Access the presentation slides and additional resources below.
Presentations and resources
Hey Neighbour Collective and Happy Cities
Presentation
City of Burnaby
Presentation
Resources
City of New Westminster
Presentation
Resources
City of Port Moody
Interested in working with Hey Neighbour Collective and Happy Cities to build neighbourly social connectedness and resilience into your community’s policy and practice? Contact Michelle Hoar (Hey Neighbour Collective, mhoar@sfu.ca) or Madeleine Hebert (Happy Cities, madeleine@happycities.com) to start exploring how we might work together.
