HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-06-063 - UW Research Project Human Understanding of a Changing Downtown Landscape.!
Econoir~ic Develo~mei~t
Report To: Chair Christina Weylie
Development and Technical Services Committee
Date of Meeting: November 20, 2006
Submitted By: Silvia Wright, Manager of Downtown & Community
Development
Prepared By: Cory Bluhm, Urban Investment Advisor
Eric Saunderson, Project Manager Design & Construction
Ward(s) Involved: 1 and 6
Date of Report: November 11, 2006
Report No.: CAO-06-063
Subject: UW Research Project
Human Understanding of a Changing Downtown Landscape
RECOMMENDATION:
That the following report be received for information purposes, and that the results of the
proposed research project be shared with staff, and presented to Council upon completion.
BACKGROUND:
Dr. Troy Glover, Director of the Healthy Communities Research Network and Associate
Professor in the Department of Recreation & Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo, has
received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to
undertake research on how residents experience and value the landscapes with which they
interact in their community. His research is aimed at representing stakeholder values connected
to landscape change. For example, how do new development and physical change fit with the
values and experiences of the residents who live amongst the change.
The overall objective of the project is to inform the Regional Growth Management Strategy by
providing insights about how anticipated growth, intensification and resultant changes to the
urban landscape match with the values of those who live here. It will also provide insight as to
how residents currently interpret and experience the physical environment. The research
methods will expose residents to a variety of different landscapes, both urban and suburban.
REPORT:
One possible study area is the urban landscape of Downtown Kitchener, specifically King
Street. Dr. Glover hopes to recruit participants, who will each photograph desirable and
undesirable landscape changes, identifying spaces and buildings that are important to them.
The second stage involves one-on-one interviews to elicit a better understanding of why each
photograph was taken. Information and data from all interviews will be compiled and analyzed.
The final stage invites participants to engage in a civic discovery forum where participants will
share narratives of the photographs taken, how they interpret landscape change, and the
impacts the change has on their value system.
While this project will be conducted with an overall Regional focus, using Downtown Kitchener
as a study area will help City staff (particularly Engineering, Planning, Building and Economic
Development) to better understand how our work corresponds with the values and mindset of
Downtown users. More specifically, the insights gathered here will assist the King Street
Streetscape Master Plan exercise by better understanding the type of physical changes that can
result in positive improvements to the overall Downtown experience.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None at this time. City staff will assist in finding study participants.
CONCLUSION:
It is recommended that the results of this study be shared with staff and presented to Council
upon completion.
Cory Bluhm MCIP RPP Eric Saunderson
Urban Investment Advisor Project Manager Design & Construction
Silvia Wright
Manager of Downtown & Community Dev'p
Attachments:
Outline of Research Project