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September 21 and 22
2 days, 2 disciplines, 2 ways to participate – defining our professional roles and uniting to build more equitable, accessible and inspired communities.
#2GETHER2022
People can’t make a difference in our communities if they can’t afford to live in our communities. Access to housing is an issue of equity specifically for Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, the elderly, women, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, including addiction and mental health challenges, and people experiencing poverty. Housing is a human right. This is the bold commitment the City of Kitchener has made to the community. The creation and implementation of Kitchener’s two complementary innovative strategic strategies Housing For All, the City’s first housing strategy, and Make it Kitchener 2.0, the City’s new economic development strategy, are two bold examples of how a lower-tier municipality focused on what it can uniquely do to help ensure that everyone has a place to call home. Exploring a wide range of actions and policies, like inclusionary zoning, rental replacement, a lived experience advisory group, addressing NIMBY-ism, contributing city lands, and making innovative investments, the City’s two strategies create a robust action plan and roadmap to realizing the right to housing. In this session, presenters discuss the process, implementation, innovation, and potential impacts of the two documents, but also how planners must play a key role in redressing major equity issues such as housing. The session is intended to facilitate thought-provoking discussion, cross-regional collaboration and information sharing, involving lived experience expertise in policy development, and help participants consider how they can bring the right to housing home to their own communities.