At a Glance
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218
Acres
- Location
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Offices
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Client
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City of Waterloo
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- Location
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Offices
- Client
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- City of Waterloo
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Waterloo Uptown Public Realm Strategy
With the planned growth and arrival of three light rail stops in their Uptown District, the City of Waterloo wanted to develop a strategy to shape the future of this area. They also wanted to better understand community desires and find a path for investment in public and active transportation. The City reached out to us to help.
To kick off the public realm strategy for Uptown Waterloo, our Urban Places team dove into an iterative engagement process with the community. We gathered insights on growth and development through several public sessions including a 50-participant urban design charrette and a forum attended by 150 community members.
Our initial findings, combined with community feedback, revealed that aligning growth with Uptown’s green spine would be key to seamlessly integrate a network of public and private parks and spaces. We developed a strategy built on five key public realm considerations—Breathe, Move, Frame, Celebrate, and Inspire—to transform streets, greenways, parks, plazas, and privately owned public spaces into a cohesive whole. By leveraging the new light rail transit platforms, our strategy promotes movement within and through the area’s open spaces. Additional recommends include collaborating with the community to design spaces for daily rituals and special celebrations. Finally, our strategy aims to inspire the community by incorporating a public art and events initiative.
The result? The City Council gave unanimous support for the strategy. They can now provide a year-round connected urban landscape and a range of great places to walk, ride, work, rest, meet, and play—all key to creating a thriving and active Uptown community.
At a Glance
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218
Acres
- Location
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Offices
-
-
Client
-
-
City of Waterloo
-
- Location
- Waterloo, Ontario
- Offices
- Client
-
- City of Waterloo
Share
Anushree Nallapaneni, Urban Designer
I enjoy graphic visualization of design ideas and urban data analysis and strive to incorporate innovative approaches in my work.
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