Despite increasing regulations on social gatherings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Waterloo neighborhoods team is developing an interactive map of gathering spaces, in hopes that it can support community members in their return to in-person gatherings when it is safe to do so. The expected launch is Spring 2021.
“Although we cannot currently get together with our friends and neighbours like we did previously, eventually we will be able to safely do so, which makes this an ideal time to take an inventory of local resources,” s Mayor Dave Jaworsky says. “There are hidden gems across the city that more people should know about, so we are asking residents about spaces they appreciate.”
Asset mapping projects are commonly focused on taking inventory of resources within the community such as spaces, organizations, or skills and strengths of community members, and designing an easily identifiable map to make these resources known. The gathering map will provide a tool for building awareness of the different community spots to gather and safely enjoy the company of others – things that sound more exciting than usual these days.
Some of the hidden gems that will become easily discoverable include indoor gathering spaces within recreational facilities, religious spaces, businesses, community buildings, outdoor gathering spaces within parks, and green spaces.
The map will provide a seamless experience by providing visuals, a browsing function, and helpful location details like capacity, size, and amenities to make planning easy. The map will also make booking for meetings and gatherings simple through its accessible contact information tool.
Do you want to share your input? Here are a few ways you can get involved:
- Attend the Neighbourhood Summit gathering spaces asset mapping workshop on Nov. 10 – the workshop is free and registration is required
- Check out the gathering space asset map project page on Engage Waterloo
Reach out directly to project coordinator Halie Gilmore, 519-514-0228 or halie.gilmore@waterloo.ca
