³Ô¹ÏÍø

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

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.

Highlights of Progress

The work that ³Ô¹ÏÍø completed in 2024 to advance SDG 11.

Inspired by ³Ô¹ÏÍø research, City of Brantford adopts new strategies to address homelessness and youth engagement

While attending ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Brantford Community Safety Search Conference in November 2023, Dave Wiedrick was struck by a statistic shared by ³Ô¹ÏÍø researcher Tarah Hodgkinson. In her assessment of Brantford police activity, Hodgkinson found that 85 per cent of police calls were not related to crime. Most calls were reporting social disorder, such as mental health crises, largely made visible and exacerbated by homelessness. After the conference Wiedrick regrouped with his colleagues in the City of Brantford Encampment Network, a group of municipal staff members and community outreach workers who support individuals in need of housing. They began devising a two-tiered response model with the Brantford Police Service.

Students hone social innovation skills, create solutions to municipal challenges as part of ³Ô¹ÏÍø and City of Waterloo partnership

An innovative ³Ô¹ÏÍø course is providing students the chance to create solutions to municipal challenges in the City of Waterloo. Social Innovation in the City immerses students in hands-on opportunities to conduct research, design and test initiatives and policy innovations to find solutions to municipal challenges identified by the city.

³Ô¹ÏÍø announces 2024 Sustainable Hawk Fund recipients

The Sustainable Hawk Fund is an initiative of ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s that awards up to $30,000 annually to projects that promote sustainability on campus and in the community.  The fund is open to students, staff and faculty across all campuses, providing the opportunity to turn sustainability ideas into reality. 

Award-winning Indigenous writer Alicia Elliott to host community office hours as ³Ô¹ÏÍø Stedman Fellow 

³Ô¹ÏÍø has appointed multiple award-winning Indigenous writer Alicia Elliott as the incoming ³Ô¹ÏÍø Stedman Fellow.  Elliott, who is Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River, won the Amazon Canada First Novel Award and Indigenous Voices Award for her 2023 novel, And Then She Fell. The national bestseller was the highly anticipated follow-up to Elliott’s debut collection of essays, A Mind Spread Out on the Ground (2019), itself a bestseller and winner of the Forest of Reading Evergreen Award.

³Ô¹ÏÍø names Brett Popplewell winner of prestigious 2024 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction

³Ô¹ÏÍø has named author Brett Popplewell the winner of its 2024 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for his book Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past. The $10,000 prize recognizes Canadian writers for a first or second book that is written in the genre of creative non-fiction and includes a Canadian locale or significance.

All welcome at Fusion Beats 2024, a vibrant showcase of local singers, dancers and performers

Fusion Beats 2024, presented by ³Ô¹ÏÍø's Hub for Community Solutions, Conestoga Students Inc. and the City of Brantford, was an electrifying evening of multicultural music and dance performances. Admission wasfree and open to the public. This is the second year for the Fusion Beats initiative, following a highly successful inaugural event in September 2023.

All welcome as ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Brantford campus celebrated MarketFest, a showcase of Indigenous makers, performers and thinkers 

³Ô¹ÏÍø's Brantford campus kicked off its 25th anniversary year with MarketFest: In Peace and Friendship, a two-day celebration of contemporary Indigenous artists, artisans, performers, thinkers and makers.   Free and open to the public, the event transformed the atrium at ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s One Market building into a marketplace of Indigenous vendors, curated by acclaimed Indigenous artist and ³Ô¹ÏÍø alumna Alanah Jewell (BA ’19) of . Guests were also invited to attend public lectures on subjects ranging from local history to Indigenization at ³Ô¹ÏÍø and take in live music by contemporary and traditional Indigenous performers.  

Opera ³Ô¹ÏÍø heads ‘Into the Woods’ with March performances of beloved Stephen Sondheim musical

Opera ³Ô¹ÏÍø presented Into the Woods, a beloved musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine that explores the classic tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella.

Afrofuturism and remix culture celebrated in ‘Hunt, Gather, Remix’ at ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Robert Langen Art Gallery

Black identity, spirituality, fantasy and futurism were explored in the new exhibition, “Hunt, Gather, Remix,” featured from Jan. 8 until April 14 in the Robert Langen Art Gallery at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Library.  Hunt, Gather, Remix features the work of Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist Adeyemi Adegbesan, who uses photography, illustration, mixed media collage, murals and assemblage to create Afro-futurist and Afro-surrealist portraits.

Research Centres

³Ô¹ÏÍø research centres advancing SDG 11.

Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability

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.

³Ô¹ÏÍø Centre for the Study of Canada

The (LCSC) focuses on the interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and comparative study of the Canadian experience. LCSC has three objectives:

• Facilitate and support original research on Canada;
• Mobilize and disseminate knowledge to both scholarly and general audiences through community engaged outreach programs; and
• Provide high-quality experiential learning and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

In pursuit of this mission, LCSC recognizes there are expansive, evolving, and contested interpretations of Canada.

³Ô¹ÏÍø Centre for Music in the Community

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.

Initiatives

³Ô¹ÏÍø initiatives in 2023 that advanced SDG 11.

Public access to ³Ô¹ÏÍø buildings

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.

Public access to the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Library

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.

Public access to museums, exhibition spaces, galleries, works of art and artifacts

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.

Public access to open spaces and green spaces

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.

Contribution to local arts

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

Projects to record and preserve intangible cultural heritage

³Ô¹ÏÍø is working locally, nationally and internationally to help preserve cultural heritage. For example:

• Deep in the river valleys of northern Pakistan, along a winding highway, lie thousands of ancient rock drawings, inscriptions and what could be described as travellers’ graffiti.
  Though they go mostly ignored by drivers on the road, the inscriptions and drawings date back millennia and offer a unique glimpse into a long-ago world of international travel along what was once part of the Silk Road. ³Ô¹ÏÍø researchers, along with colleagues from the Royal Ontario Museum, Pakistan and Europe, are working to document and preserve these invaluable drawings using the latest technology.
• On-the-land camps serve as a bridge between Indigenous knowledge and western science. These camps are planned and facilitated with Indigenous partners across the Northwest Territories (NWT) as part of ³Ô¹ÏÍø's partnership with the Government of the NWT. The camps bring together researchers from ³Ô¹ÏÍø with Elders, knowledge holders and youth in an immersive experience on the land. These experiences exemplify the power of cross-cultural knowledge exchange by providing an engaging environment for youth and community members with hands-on science learning activities and discussions. These initiatives offer dual knowledge perspectives and diverse approaches to learning, creating a space where youth can be taught essential ways of being, particularly in sacred places, thereby strengthening and preserving Indigenous culture and language among younger generations. Youth are further engaged through hands-on scientific endeavors and cultural activities, effectively empowering and inspiring them to become future leaders.
• ³Ô¹ÏÍø is a proud member of Scholars at Risk, a network of institutions that supports scholars who are facing threats to their life, liberty or academic career, and/or have been displaced from their academic position because of such threats. ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Visiting Researcher - Scholars at Risk Program is fully remote and allows scholars to remotely re-engage with academia after being pushed outside the university environment. The Scholars at Risk program recognizes that academics are critical for cultural preservation within their home countries and provide a means to protect that knowledge.

Measuring sustainable commuting

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:

• 10% staff and faculty utilization of corporate bus pass
• 100% annual occupancy by student, staff and faculty of bike storage infrastructure
• Increase sustainable transportation uptake by students, faculty and staff to reduce single occupancy vehicle use by 5%
• Improve the sustainability of the university’s fleet of vehicles to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions

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. 

Sustainable transportation promotions

³Ô¹ÏÍø offers a variety of programs and initiatives to promote and support a safe and environmentally friendly commute to campus:

• Students on ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Waterloo campus have automatic access to  through the use of their OneCard, which also includes use of the . Additionally, staff and faculty benefit from a 15% discount on transit fares through the GRT Corporate Pass Program. Students on the Brantford campus have access to through the use of their OneCard.
• Through a partnership with , all staff, faculty and students can rent e-scooters and e-bikes to get them to and from the Waterloo campus. This share program offers an easy, accessible and affordable commuting option that also reduces carbon footprints. E-scooters and e-bikes are available at five locations across the Waterloo campus.
• The Brantford and Waterloo campuses are both equipped with secure bike storage to encourage staff, students and faculty to commute via bike to campus.
• Through our partnership with the , students from ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s campuses can access the . This private online tool allows you to search for other students who have a similar commute and use designated carpool parking on campus.
• For students, staff or faculty who need to make either a specialized or lengthy trip, ³Ô¹ÏÍø has two designated spaces on campus for vehicles.
• ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Brantford and Waterloo campuses feature 14 level-two electric vehicle charging stations.

Remote work

³Ô¹ÏÍø is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and supportive work environment for all employees. This includes providing for remote work. ³Ô¹ÏÍø's commitment to flexible work is demonstrated in policy 8.14 Flexible Work Policy.   The goals for ³Ô¹ÏÍø's flexible work include:

1. Contribute to Employee wellbeing and work-life balance.
2. Expand the University’s ability to attract and retain talent.
3. Enhance work productivity, accessibility, and job satisfaction.
4. Realize opportunities for efficiencies and sustainability.

This policy applies to Employees in the following non-academic bargaining units and Employee groups:

• ³Ô¹ÏÍø Staff Association/Ontario Secondary School Teacher Federation (WLUSA/OSSTF),
• Confidential Professional Administrative Group (CPAG),
• Professional Administrative Group (PAG), and
• Management Group (MG)

Affordable housing for employees

³Ô¹ÏÍø upports its employees in finding affordable housing through several initiatives:

• 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
  
• ³Ô¹ÏÍø has partnered with to support students, staff and visitors in accessing affordable, quality accommodations
  
• To support the high costs of relocating to our region, ³Ô¹ÏÍø provides financial aid in the form of moving and relocation reimbursement.
• 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.

Affordable housing for students

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.

Pedestrian access on campus

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. 

• Interactive map:
• Interactive map:

Work with local authorities to address planning issues and development, including ensuring that local residents are able to access affordable housing

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.

• Bringing together diverse leaders in the housing policy sector, LISPOP (³Ô¹ÏÍø Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy) hosted its  in 2023. The symposium explored public opinion and housing policy in Canada from the perspectives of academics and community organizations. Topics included policy approaches to affordable housing and community collaborations to address homelessness.
• Adequate housing in Canada’s North has become unaffordable and unsustainable amid increasing climate-induced threats such as floods and forest fires. Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of the crisis. , which began as a student-led initiative through ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s program, is building affordable, sustainable tiny homes in remote Indigenous communities in the NWT. The homes will be constructed from structural insulated panels that upcycle more than 40,000 plastic water bottles per home. Unlike traditionally built homes, these tiny homes can be assembled in days rather than months and are built on climate-resilient ground screw foundations. Kuponya Innovations’ homes also incorporate Passive House and Net Zero principles into their designs to lower operating costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels
• 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.

Build new buildings to sustainable standards

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:

• Lazaridis Hall is a state-of-the-art facility that embodies both academic excellence and sustainable design. Home to the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, the building features advanced learning spaces, including lecture halls, breakout rooms and the innovative Scotiabank Finance Lab. Notably, Lazaridis Hall is designed with sustainability in mind, meeting LEED Gold standards through energy-efficient systems, green roofs and water-saving fixtures. This modern space reflects ³Ô¹ÏÍø's commitment to fostering an environmentally responsible academic environment while supporting dynamic business education.
• The Research and Academic Centre is a LEED Silver-certified facility, showcasing the university’s dedication to sustainable design. The centre seamlessly integrates with the heritage character of the campus and downtown Brantford. It includes research labs, lecture halls, a 250-seat auditorium and an exterior courtyard that connects adjacent ³Ô¹ÏÍø buildings. Supported by the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program, the building reflects a balance between modern academic functionality and environmental stewardship through its LEED Silver status.

Building on brownfield sites

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.