Downtown Kitchener Vision

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This project is now complete. On Nov. 6, 2023 Kitchener City Council approved the new vision for downtown Kitchener. Thank you to everyone who contributed. For more information, visit Downtown Kitchener Vision



Unprecedented growth is happening at a time where housing affordability, climate, equity, and social factors are coming together to change the face of the downtown core. The pandemic has caused significant impacts to our business community. This includes the many businesses and organizations who rely on in-person engagement. The office community suddenly transitioned to working remotely, with uncertainty on what a post-pandemic work environment will look like.

As a result, it’s time for the community to shape a new vision for the downtown. This new vision will include a set of guiding principles for the next generation of community-led transformation.

Over the last several months the Downtown Community Working Group has worked together with City staff. They have shaped a comprehensive community engagement process and identified key themes and issues in the downtown. They will continue to play an important role, reviewing community feedback and creating a draft vision and principles based on your ideas.

Now it’s your turn.

The working group members and City staff are seeking your feedback. What’s your vision for downtown Kitchener’s future? Your contributions will help us identify a new vision and set of principles. These will guide decision-making for the downtown core over the next 15-20 years.

If you would like to get email updates about this project, add your email to the Stay Informed section and click ‘Subscribe’.



Unprecedented growth is happening at a time where housing affordability, climate, equity, and social factors are coming together to change the face of the downtown core. The pandemic has caused significant impacts to our business community. This includes the many businesses and organizations who rely on in-person engagement. The office community suddenly transitioned to working remotely, with uncertainty on what a post-pandemic work environment will look like.

As a result, it’s time for the community to shape a new vision for the downtown. This new vision will include a set of guiding principles for the next generation of community-led transformation.

Over the last several months the Downtown Community Working Group has worked together with City staff. They have shaped a comprehensive community engagement process and identified key themes and issues in the downtown. They will continue to play an important role, reviewing community feedback and creating a draft vision and principles based on your ideas.

Now it’s your turn.

The working group members and City staff are seeking your feedback. What’s your vision for downtown Kitchener’s future? Your contributions will help us identify a new vision and set of principles. These will guide decision-making for the downtown core over the next 15-20 years.

If you would like to get email updates about this project, add your email to the Stay Informed section and click ‘Subscribe’.


  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Draft DTK Vision and Principles

    Survey background

    Over the past year, the City has been working with a Downtown Community Working Group (DCWG) on a new vision and guiding principles for Downtown Kitchener. The DCWG includes members of the downtown and broader Kitchener community, each bringing unique and diverse perspectives to the process. 

    The group has met 13 times since June 2022 to engage in a series of conversations about our downtown, exploring topics like:

    • public spaces and parks
    • culture, events and street life
    • growth and housing
    • neighbourhoods and the movement of people and goods
    • thriving businesses
    • climate change and environmental leadership
    • safety and security  


    Additionally, the DCWG has also helped shape a comprehensive community engagement process for this project. In our first round of broad community engagement spanning February to April 2023, over 2,600 people provided input on their vision for Downtown Kitchener, which can be found in the Phase One Engagement Summary.  

    This input was used by the DCWG to draft a vision statement and set of guiding principles for Downtown Kitchener, presented in this questionnaire for your feedback.

    About the vision and principles 

    Before we begin, it is important to understand what each statement is meant to do:

    • A vision statement is an aspiration statement that defines the direction in which we are going. It is the picture of our ideal future.
    • A guiding principle is a value that guides decision-making with respect to the downtown.


    These statements will guide the direction and future decision making for the downtown area in terms of how it looks and feels over the next 15-20 years.

    This questionnaire takes approximately 10 minutes to complete and closes on August 18, 2023. Thank you for your time. 

    This project is now complete. On Nov. 6, 2023 Kitchener City Council approved the new vision for downtown Kitchener. Thank you to everyone who contributed. For more information, visit Downtown Kitchener Vision
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  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    DTK vision survey

    Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. The goal is to hear from you about your vision for the future of Downtown Kitchener (DTK). We are asking you to imagine what you would like the downtown area to look and feel like 15-20 years from now. 

    This questionnaire is one part of a longer-term project. The goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive vision and set of guiding principles for DTK. These will be founded on the values and priorities that are unique to Kitchener’s downtown as identified by the community. 

    There are seven questions in total. This questionnaire takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete and closes on March 31, 2023. Thank you for your time. 

    This project is now complete. On Nov. 6, 2023 Kitchener City Council approved the new vision for downtown Kitchener. Thank you to everyone who contributed. For more information, visit Downtown Kitchener Vision
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