What the Region?! 🤯
How and why do regions form? Why do some of us belong to a regional municipality, while others of us do not? What does your region do for you?
I had never considered concept of regional municipalities prior to this class. I grew up in the City of Guelph, located in Wellington County. Guelph is right next to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The Region of Waterloo consists of three cities, Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, and four townships, North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich. I remember being aware of the fact these areas were connected, but never really understanding why. Why is my city not a part of a regional municipality? Is Wellington County comparable? Do regions and counties hold the same responsibilities? These are questions I have finally started understanding the answers to.
When I think about the various services that the government provides, I usually think about how there are public services provided to me by the country, province, and city that I live in. It never occurred to me that there was another player at the table, let alone what this player did. Using the Regional Municipality of Waterloo as an example, the region provides multiple services for the cities and townships in its boundary. These services include emergency services, such as police and fire, waste management, health, social services, transit, planning, and recreation. The provision of services by regions allows for an efficient flow of services across municipal boundaries in highly evolved urban spaces. There is less responsibility, however, in places like Wellington County, where services, such as police, are provided by the city (Ex. Guelph Police Service) or province (Ex. OPP policing services in rural townships).
In our class exercise this week, we were asked to draw the boundaries of the Toronto Region — and each group drew a different variation of what the Toronto Region is. This highlights the importance of defining terms — region can mean so many things. For example, if you live in the City of Cambridge, you live in the regional municipality of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, your regional seat is Kitchener, your secondary region is Southwestern Ontario, your Primary region is Southern Ontario. There are also terms used like the Toronto-Waterloo Innovation Corridor. That’s a lot going on. It’s an important reminder that a seemingly simple word can have so many variations in its definition. What the region?! 🤯
