General Suburban Updates and Rumours

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I've said it on here before, Waterloo is an incredibly conservative minded city. On the other hand Kitchener has done a great job at setting an example for not only itself but the province as whole, whether it's about how to densify a sprawling suburban environment, tackling homelessness, promoting rapid transit development in mid-sized cities or through investment in tech/engineering - which, oddly, is something Waterloo does very little of despite UW being present. The major tech/engineering companies and incubators are all based in Kitchener. Kitchener is also doing a good job developing new housing in order to continue to retain and attract the talent.

I think you are selling Waterloo short and ignoring some of their successes over the past 30 years:
- After a painful birth process, Northdale is becoming a compact, walkable community that will find its voice soon enough
- The majority of Waterloo's industrial reclamation projects predate Kitchener by a decade or two. Yes, the urban forms that were chosen then largely reflected the market and design ethic of 20-30 years ago, but it's difficult to look ahead 30 years in any industry
- Waterloo will be running out of land well before Kitchener. This has forced it to explore new forms of suburban living as well as to adapt existing neighhourhoods
- On homelessness and housing for those on the margins, Waterloo is home to SHOW (Supportive Housing of Waterloo) which was created through an incredible amount of work from community members.  They have one new build and have recently purchased the former KW Civitan Apartments to maintain its existing subsidized seniors housing.
- Waterloo has been home to (St) Monica House for expectant young women for more than 50 years, in the heart of the Mary-Allen neighbourhood.
- In the 1970s, Waterloo-Kitchener Mennonite Church created dedicated seniors apartments on George St (also in the Mary-Allen neighbourhood) to provide affordable living for seniors in the Uptown area. Luther Manor (St. John's Senior Citizens Home) just up the street, on the edge of the Mary-Allen neighbourhood was similarly created by St. John's Lutheran Church.
- When Beechwood and Beechwood West were established, they were designed with planned small community associations to provide recreational facilities that were within walking distance of each house
- Luther Village was actually established as a fundraising project to support Lutherwood.
- For all the challenges of the Erb/Caroline intersection, it is home to three award winning architectural projects (Seagram Museum/CIGI; Perimeter; Clay & Glass) that reflected the vision of benefactors and community members who felt that Waterloo was the ideal place for their bold ideas. 

None of these projects would have happened in Waterloo without the drive of the community, developers, and politicians with vision.