With 9 out of 10 Canadians expected to be urban dwellers by 2050, there is an immense opportunity to (re)design cities in ways that improve wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. The HealthyPlace.City tool has the potential to highlight where health-promoting conditions occur and where they do not, which will help people and organizations advocate and plan healthy urban neighbourhoods now and in the future. The feedback you provide during this testing phase will help improve HealthyPlace.City and to create a tool that is easy to use and accessible to all.

Completion of the survey is voluntary.

The survey will ask for your email address, some basic demographic information, and your opinions on how easy the tool is to use and understand, and your advice on what could be improved.

The survey is being conducted using Google Forms. Your email and your associated responses will only be visible to the Project Administrator. While the survey is open, the information will be stored on a Google server in the password-protected Google Drive account of the Project Administrator. Once the survey is closed, all information will be downloaded to secure password-protected project staff computer(s) and removed from Google.

You will have an opportunity to request a copy of your responses to be emailed to you when you submit the completed survey.

Results will be Used/Disseminated in the Following Ways:
The survey results will be summarized and included in a report that will be shared with the research team and project staff (https://healthydesign.city/our-team/), the tool developers, and may be publicly posted on the project website. No identifying information, such as email addresses of respondents, will be included in the report. The information may also be used to develop academic publications reporting on the evaluation of urban health indicator tools, and may be used in presentations such as webinars and at academic or professional conferences.

The summarized results will help us to refine the next version of the HealthyPlace.City tool and to share lessons learned with other organizations in other countries who may be developing similar tools.

Risks:
There are no known or anticipated risks to you by participating in this research.

Compensation:
There is no compensation for participating in the survey.


Withdrawal from the survey:
You can request your responses and email address be deleted after submitting the survey by emailing the Project Administrator  (see Contact Information below). Once the summary report is completed and posted publicly, we will not be able to remove your responses. Any new analyses and reports prepared after your request is received will not include your information.

Disposal of Data:
Your email address and survey responses in unaggregated form will be stored by the Project Administrator on a password-protected project computer for archival purposes for the duration of the current funding phase, ending March 31, 2024. At that time, the data will be permanently deleted.

Project Funding and Contact Information:
Funding for the HealthyPlace.City tool is provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium, and held by Dr. Jeff Brook, Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

The Project Administrator for this survey and the associated data is Dr. Dany Doiron (dany.doiron@canue.ca). Contact the Project Administrator if you wish to withdraw your responses. If you have any questions or concerns about this survey please contact Dr. Jeff Brook (jeff.brook@utoronto.ca or 416-978-5883); or the Research Oversight and Compliance Office – Human Research Ethics Program (ethics.review@utoronto.ca or 416-946-3273).

By voluntarily providing your email address and completing the survey,  YOUR FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT IS IMPLIED and indicates that you understand the above conditions of participation in this study and that you have had the opportunity to have your questions answered by the researchers, and that you consent to participate in this research project.