About

National Active School Streets Initiative (NASSI) creates temporary car-free spaces around schools - using physical barriers and signage - to make it safer and more comfortable for children and their families to walk or bike, rather than go by car, when travelling to and from school. NASSI takes place across Canada, and is a joint initiative which brings together multiple research institutions, non-profit organizations and community partners.

The School Streets initiative, the original model for the NASSI, began in Italy in 1990s as a way to address congestion and car traffic that were noticed during school drop-off and pick-up times. In Canada, it started in 2021 and has grown to include over 30 community partners across six Canadian provinces. The programs vary, from short pop-up events to one-year-long projects, depending on the contexts and needs of each community. NASSI is a collaborative initiative between Green Communities Canada, Toronto-based organization 8 80 Cities, the Centre d’écologie urbaine in Montreal, and the Society for Children and Youth of BC.

For more information on NASSI, please visit https://greencommunitiescanada.org/programs/school-streets/‍

NASSI is taking place between 2024 and 2027 in communities across the country. During this time, NASSI will be implemented and assessed in two Vancouver elementary schools, with the help of the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver School Board. By assessing the program, we will be able to learn how we can effectively expand it to other schools and communities.

Funding information

National Active School Streets Initiative is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund. In British Columbia, the program is additionally funded by the Government of British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and is coordinated and led by Green Communities Canada and the Society for Children and Youth of BC.

Publications & Resources

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