| What Happens at a City Idea Lab Course? |
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Challenge questions: Challenge questions are chosen by City staff and relate to a current urban issue/challenge. Challenge questions are embedded into both the academic curriculum and guide group assignments.
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City staff presentations: City staff virtually presented an overview of local government and highlighted the role and responsibilities of the local, regional, provincial, and federal government, aimed at enhancing student’s civic literacy. Additionally, the City staff presented Oshawa’s changing economy and demographics, key issues facing the municipality, and relevant knowledge to frame the challenge questions.
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Co-designing solutions: Students worked in groups to brainstorm ideas and prepare proposals for City staff. City staff attended several class sessions to connect with student groups, support the design process, and provide feedback and guidance.
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Final student presentations: At the end of the semester, students presented their final proposals to City staff. The presentations provided overviews of the solutions and how they can be implemented by the City of Oshawa.
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Showcase of Student Ideas: Please visit www.oshawacityidealab.squarespace.com for a complete summary of the challenge questions and student solutions.
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| City Idea Lab Challenges 2020-2021 |
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City Idea Lab courses covered a wide range of challenges this year, including:
- anti-racism and anti-Black racism,
- child and youth participation,
- health and well-being of community and pollinators,
- building innovative and sustainable communities,
- sharing community stories through public art,
- developing augmented reality platforms for public areas in Oshawa, and
- community development amid COVID-19.
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| Years in Review |
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| Ontario Tech University and Trent Durham Collaborate on Virtual Summer Bi-Institutional City Idea Lab Courses |
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During the Summer 2020 semester, the first bi-institutional course between Ontario Tech University and Trent University Durham was taught by Dr. Alyson King and Brandon Tozzo. The course was titled “Strengths-Based and Cooperative Community Development During Extended Crises,” and it examined the economic and community impacts of the pandemic on the community, and public health measures.
This partnership continued in the Spring 2021 through a second bi-institutional course between Ontario Tech University and Trent University Durham. This course focused on the application of Crime Prevented Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Principles on several locations in the City of Oshawa.
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| Spotlight: Durham College |
| Pen Pals, Reading Buddies and Senior Hour Video Segment |
Personal Support Worker students taking instructor Kimberlee Neault’s Durham College course, Mental Health Challenges, studied the challenge of isolation in older adults during COVID-19. In particular, the students explored how to address the unique needs of older adults, as many do not have financial resources or the ability to use digital technology. In addition to working with the City of Oshawa, students also learned from the Oshawa Senior Community Centres (OSCC55+). Moving beyond designing ideas, they implemented specific programs including a pen pal initiative (cards and letters delivered to isolated seniors), reading buddies (phone calls were made to isolated seniors and students would read stories) and senior-hour video segments, which were made available to the OSCC55+ clients through their website.
 Students from the Future Writing and Publishing Course at Durham College worked with City staff from Recreation and Culture Services. The students addressed the following challenge questions: How might the city tell stories of the impact of TeachingCity and City Idea Lab? How might the city tell good stories? To answer these questions, the students published an online media article and created a Senior Hour Video Segment to highlight the initiatives led by the students of the Personal Support Worker Program. More specifically, the stories were published in the Chronicle, and the video was also shared on the City Idea Lab’s YouTube channel. The stories contributed a meaningful narrative of the work done to address senior isolation amid the pandemic while also providing students with an opportunity to sharpen their journalism skills.
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| Spotlight: Ontario Tech University |
| Mapping Cultural Legacies of Musical Expressions in Oshawa |
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Students from Dr. Gary Genosko’s Special Topics – Popular Music in Oshawa, teamed up with the City’s Recreation and Culture Services staff to explore how the City of Oshawa could best publically recognize the musical heritage of popular music in Oshawa from 1964-1979. Students came up with five creative recommendations:
- Fan Subscription Boxes – created for monthly sale to men and women in the targeted demographic containing a variety of different merchandise and some special surprises that celebrate Oshawa bands from the 60s and 70s.
- Play.Pause.Rewind – a Student-run celebration of Oshawa’s musical heritage at Kop’s Records (Oshawa) upstairs performance space by tribute bands and special guests, including original artists.
- Summer of Music – an annual scavenger hunt in which participants gather selfies at significant musical locations marked with small signs, post these on designated social media, and compete for swag.
- Poshawa – a large-scale concert to be held at the Oshawa Airport featuring current Oshawa musicians.
- Augmented Oshawa – an Oshawa-based augmented reality musical experience, where permanent digitally enabled eco plaques of significant sites for tours; virtual, self-guided and by bus.
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| Spotlight: Trent University Durham GTA |
| Using the Cultural Economy for Post-COVID Recovery |
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Students in Brandon Tozzo’s Communications and Critical Thinking Course at Trent University Durham GTA worked with City staff from Recreation and Cultural Services, Economic Development, and Innovation and Transformation. The aim of the course was to research a post-COVID-19 culture economy. Students explored how the City of Oshawa could maximize the “Buy Local” campaign while supporting and strengthening Oshawa’s cultural sector. Upper year students in this course learned the larger role of culture on a city’s economy, and had the opportunity to learn first-hand from Oshawa cultural business owners, who shared their experiences during the pandemic.
After thoughtful research, the students submitted project proposals that sought to address economic recovery in the cultural sector, including:
- a bike-share program,
- a campaign that promotes buying and supporting local initiatives,
- a COVID-reintegration program to address the increase of homelessness, and
- an internet hub that hosts job fairs.
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| Encouraging Youth-led Engagement Opportunities |
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Students from Omar Lugan’s Child and Youth Studies course addressed the challenges the City faces in regards to inclusive youth engagement and civic participation. They explored how the City could effectively implement two age-based youth councils and also move forward in utilizing youth-centred social media accounts to promote engagement initiatives.
The current Oshawa Youth Council (OYC) has participants ranging from grade 7-12 and is experiencing gaps in age representation and thus this new model would aid in engaging more youth. Students proposed a group of Youth Leaders (grades 7-10) and Youth Mentors (grades 11-12) with Post-Secondary mentors in place.
Students’ social media strategies involved the possible creation of an OYC staff led Snapchat account, intended to break down barriers to engagement where youth may feel more inspired to discuss, share, voice opinions on various issues and topics of importance to them.
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| Testimonials |
| “It was a really interesting way to do a course, which I loved because it made doing the work seem more enjoyable.” – City Idea Lab Student
“I enjoyed this creative way to learn, and the opportunity to complete an assignment that has the potential to provide real-world change.” - City Idea Lab Student
"This was a fantastic experience for our PSW students. They have found the TeachingCity - City Idea Lab projects to be a positive way to help older adults feel a little less isolated during this time.” – Kimberlee Neault, Durham College Faculty
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