Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
³Ô¹ÏÍø engages in a range of initiatives to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. By advancing SDG 11, we play a role in enhancing the quality of life for those in our local communities and beyond.
The work that ³Ô¹ÏÍø completed in 2023 to advance SDG 11.
Kitchener-Waterloo residents and policymakers saw homelessness through a new lens at a photography exhibit called . With the support of ³Ô¹ÏÍø researchers, people with lived experiences of homelessness captured their perspectives through imagery.
As part of a pilot program with the Region of Waterloo, ³Ô¹ÏÍø has partnered with Neuron Mobility to provide community members with additional and sustainable options for travel to and from campus. Use of the e-bikes and e-scooters will contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion.
Social Innovation in the City, offered through ³Ô¹ÏÍø's Faculty of Arts, provides students with hands-on opportunities to research, design and test social and policy innovations to make a positive impact in the City of Waterloo. Throughout the course, students have access to an advisory group of experts at the City of Waterloo and ³Ô¹ÏÍø, as well as community experts and partners. At the end of the course, student solutions are presented to stakeholder groups during an in-person event at Waterloo City Hall.
Erin Dej, an assistant professor of Criminology, and Laura Pin, an assistant professor of Political Science, are both actively seeking solutions to homelessness through their research. Dej works alongside people with lived experience to study homelessness and social exclusion, including the criminalization of homelessness. Pin’s research examines how social inequality intersects with public policy, including housing policy.
Renowned Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers brought her artwork that explores decolonization in the pursuit of Truth and Reconciliation to the Robert Langen Art Gallery at ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Waterloo campus in the exhibition #hopeandhealingcanada.
Members of ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s executive leadership team were among 60 staff, students, faculty and community members who rolled up their sleeves and put brush to canvas during a collaborative painting session as part of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Library Indigenous Mural Project.
Renowned hip hop artist and ³Ô¹ÏÍø alum Shad (Shadrach Kabango), a Rwandan-Canadian rapper with an illustrious career spanning seven full-length albums and three EPs since his debut in 2005, returned to ³Ô¹ÏÍø for an exclusive residency.
As an Anishinaabe composer, singer and educator, Barbara Assiginaak teaches composition at ³Ô¹ÏÍø and creates music that reflects her culture and heritage. She is also a dedicated supporter of truth and reconciliation efforts in Canada. On the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, she premiered a new piece commissioned by Salle Bourgie and FIL in Montréal.
³Ô¹ÏÍø teamed up with SpacesShared, an online platform that pairs students looking for affordable accommodations with older adults who have extra space in their homes. The partnership will create new housing options for ³Ô¹ÏÍø students in Waterloo and Brantford and give older adults a way to leverage a spare bedroom for some extra income, company and assistance around the house.
³Ô¹ÏÍø research centres advancing SDG 11.
The (VERiS) is an interdisciplinary and community-engaged research centre striving to be a catalyst and nexus for the transition toward strong cultures of sustainability. The centre understands cultures of sustainability “as characterized by shared values, symbols, rituals and practices grounded in sustainability principles leading to individual and societal choices that promote environmental protection, social justice and well-being, and a supportive economy." A culture of sustainability may exist within an organization, a building with multiple organizations or a community.
The (LCSC) focuses on the interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and comparative study of the Canadian experience. LCSC has three objectives:
In pursuit of this mission, LCSC recognizes there are expansive, evolving, and contested interpretations of Canada.
The (LCMC) was formed with a mission of connecting ³Ô¹ÏÍø to the wider Waterloo Region community through musical activities, community research and collaboration. The LCMC lives out this mission through research, symposia, publishing, projects, partnerships and concerts. Using music as a conduit, it works to connect community, collaborate with music-makers, and contribute to the vitality of music and people.
³Ô¹ÏÍø initiatives in 2023 that advanced SDG 11.
All buildings, monuments and natural heritage landscapes on all ³Ô¹ÏÍø campuses and locations are free and open to the public. ³Ô¹ÏÍø is home to 11 heritage buildings, including the Carnegie Library Building and the .
Community members can take tours of the campus. To support accessibility, free virtual tours are also available.
The provides access to 1.3 million online resources and holds one million print resources that can be accessed through the library’s . Community members are welcome to freely access the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Library and books from the library free of charge.
³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Robert Langen Art Gallery (RLAG) is the university’s visual arts centre and is open to the public for free. RLAG oversees art collections and ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s multicampus milieu and organizes visual arts programming that inspires, challenges and expands learning beyond the classroom. Working with a wide range of university and community partners, the gallery develops exhibitions, artist lectures and arts-related events featuring practitioners who range from students and community members to leading national and international visual artists.
³Ô¹ÏÍø’s are open to the public. The collecting emphasis is on ³Ô¹ÏÍø, the environmental conservation movement in Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and its Eastern Synod, music in Kitchener-Waterloo and the history of Waterloo Region. Appointments are not necessary to visit. ³Ô¹ÏÍø Archives and Special Collections staff are happy to provide instruction sessions and of the archives.
³Ô¹ÏÍø's Waterloo campus has five hectares of land that is accessible and connected to the surrounding community through unrestricted municipal vehicle and pedestrian infrastructure. Presently, green space covers 30% of the campus and an ‘urban forest’ runs throughout the campus that members of the community are welcome to enjoy. The campus features a large, 14,000 sq. ft. community garden. Woven into the community garden plots at the Northdale Community Garden is an edible forest featuring fruit trees bearing a variety of apples, pears and service berries.
Community members can take bike or walking tours of the campus. To support accessibility, free virtual tours are also available.
The ³Ô¹ÏÍø Faculty of Music is host to a variety of , including more than 100 publicly available concerts, recitals, guest workshops and other community events. Home to the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall and the Theatre Auditorium, the performance halls host thousands of guests each year.
The public can also engage with ³Ô¹ÏÍø ensembles and faculty performances from the comfort of home by streaming past concerts on our
³Ô¹ÏÍø is working locally, nationally and internationally to help preserve cultural heritage. For example:
Through its Sustainability Action Plan, ³Ô¹ÏÍø has established a number of targets for more sustainable commuting. These are measured through an annual survey and by tracking annual commuter and travel data from department and faculty budget expenditures. Targets set include:
³Ô¹ÏÍø, in partnership with the Region of Waterloo’s , conducts an annual Alternative Transportation Survey to measure and improve sustainable commuting practices. The survey results help the Sustainability Office, Parking and Transportation Resources, and Sustainable Waterloo Region gain valuable insights into student transportation patterns and identify areas for promoting more sustainable, eco-friendly commuting options, including carpooling, public transit, and cycling.
Survey participants were asked a range of questions, including their preferred modes of transportation, familiarity with Grand River Transit (GRT) discount options available to staff, and the challenges they face when considering alternative commuting options such as cycling, carpooling, or public transit. Demographic data was also collected to provide a comprehensive understanding of travel behaviours across different groups within the ³Ô¹ÏÍø community.
The survey results offer valuable insights into how ³Ô¹ÏÍø can enhance its transportation strategies, promote sustainable travel choices, and reduce barriers to adoption, such as lack of infrastructure or convenience, aligning with broader campus sustainability goals.
³Ô¹ÏÍø offers a variety of programs and initiatives to promote and support a safe and environmentally friendly commute to campus:
³Ô¹ÏÍø is committed to providing a living wage for all employees to account for the local living costs in the cities where our campuses are located. To support the high costs of relocating to our region, ³Ô¹ÏÍø provides financial aid in the form of moving and relocation reimbursement. In addition, employees have access to rent short or long-term housing and accommodations on the Waterloo campus and in our Yellowknife location.
³Ô¹ÏÍø is committed to evaluating housing options for members of its community. The institution is a member of the local , which seeks to enhance relationships, communications and policies among the universities, the community and the city. The committee evaluates a number of issues, including housing. The committee produced an in 2023.
³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Student Life units oversee and evaluate housing options for students both on and off campus. ³Ô¹ÏÍø provides various affordable on and off-campus options, including .
In addition, ³Ô¹ÏÍø has partnered with , an off-campus housing website that specializes in providing students, schools and landlords with a quality rental property listing service. The institution recently formalized a partnership with , an online platform that pairs students looking for affordable accommodations with older adults who have extra space in their homes. The partnership will create new housing options for ³Ô¹ÏÍø students in Waterloo and Brantford and give older adults a way to leverage a spare bedroom for some extra income, company and assistance around the house.
³Ô¹ÏÍø also offers for students to assist with costs associated with housing.
³Ô¹ÏÍø is committed to evaluating housing options for members of its community. The institution is a member of the local , which seeks to enhance relationships, communications and policies among the universities, the community and the city. The committee evaluates a number of issues, including housing. The committee produced an in 2023.
³Ô¹ÏÍø prioritizes pedestrian access on campus through the provision of multi-use paved walking and cycling paths connected to the city pathway system, which provide safe and reliable paths for the community year-round. The university's interconnected pathway system can be seen in ³Ô¹ÏÍø's interactive maps.
³Ô¹ÏÍø is helping to address the affordable housing crisis in Canada. Our faculty and students are working on developing innovative solutions and supporting their local communities.
As outlined in our Sustainability Policy, ³Ô¹ÏÍø is committed to maintaining sustainability design standards for major projects that will enable the university to work toward LEED green building standards for new builds and introduce principles of sustainable construction, renovations and landscape design, making use of full cost cycle accounting. For example:
³Ô¹ÏÍø has strategically expanded its building portfolio by retrofitting brownfield building sites, particularly on the Brantford and Waterloo campuses. Through adaptive reuse, the university has revitalized historic structures and former industrial sites, transforming them into vibrant academic spaces. This approach aligns with ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s commitment to sustainability, blending heritage conservation with modern functionality. The Brantford campus exemplifies this through its repurposing of downtown landmarks, while the Waterloo campus continues to integrate sustainable development into its growth strategy.
Discover how ³Ô¹ÏÍø is contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal targets.
