Kitchener-Waterloo's Action Plan 2012-2016
Ever since Sara Domaratzki's presentation in lecture this past Monday about the Creative Age, I have been actively thinking about Kitchener-Waterloo's action plan for 2012-2016. As mentioned in her presentation, the goal for this action plan was "to establish downtown Kitchener as one of the best downtowns in North America. One that offers a complete sense of community while offering cool, vibrant, unique experiences" (Domaratzki, 2018).
During class discussion, those who participated stated that this goal had not been met and that Kitchener-Waterloo did not strike individuals as a city that is vibrant and unique. While I do agree that Kitchener-Waterloo was not able to meet their goal, I do also believe that there are many events and organizations that are currently contributing to this idea of a "cool" city that KW is trying to promote that many are unaware of. A few of these events and organizations include Night/Shift, an annual hacking festival that is in its fifth year, Green Light Arts which is responsible for producing many theatre performances, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, and finally THEMUSEUM which has hosted many local art collectives including "#Exnovates" and "Quantum Exhibition."
While it does take more than a handful of events and organizations to be able to call a city 'vibrant', in my opinion it does qualify as a strong start. Perhaps something that KW should be placing more attention into is its communication since many individuals in lecture were not even aware of these things. I learned of these things during my time working at The Community Edition and otherwise would not have been informed about them either. Perhaps, as we're at the start of 2018, KW should be making a revised action plan with more realistic and necessary steps to be taken.
Hey Sarah! I agree, this city needs to really focus on engagement to contribute to its success. There are a lot of interesting events that happen however we do not really know whats going on. I wonder how businesses can reach out to students whose priorities may not be their direct target market.
ReplyDeleteI agree they need to make some actionable goals that can improve this.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post! I was also drawn to Sara’s presentation about the Creative Age and was wondering to what extent Kitchener-Waterloo’s action plan had reached their goals. Although they have not met all the criteria of the plan, I also think that they have made awesome progress by planning and executing events around the city. Regarding this, I think the idea of improving how people in the city can become aware of what is going on is a significant idea to address when moving forward. Referring to my personal experience, I had a photoshoot downtown Kitchener last summer and there was an event going on downtown where several families gathered to have food and entertainment. I was not aware that events such as this occurred, especially during weekday evenings, but the music and vibrant ambiance that came from the event was cool and exciting, making me appreciate Kitchener more.
To fuel my curiosity, I went ahead and looked at the website for downtown Kitchener’s events and was surprised with how many interesting events are well planned in advanced. This goes to show that without proper marketing and communication with the wider community, several people can miss out on these great events! Here is the link: http://www.downtownkitchener.ca/en/index.asp. Hence, Kitchener-Waterloo may have not met all the goals of their action plan but through the promotion of the cool and unique experiences that already exist, they are one step closer to becoming the city they want to be known for!
Mae
Having spent a lot of time in the Kitchener community over the past year or so, I agree with you that there is a lot happening, especially in the Downtown core, that I would categorize as "cool". Kitchener is home to a rich and diverse art culture and fascinating flows of underground creative groups that, while not initially evident, give it it's own kind of vibrancy and intrigue.
ReplyDeleteWhile I cringe a little hearing people talk about Kitchener as this gross, scary place, I do think that Shinjini has a point when she states that no one ever hears about these events. My belief is that this can be attributed to the lack of intersection between two (somewhat) closed communities - Laurier, being once and DTK being another. Both are tight-knit and very much involved in their own interests that do not often cross paths, due mostly to their spatial divide. Both would benefit greatly from engagement with one another, and the trick here is a greater degree of collaboration, whether it be events or communicative endeavors.
I agree with Sarah, the KW region needs to improve aspects of their action plan for the future of the cities of development and success in creativity. Living in the KW region my whole life I have seen it transform into the creative atmosphere it is now. It defiantly has had a significant amount of improvement from the past years. Although there seems to be a halt on the progression, the many start ups in downtown Kitchener has improved the city overall. However I think that the lack of marketing or engagement the city establishes with its citizens need to be improved to bring people out to their events and their new establishments. To say that they want downtown Kitchener to be the best downtowns in North America is a huge stretch in my opinion, just based on population numbers, active community members and funding as well. However I do think they rethink their goals they could become a much more flourishing creative city with a cooler atmosphere than they already are.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the city needs to shift more focus into communication, not only these critical events, but really their overall goals. If the city has set milestones they want to accomplish they should put effort into campaigning these ideas so that more members of the community can get on board.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this kind of stuff happens over night, and I agree that where the city has come in the last couple years is a strong start. It will be interesting to see where we are in another couple of years.
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ReplyDeleteHey Sarah,
ReplyDeletethanks for posting, I was not aware that Kitchener put on such events. As a resident of the KW area for the last four years, I can personally say that I have had the privilege of seeing some of the progressions detailed in the action plan, such as the growth of the Innovation District. Upon finishing the Downtown Kitchener Action Plan, I was left with the impression that the city aims to grow at a fast pace. Although the city has not met all its goals, it is evident that they are taking the right steps to achieve them through events such as the ones you perviously mentioned, which are intended to foster "cool, vibrant, unique experiences". However, I would agree that the communication for these events is extremely poor and could vastly improve through more advertising. Kitchener could use free domains such as Youtube videos and Facebook groups to help raise awareness. Perhaps this may help their goal at establishing "downtown Kitchener as one of the best downtowns in North America".
I agree that Kitchener has a lot more going on than people may think. I am new to the Waterloo area, only moving here two years ago. I heard a lot of people saying that Kitchener was a rough place to live with a lot of crime and poverty, but I also heard a lot of people say that the city has improved so much in the last couple years. I have explored the city more and more and continue to find amazing events and opportunities there for all ages, even students!
ReplyDeleteLast school year, I took the Communications course CS250- Introduction to Creative Industries which was taught by a member of the Kitchener City council who dealt with community engagement. The professor asked the class if anyone had been to Kitchener before, and only three people out of fifty-five raised their hand. She then rephrased the question, asking if anyone had been to Dallas, followed by everyone raising their hands. In other Blog posts, people have mentioned students leaving the KW area after graduation and the city having a hard time keeping students in the area. I think Kitchener is improving and people will start to realize its potential, including students!
This was one of my favourite discussions in class we had and I have learned about so many more events from both the discussion and this blog post, so thank you! I think Kitchener has done a good job in starting to get the ball rolling on being an inventive and "cool" city, but as discussed in class, I think that they need to address other issues in the city before they make all of these promises like infrastructure and the employment of people outside of the tech industry. I have been to some of these events and try to explore Kitchener as much as possible and I look forward to attending these future events that you have listed here!
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