Interactive map reveals service accessibility in Waterloo region

New Neighbourhood Services Map Launched in Waterloo Region

As the Waterloo region prepares for a population of one million by 2050, a new services map shows how accessible services are in local neighborhoods.

One Million Neighbours WR launched the Neighbourhood Services Map on Monday. This interactive map ranks neighborhoods in all municipalities based on factors like health care, transit, green spaces, schools, and libraries. Areas are marked as “most access” in green, “average access” in red, and “least access” in blue.

The map was developed by various non-profit and community groups in collaboration with Civic Tech WR, a volunteer group of software and data professionals.

Data Collection for the Map

Sam Nabi, the project coordinator with One Million Neighbours WR, stated they obtained data from the census and Open Street Map. The census provided neighborhood boundaries and recent population counts. Open Street Map offered data on apps for directions and local businesses.

Nabi said, “There’s a range of open data that we collected there specifically tailored to the priorities of the non-profit groups that contributed to our vision document.”

He added, “Things like green spaces really came up as important at a neighborhood level. Things like community spaces are super important for having neighborhoods where people can connect and belong.”

Findings from the Map

Initial findings suggest that cities like Kitchener and Waterloo are better equipped than Cambridge. However, all cities have areas marked as “least accessible.” For instance, in Kitchener, the Forest Heights area is ranked as “most access,” while Forest Heights West is ranked as “least access,” despite their proximity.

Rural areas like Elmira, New Hamburg, and Wellesley rank well for green spaces and community centers but lag in transit and health care access.

Nabi noted that population growth affects how neighborhoods adapt to services. He mentioned, “If we look at some neighborhoods that are newer, such as the northwest corner of Waterloo or the southwest area of Kitchener, you’ll see on the map that those are areas that have a lot of population growth but a lot of the services haven’t caught up yet.”

Benefits of the Map

The main beneficiaries of this tool are governments and local grassroots community organizations. Governments can use the data to develop policies for updating strategic plans for parks or transportation. Community groups can use it as a “gut check” for relevant data in their neighborhoods.

Nabi explained, “If you’re getting together with your neighbors and you realize you want to advocate for more park space, more child care services, or community center hours, this map can hopefully provide some more additional context within the Region to see where these services are being equitably provided.”

One Million Neighbours WR plans to work with developers and local community groups to update the map at least once a year.