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This is the scenario ofa bedroomcommunitywhere largenumbersofpeople live in the region but
commutetoworkelsewhere.Despitelocaleconomicdecline,thesecommutersareservedbygoodlocal
andinterregionalmasstransit,whichattractspeopletotheregionandincreasesthesizeanddiversityof
thepopulation.Peoplefeellittleconnectiontothecommunitiesinwhichtheylivehowever,asthecities
andtownshavenotadaptedtothesechanges.Communityparticipationandinterestinlocalpoliticsis
low,asisthequalityofsocialserviceprovision,whichispoorlydirected.Thereislittlesenseofregional
identity as the identityof individual townsand cities have been submerged by suburbangrowth and
proximitytoToronto.
BedroomCommunity
BEDROOMCOMMUNITY
WATERLOOWELLINGTONSCENARIOS
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BedroomCommunityCharacteristics
Characterisedbyeconomicstagnationandrapid,diverse
populationgrowth.
DevelopmentleadstoCambridge,Kitchener,WaterlooandGuelphmergingintoonesinglecommunity.
Therearefewerlargeemployers,withgrowingunemploymentstrainingunemploymentinsuranceand
welfare.
Transientreductionsinlocaltaxrevenuesleadtoreductionsintheprovisionofpublicservices.
Thereissomenewentrepreneurialactivity. Thelocaleconomybecomesreliantonservice,retailand
constructionindustries.
Trafficandcommutingbothgrowandthecommutergrowthforcesdevelopmentofbetterpublictransitsystems.
CompetitionforjobsdiminishesdiversityintheworkplaceaslocalemployersarelesslikelytoemployNewCanadians.
Thewealthgapgrows. Therevitalizationofthecitycoresstops. Theagedemographicbecomesolder. Healthservicesareunderstresscausingwaittimesto
increase,publichealthtogetworse,andmedicalrecruitment
tosuffer.
Thereisreducedinterestinlocalelections. Theenvironmentsuffers. ThereisachangeinResearch&Developmentfocusinthe
universities.
Thereispressureonconcernedcitizenstoaddresssocialproblems.
Commutingtimeinparticulardiminishesthesenseofcommunity,whichimpactsartsandculture.
Theartsandculturearelesscollaborativeandoperateinanincreasinglycompetitivefundingenvironment.
Theartscommunityareghettoisedandlessabletoretainorrecruitnewmembers.
Fromanindividual,personal
perspective,KitchenerWaterloo,
CambridgeandGuelphareinter
connected;youdontreallyhavethatstrongsensethatyoureleaving
Guelphandthentravellingand
endingupinCambridge.Ifpeople
dontrealisethat,theymissthe
opportunityforthesetypesof
experientialconnections.Itcouldbe
areallyrichcollaboration.
ScenarioParticipant
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WATERLOO REGION
RECORD
GUELPH
MERCURY
HEADLINES FROM 2009 - 2020Council approves construction of
new housing south of Kitchener
- JANUARY 2010
Unemployment higher than
Provincial average
- APRIL 2011
Public demands more GO
Buses, Guelph, KW, Toronto
- MARCH 2012
Councillor blames deficit for
restrictions in local services -
SEPTEMBER 2014
Top cop fears increase in
gang violence
- MARCH 2016
Water group opposes
new development
- OCTOBER 2017
Housing shortage forgrowing population
- JULY2019
Election turnoutlowest ever -
NOVEMBER 2020
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A
B
20092012 20132016 20172020
Social Noexpansionortransformationofpositivecommunityidentity
Intensivedrivebystatusquoaffectsarts,urbanplanningetc,asthecommunityleadersbecomemorerigid
Crisispointsinviolence,poverty,disease,crime,community,reputation,pride
Noadaptivesocialservices,whichleadstocrisis,vulnerability,violence,dropouts
Nosenseofbelongingandreinforcementofnegativestereotypes
Policiesrestrictingimmigration
unwelcomelaws
EconomicNewtechnologyleadsto
significantchangesin
telecommunications
industryworldwide,and
hasahugeimpactonlocal
companies
Lossofeconomicvitality,particularlyinthelocalfoodeconomy(lossofurban/ruralcohesion)
Localunemploymentincreasespovertyfornewimmigrants,thereismoreeconomicdisparityandgreaterdemandonresources
Flightofkeycapital(humanandfinancial)
Communitylosesconfidence,Innovationbrandlost
Decreaseincommunitysupportprovidedbylocalcompaniesanduniversities
Significanterosionofthetaxbase
Environmental Watercrisis
Sewageprocessingproblem
Drasticwaterrationingforhomeandindustry.Agricultureaffectedbydrought:lowermeatproductionandcropyields
Healthproblemsrelatedtoworseningair/waterresources
Increasedpressurefornewhousingdevelopments
Reductioningreenspaceinthecities(parks,recreationalfields)andoutsidethem(agriculturalland,protectedareas).
Lackofaccesstogreenspaceimpactingqualityoflife
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LongWayHome
WaterlooRegion,October2020
At1:30intheafternoon,anannouncementinterruptedNathalie'stourofJarvisCollegiateInstitute,thefourthToronto
secondaryschoolshe'dvisitedthatday.
"Superintendent Wlodarska, please contact the main
office right away. Superintendent `Wlodarska,please contact
themainoffice."
Sheturnedtotheprincipal."I'msorry.I'dbetterfind
outwhat'sup.Probablysomeirateparent."
The principal, a young man new to the job and no
doubteager toimpressher,nodded,but she couldsensehis
disappointment."Ofcourse."
They retraced their steps to the office. The secretary
disentangledherselffromagroupofstudentswithpinkslipsin
their hands. "My apologies, Superintendent, your admin
assistant just called to say there's an urgent message from
yourson'sschool."
Nathalie tensed. "Thank you. Is there a phone I canuse?"Hercellphonedidn'tworkinsidetheschool.
Theprincipal said,"Usemyoffice."Heusheredher in
andleft,closingthedoorbehindhim.
She dialed the number quickly. She'd made the call
more times than she liked to remember in the past year.
"JacobKlein,please.It'sNathalieWlodarska."
Afterabriefpause,Jacob,theprincipalofTom'sschool,
cameon."Nathalie,I'msorrytobotheryou"
Shecuthimoff,heranxietyrising."What'sup,Jacob?"
"TherewasanincidentwithTomatlunchtime.Heleft
theschoolandhasn'treturned.Ithoughtyoushouldknow."
Istillhavesomefeelingsof
isolation.Thehugefamily
connectionsarenothere,theyrenotautomaticsoyou
havetobuildthem(atchurchor
intheneighbourhood),andyou
wantthoserelationshipsfor
yourchildren.
ScenarioParticipant
Iremembernoticingthat
theresneveranybodyofcolour
inmykidsswimmingclasses.
Never.SoIaskedwhy?One
reasonisbecausetherearenosinglegendersessionsinthe
pool,andtheresnoprivacyin
thechangerooms.Thisisa
questionaboutwhetherwetruly
honourothercultures.
ScenarioParticipant
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Assheposedthenextquestion,she
reviewedthe rapidtransit schedule inher
head.If shehurried, shecouldcatchaGO
train to GCKW in half an hour. "What
happened?"
"I'm investigating right now, but it
seems Tom got into an argument with a
couple of girls outside the school, said
some inappropriate things. One of them
reactedbadly,herboyfriendgotinvolved
"
"Wasthereafight?"Itwouldn'tbe
uncommon.Tomhadbeendiagnosedwith
ADHDseveralyearsagoandhadbeeninaspecial behavioural class for eighteen
months prior to entering high school. He
had anger management problems and of
late, had shown signs of depression. The
highschool'sresourceswerestretched,and
inNathalie'sview,Tomwasnotgettingthe
attention he needed, but she understood
theschoolboard'slimitations.
"A few punches thrown on both
sides.Thenacrowdgathered.I'mafraidit
sounds like they turned on Tom. He took
off."
"In what direction?" If he'd gone
home, she could call, reassure him and
finish her tour here. It would be hard to
rearrange, given her hectic schedule, and
shehadaresponsibilitytovisiteachofthe
schoolsshesupervisedtwiceperterm.
"We're not sure. He headed east,
butnoonereallypaidattentionandbythe
timeIheardaboutit,he'ddisappeared."
"Thanks,Jacob.I'lltrytoreachhim.
If I can't, I'll be on my way immediately.
OnceI'moutofthebuilding,youcanreach
meonmycell.Youhavethenumber?"
"Yes.We'llcallifwehearanything.
Andpleaseletusknowifyoulocatehim."
"I will." She rang off, then dialed
home.Afterfourrings,shegotvoicemail.
She hurried out, apologizing to the
principalassheleft."I'llgetDonnatobook
anothervisit."
She hailed a cab outside. It took
fortyminutestoreachtheGOstation,forty
minutesforhertocurseTom'sschooland
the job that took her so far from thesuburban sprawl where she lived. She
should havemoved toTorontowhenher
husband died. The schools here had
superior resources to deal with special
needsstudents,especiallyatthesecondary
level, and Tom could have had the
supportsheneeded. In Toronto, itwould
alsobeeasiertoobtaindecentfood,fresh
organic produce. Such produce was
increasingly scarce in GCKW, and she'd
recently read a study suggesting the
chemicals in commercial produce and
processed foods might well exacerbate
Tom's condition. Yes, she should have
movedtoToronto.Butrightafterhisfather
died, she'd thought consistencywouldbe
goodforTom.Wrong,wrong,wrong.
At3:00, she boarded the GO train
to the suburban sprawl which included
Guelph, Cambridge and KitchenerWaterloo.Thefourcitieshadamalgamated
eightyearsagointoGCKW,theacronymas
anonymousasthecommunity'scharacter.
As the trainsilently spedwest,she gazed
gloomily out the window. The only
noticeable change leaving Toronto was
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thattherewerefewernewbuilding,fewercompanylogos,less
signofeconomicprosperity.Itnolongerfeltlikeleavingacity
for the country.The fields that remainedheldno lushcrops.
Thefamilyfarmshaddisappearedorstoodvacantandderelict.
She shook her head, depressed by how quickly things had
changed when the economy of the region plummeted. So
manymajorcompanieshadmovedtheirheadquartersoutof
GCKW.Eachofthefourcitieshadsuffered,butthepopulation
had continued to grow. It was one of the largest bedroom
communities in North America, miles of dwellings,
interspersed with a few small businesses, mostly service
industry, schools, a couple of hospitals, insufficient for the
population, and of course the universities, enclaves of
privilegedlearning.
She tried calling Tom again, with no luck. Then shecalledhistwoclosestfriends,withthesameresult.Voicemail.
Nodoubt theirparentsworked elsewhere too and the boys
would not be home from school yet. Her anxiety mounted.
TheyshouldmovetoToronto. Itwasn'tdoingTomanygood
staying inGCKW, eating garbage out ofmachines at school,
gettingintofights.InTorontohecouldgotoabetterequipped
school. And she wouldn'tbe so far away. Even if housing in
Torontoproperwasvirtuallyunaffordable.She'djusthaveto
findaway.
ThetrainpassedthroughlittleVienna,anareaonthe
east edge of Cambridge populated largely by people of
Europeanextraction.Thehousesweresmallandneat,butall
toosimilar:anoldstylekeepupwiththeJonesescommunity.
Stillitwascheerfulcomparedtothedowntownghettos,which
housed the growing populationsofpoor immigrants. One of
thefalloutsoflosingsomanythrivingbusinesseswasthatthe
vibrantmulticulturalismhadfragmented.Thewealthylivedin
discrete suburban enclaves and instead of mingling and
celebrating their diversity, the ethnic communities had
becomemore isolated, each taking care of theirown, or, inmanycases,failingtodoso.
Severalyearsagopoliticalcandidateshadcampaigned
onpromises tomakeGCKWasamodelofculturaldiversity.
Nownooneseemedtocare.Voterturnoutatthelastelection
had been pathetic, and no wonder, the candidates' visions
TheCountrySidelineis
supposedtoaboundaryasreal
asthecoastline,butsubdivision
buildersbuildwideroadsthat
leadsomewhereandcreatetheexpectationofmoregrowth.
ScenarioParticipant
Theresalotofevidencethat
kidswhoarentexposedtonatureareexperiencing
psychologicalandmedical
problemsitscalledNature
DeficitDisorder.
ScenarioParticipant
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were narrow, pinched, just like the
economy.Thebiggestissuewasthelackof
resourcestodealwiththeoverpopulation.
The best and brightest from the area, as
wellasalltheuniversitygraduates,moved
elsewhere. The arts suffered. Local
theatresandgalleriesshutdownandmany
members of the oncethriving creative
community relocated. It was difficult to
attract doctors; wait times at hospitals
wereappalling.She knewtoowell. Ithad
taken months to get Tom diagnosed and
they were still waiting for him to see
psychologist. She had to move. No
question.
The trainwas passing through the
derelict downtown of old Cambridge. It
being a hot day, people were on the
streets,meandering andchatting, a rough
lot, downatheels, a mix of white, black
and Asian. Most of them probably
unemployed. Rumor had it this had
becomesomethingofacriminalhotbed.
Catching sight of a familiar figure,
she caught her breath. Was that really
Tom,miles from home?Themopof dark
air,tallhunchedformandblack,oversized
Tshirtconvincedher.Sheroseunsteadily.
The next stop was only a few minutes
away, but her car was at the South
Kitchener station and she needed it. She
stood twisting her hands together as the
trainracedonwardandTom,ifitreallywas
Tom,fadedintothedistance.
She rode the train to her station,rushed off and leapt into her car.
Fortunately traffic was light. Most people
used the excellent transit system in the
area.Normallyshedidtoo,butshe'dbeen
latethismorningandnow,itseemed,she
waslateagain.
She tried calling home again,
knowing itwasuseless.He couldnothave
gothomethatquickly.Shemaneuveredher
way onto King Street and headed south
towards Cambridge, passing unfamiliar
streets, rundown houses, unchaperoned
children. Finally she reached the place
where she'd seen Tom. She drove up and
down,thenbroadened the areaofsearch.
Nosignofhim.Her head throbbedasshe
drove on, aimlessly. She called the school
again, but they'd heard nothing. Heading
back north on King Street, she passed
through the disintegrating cores of
Kitchener and Waterloo. Pausing inConestogaMall's desertedparking lot, she
dialedthepolice.Asexpected,theytoldher
theycouldn'tspareanyofficerstolookfora
boy who had only been missing a few
hours. Hewas a teenager, right? Probably
hanging out with friends, they said.When
shepersisted, the sergeanttoldhertocall
back if she hadn't found him by morning.
He couldnt promise anything, their
caseloadswere backed up, but they could
put out a call if anyone sawhim. But not
untiltomorrow.
As dusk fell, she headed towards
home.Ithadbeenyearssinceshe'ddriven
through so much of the city and it
depressed her immeasurably: too many
peopledoingnothing,inalmosteveryarea.
Andsofewgreenspaces;itwasanendless
concrete jungle.At leastuntil she reached
the neighbourhood where she now lived.They'd moved from the friendly Polish
enclaveinnorthKitchenerwhereTomhad
been born, when she took the job in
Toronto. Their old neighborhood had
started going downhill and with her new
salary, they'd been able toafford a larger
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house,withayard,inNewDoon,oneofthewealthierpartsof
GCKW.Sometimesshemissedtheoldhouse,andthegarden
whereshe'dgrownherowntomatoes,whenwaterwasn'tin
suchlimitedsupply.Certainlyshemissedthewarmthofthat
little community, the evenings sitting on porches, the
backyardgettogethers.Shebarelyknewherneighboursnow.
Nolightsshowedinthehouse,butthefrontdoorwas
unlocked. She paused in the front hall. "Tom?" she called
hopefully.
Noanswer.He'dprobably forgotten to lockthe door
whenheleftin themorning.She'dgivehimhellaboutthat,
whenshefoundhim.
Sheheardasoundfromupstairs;herheartsqueezedtight."Tom?"Sheranupthestairsandintohisroom,buthe
wasn't there. Then she heard a crash from the bathroom,
skitteredacrossthehallandflippedthelightswitch.
Tomslumpedonthefloor,hiseyesclosed,something
athisside,somethingshecouldn'tcompute:asyringe.
"Tom!"Shekneltbyhim,herhandsshaking."Tom,oh
Tom,areyouallright?"
His eyes fluttered open for a second, then he
shuddered.
"Jesus, Jesus." She stabbed911 onher cell phone. "I
need an ambulance. Immediately. My son's unconscious
Halfanhour?That'stoolong.Can'tyoucomefaster?...Idon't
know,maybe a drug overdose. Please, please hurry!" She
spitoutheraddress,thenbroketheconnection.
Shesatonthetiledfloor,cradledinhisheadinherlap,
andwaited.
Ihaveabeautifulwebof
friendsandfamily,andeveryone
shouldhavethatitscrucial.
ScenarioParticipant