This Wednesday May 16th at 7:30pm is your last chance this season to come out and participate in the Next City Cafe Seeing the Suburbs Wednesday May 16th 7:30pm Alpha Soul Cafe 1015 Wellington Street West, Hintonburg Join: Julia Valley - Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre Mandy McCrone- Barrhaven Without a Car -Jane's Walk 2012 Akash Sinha - Dharma Developments Arras Hopkins - AOE Arts Council What are the misconceptions and realities that are shaping them? What does the future hold?  What are the possibilities? Join the conversation, share your experiences and ideas. Join us on twitter at #nextcity Help Spread the Word! Pass it on.  ...

Spacing Ottawa's Next City Cafe presents: Wednesday March 21st at 7pm at the Alpha Soul Cafe - 1015 Wellington Street West in Hintonburg Creating Collaborative Spaces How does collaboration happen? What are the benefits? How do we foster a collaborative culture within Ottawa? join the conversation, share your experiences, help shape Ottawa with special guests: Vinod Rajasekaran from Hub Ottawa, Julie Dupont from the City of Ottawa, Diane Touchette from Under One Roof and Clive Doucet as they talk about their experiences, exciting new collaborative spaces in Ottawa and how collaboration can change this city. Share your ideas and experiences on twitter at #nextcity

Spacing Ottawa's Next City Cafe is taking a break in January but we will be back with more exciting discussions in February, March and April, 2012. Next City 2012: mark your calendars now. Wed. Feb. 15th  7:30 pm- Healing Toxic Cities: who is doing what to make Ottawa a healthier place to live Wed. March 21st 7:30 pm- Curated Collaboration:  innovative spaces that foster collaboration Wed. April 18th - 7:30 pm Art in the Streets: sculptures, murals and gardens So, ...

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="High Line Park, NYC - photo by CosmicAutumn"][/caption] ________ Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7.00 PM @ Alpha Soul Café, 1015 Wellington Street West, in Hintonburg. Do you know of a green space in your community that is underused, that is uninspiring, that you avoid, that you wish could be something more? This week's Next City Cafe is about how to reimagine these community spaces and make them into something wonderful. Bring your imagination, a pen, and your wish list for a local community space -- and with some experienced panelists, we will dream big -- so come on out and spread the word! Panelists: Chris Osler, Community Developer of the Sandy Hill Community Health Center Aamina Bedran, Co-founder of the Ottawa Children's Garden After the bump, the notes from October's Next City Café, on the topic of Food Security.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Urban food of the future, from 1940's Seagram's ad."][/caption] _____ Everyone eats. What we eat, how we get it, the cost of our food and where it comes from are questions for everyone. How do we plan our city with food in mind? Let’s talk about it together. “Planning for a Food Secure Ottawa” October 19th 7:00pm Alpha Soul Café, 1015 Wellington St W. Next City Café is a new monthly discussion forum in collaboration with Spacing Ottawa that explores the spaces, places and ideas that matter in Ottawa. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, urban enthusiasts, ...

"Everyday Cycling" is an inclusive term that can be used to describe anyone who rides a bike for any reason: for sport, for dropping kids at school, for grocery shopping, commuting to work, for leisurely rides along the river, all can thought of as everyday cyclists.  On Wednesday September 21st, cycling enthusiasts, community activists, and planners gathered at the Alpha Soul Café in Hintonburg for the first session of the Next City Café.  Breakout groups were tasked with answering three key questions; afterwards each brought their notes back to share with the room. The goal was to come up with constructive actions we can all do to make cycling better in our city.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="598" caption="Going for a Danish at the Next City Café - everyday cyclists in Copenhagen"][/caption] ____ Next City Café is a new monthly discussion forum that explores the spaces, places and ideas that matter in Ottawa.  Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, urban enthusiasts, activists, planners and residents will get together to explore, talk and be inspired to contribute to making this city’s spaces even better. Come join the conversation! Ottawa is a beautiful city to cycle around but is it the best city to navigate as an everyday ...