Andrea Bidgood
Neighbourhood Streets Lab: Play, Mobility & Belonging | Guelph
Andrea Bidgood is a Guelph-based community organizer, systems thinker and civic connector working in the space between people and policy. Her work centres on belonging, accessibility, public space and everyday mobility, with a focus on meaningful community engagement and how people experience systems in practice. As Guelph’s first Bicycle Mayor and founder of Girls, Gays & Theys Bike Club and Guelph Queer Brunch Bunch, Andrea creates low-barrier ways for people to connect, participate and shape their communities. She turns lived experience into insight and uses community-led experiments to inform better practice, policy and public spaces.
About the Project
The Neighbourhood Streets Lab uses Guelph’s existing block-party process as a real-world test of what a Play Streets model could look like. The project will combine open and guided play for children with workshops and activities for adults and youth, creating space for neighbours to connect, learn and make something together. We’ll document what works, where the process creates barriers and what people value most. The goal is to turn that experience into practical insight, build a proof of concept, and advocate for a simpler, more accessible pathway so more neighbourhoods can benefit from Play Streets and similar community-led projects.