City Council approved Waterloo's first neighbourhood strategy in 2018. It encourages interactions with neighbours, empowers residents to lead, and commits the city to an enabling a supportive corporate culture. 

The full neighbourhood strategy document is available to review action items and plans. You can also see the implementation plan which includes timelines and funding.

The neighbourhood strategy identifies 18 action items that are planned over five years of implementation. Here’s a bit about what has been done.

Implementation highlights

Block connectors

The “Hey Neighbour!” program helps neighbours build and maintain connections to strengthen a sense of community. A Block Connector is someone who helps neighbours residing in close proximity to each other to share information, support one another, and build a sense of community in good times and challenging ones.

Mini grants for neighbours

In 2018, Mini grants were created to support Waterloo residents working on projects that promote belonging in neighbourhoods. The maximum funding per project is $300 cash and/or in-kind support for eligible expenses.

Neighbourhood summit

A new neighbourhood summit began in 2019 to bring neighbours from across Waterloo together to learn, connect, and imagine. The event occurs annually to provide workshops, presentations, and networking amongst neighbourhood-minded residents.

Neighbourhood kindness

Neighbours are an important source of day-to-day help and community connection. Saying hello, helping with snow shoveling, or dropping off a meal to provide comfort or support demonstrates care for each other. In 2021, the neighbourhood kindness program was launched to increase awareness of what it means to be a kind neighbour and to recognize people who do something great, big or small, in their neighbourhood. Submit the online form to nominate your own kind neighbours' contributions!

Upcoming projects

The following initiatives are currently in the works:

  • encouraging multi-unit building connections
  • proactive bylaw and community education
  • developing additional how-to guides

And much more!

You’ll see examples of the work throughout this neighbourhood website.