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What is REACH-Cities? 

REACH-Cities (REsearch and ACtion for Healthy Cities) is a 6-year research program (2022-2028) led by Dr. Meghan Winters from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, supported by her Public Health Agency of Canada/Canadian Institutes of Health Research Applied Public Health Chair, Sex and Gender in Healthy Cities. 

An equitable city is one where all residents have fair access to and participation in the life of the city. Our social identities, including gender, shape our everyday experiences in our cities. However, women, girls, and gender-diverse people are often not prioritized, represented, or engaged in city design.  

The overarching goal of REACH-Cities is to promote research, tools, and partnerships that foster increased gender and social equity in our cities. The program is responsive to the needs of partners to address urgent questions and timely opportunities. We’ve created a 2-page shareable summary here.

Examples of case studies that we are exploring include

• Developing a community-informed definition of 15-minute neighbourhoods in Surrey [link]
• An analysis of census data to map demographic change in the region over 25 years 
• A scan of equity frameworks being used in Canadian municipalities [link] 

Knowledge products

• REACH-Cities project summary
• Women and Cycling: A Canadian Picture research brief
• Gender-based Analysis Plus report

Partners

City of Surrey: Surrey is home to 591,700 people and is the largest city in Metro Vancouver by land area. Its tagline, “The future lives here”, reflects its fast-growing population: 10,000 people move to Surrey every year, and a quarter of Surrey’s population is under 20 years old. Surrey is also among the most culturally diverse cities in Canada, with 47% of residents speaking languages at home other than English and French. 

City of Burnaby: Burnaby is the third-largest city in the province with over 249,000 residents. Burnaby is culturally rich and diverse, with over half (54%) of residents have a primary language aside from English or French. REACH-Cities is working with the City of Burnaby in conjunction with the Civic Innovation Lab (link).  

REACH-Cities activities and outputs will involve and support a much larger audience: community groups, city staff, and health practitioners working in the Metro Vancouver region, as well as a broader network of provincial, national, and international audiences. 

We recognize a lot of excellent initiatives are already underway. As we build out REACH-Cities we hope to connect with current and potential partners who share our interest in healthy, equitable cities. If you are interested in working with us, please reach out at reachcities@sfu.ca or mwinters@sfu.ca. 

Collaborators

The REACH-Cities program was designed in discussion with numerous SFU Faculty members, including Jen Marchbank, Tiffany Muller Myrdahl, Lyana Patrick, Travis Salway, Julia Smith, and Travers. SFU has provided great support for the project, including from the Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU Surrey, the Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERi), and the SFU Library. 

Meghan Winters is one of seven CIHR Applied Public Health Research Chairs in Canada: the program is also connected with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the National Collaborating Centres for Public Health. 

Connect with us

REACH-Cities is keen to hear from local governments, health practitioners, advocates and NGOs, and researchers and trainees working in this space. Please reach out at reachcities@sfu.ca or mwinters@sfu.ca.