Let's map our gathering spaces!

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This consultation is now closed. Please check out the Gathering Spaces tool on the new Neighbourhoods website

Neighbourhood asset mapping is a community-focused way of sharing information about local resources. 

Asset mapping projects typically focus on resources such as community spaces, skills and strengths of residents, or organizations in the community. Taking an inventory of community assets and displaying them on a map helps to easily identify available resources and address community needs.

Our neighbourhoods team is developing a gathering space asset map and we need your help! Mapping locations will benefit residents who require access to spaces for neighbourhood meetings and events. This tool will also help enable COVID-19 community recovery by supporting the return to in-person gatherings when it is safe to do so.

Neighbours will be able to browse locations across the community, see details about the spaces (capacity, size, amenities), and access contact information to book spaces for meetings and gatherings. To give residents a better sense of each space, photos will be included where possible.

Categories of spaces will include:

  • Indoor gathering spaces within recreational facilities, religious spaces, businesses, and community buildings
  • Outdoor gathering spaces within parks and green spaces

Developing a gathering space asset map was recommended in the City of Waterloo neighbourhood strategy. The interactive map will be displayed on the city’s new online hub for all things neighbourhoods, currently under development.

The interactive gathering spaces asset map is planned to be available early 2022. For more information, take a look at the workshop session from our Neighbourhood Summit.

Neighbourhood asset mapping is a community-focused way of sharing information about local resources. 

Asset mapping projects typically focus on resources such as community spaces, skills and strengths of residents, or organizations in the community. Taking an inventory of community assets and displaying them on a map helps to easily identify available resources and address community needs.

Our neighbourhoods team is developing a gathering space asset map and we need your help! Mapping locations will benefit residents who require access to spaces for neighbourhood meetings and events. This tool will also help enable COVID-19 community recovery by supporting the return to in-person gatherings when it is safe to do so.

Neighbours will be able to browse locations across the community, see details about the spaces (capacity, size, amenities), and access contact information to book spaces for meetings and gatherings. To give residents a better sense of each space, photos will be included where possible.

Categories of spaces will include:

  • Indoor gathering spaces within recreational facilities, religious spaces, businesses, and community buildings
  • Outdoor gathering spaces within parks and green spaces

Developing a gathering space asset map was recommended in the City of Waterloo neighbourhood strategy. The interactive map will be displayed on the city’s new online hub for all things neighbourhoods, currently under development.

The interactive gathering spaces asset map is planned to be available early 2022. For more information, take a look at the workshop session from our Neighbourhood Summit.

This consultation is now closed. Please check out the Gathering Spaces tool on the new Neighbourhoods website

  • Results of Survey #2

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    Thank you for contributing to Survey #2 for the gathering spaces asset map.

    We received 248 responses and we are thankful to everyone who contributed. The information below is a snapshot of some of the information we received from the community. You can view the full summary document for more detail. Please note we removed contest entry email addresses to protect privacy.

    Preferred map option

    Map option Photo Percentage of survey respondents
    Map option 1 30.2%
    Map option 2 58.0%
    Map option 3 6.9%
    I don't know which map option I prefer
    4.9%


    When booking a space, how important is the proximity to a public transit stop?

    Level of importance Percentage of survey respondents

    Very important

    19.4%

    Important

    26.7%

    Somewhat important

    32.8%

    Not important

    21.1%


    When booking a space, how important is information on parking availability?

    Level of importance Percentage of survey respondents

    Very important

    45.7%

    Important

    38.9%

    Somewhat important

    13.4%

    Not important

    2.0%


    Would you download and use a mobile version of the gathering spaces asset map if available?

    Answer Percentage of survey respondents

    Yes

    30.3%

    No

    21.7%

    Maybe

    48%


    Additional themes and comments

    In addition to the results highlighted above, here are a few additional takeaways from the survey:

    • According to survey responses, the majority of respondents access mapping tools on their mobile devices. We are taking extra care to ensure the tool is accessible and useable on mobile devices.
    • When looking for spaces to host meetings, events, and gatherings, respondents indicate that they are most interested in details like, space capacity, photos, and rental and fee information.


    Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey and provide your feedback. If you have any questions about the information published here, please reach out to halie.gilmore@waterloo.ca