During our roundtable discussions, we asked participants to imagine a day in the life of a future resident. Some of these reflections are dispersed throughout the vision.

Do you have a story to share? Imagining the future we want to see is the first step toward achieving it. We’re looking for more stories on the theme of “a day in the life”: what would the ideal future for Waterloo Region look like to you?

A Day In The Life: Growing Up, Branching Out

It was a 20-minute bike ride from their house in a suburb of Waterloo to Three Willows Park, mostly via trails that kept the family away from the buses and light rail trains. Sapphira, having texted her friends, was going to meet up with them at the bike shelter near the entrance to the park, and they made it there with enough time for her to lock up her bike and commence loitering. Her dad almost immediately spotted a group of his Grand River fishing buddies and disappeared...

We commissioned local writer Ariel Kroon to imagine a day in the life of Waterloo Region’s millionth neighbour, based on the priorities identified in our roundtable discussions with non-profits and community groups. Giving life and personality to our vision statements, this short story gives us a peek at one possible future for Waterloo Region, where neighbours live with abundance, inclusion, and resilience.