Profile Background: Community Planning Process

Click here to download copies of the Profile / Profile Snapshots

The Kingston Community Profile Network met for the first time in June 2007. Members consist of CFB Kingston, Children Services Steering Committee, City of Kingston, Community Foundation of Greater Kingston, Community Round Table on Poverty Reduction, Correctional Service of Canada, KFL&A Public Health, Kingston Community Health Centres, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Ministry of Children and Family Services, Kingston Not-for-Profit Housing Providers Association, Partners in Mission Food Bank, Queen’s School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP), Royal Military College, United Way KFL&A. This multi-sector network established the need for a Kingston Community Profile and the Social Planning Council of Kingston & Area (SPC) agreed to take legal and fiduciary responsibility for the project.

It is important to note that the Profile project remains community-based and community-led. The SPC developed a framework for the project and the Network met several times over the past year to review the framework and approve it in principle. During the summer of 2008 researchers worked individually with Network members to finalize the contents and locate data sources.

In 2008, funding for the project was received from the City of Kingston and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO), Kingston Community Health Centres, and the United Way. In June 2008, the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University was approached to help move the project forward with financial assistance from the SPC. In September 2008 SURP 823 – the Social Planning Project Class- was formed to create the project. Mapping work for the Profile was completed by SURP’s GIS (Geographic Information System) class led by Mr. Calvin Chan.

SPC Executive Director John Osborne and David Jackson, Research Officer for the SPC Board, co-ordinated the research and development of the Profile project with SURP. They will lead the Profile community consultations in 2009.

The SPC’s provincial network, the Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO), is providing expertise in mapping and data analysis to this project through a Trillium Foundation funded project, Ontario Social Landscapes. The SPC is one of 14 participating social planning organizations in this project that will create a community profile by May 2009 and contribute to a provincial profile to be completed by May 2010.  

Purpose of the Study  

The objective of the Kingston Community Profile is to provide reliable, understandable and useful information on Kingston’s growth and changing socio-demographic characteristics to the greater community.

The profile will answer three important questions:

Who are we? Where are we? Where are we going?

The main purposes for compiling social and community indicators are to:

• Monitor social change over time in a broad range of social phenomena

• Provide social reporting for public enlightenment

• Forecast trends and turning points in social conditions

The Kingston Community Profile is intended to serve a broad audience including:

• All levels of government in the provision of services for residents;

• Businesses to better plan, develop and deliver goods and services to meet customer needs;

• Social service and community development agencies to enhance their ability to mobilize resources and bridge service gaps;

• Local media to report on community issues with greater depth and breadth of understanding;

• Individual residents and community groups to be better informed of the needs and potentials of their local communities;  

To complement and illustrate local statistics in the Profile, thematic mapping identifies the geographic distribution of socio-demographic characteristics of Kingston. Population groups have diverse needs and potential. Through knowing their locations, services can be more effectively deployed. Effective and productive community planning is inclusive, integrative and encompasses multiple dimensions of community life.

The 2009 Profile will be the first in a regular series of reports, published as new data become available.  

Acknowledgements

The Kingston Community Profile was written by Nellie Chang, Alissa Golden, Melissa Shih, Amanda Slaunwhite, Tara Tran of the Fall 2008 SURP Social Planning Project Class. The Profile authors would like to express our appreciation to David Jackson and John Osborne who provided valuable input on our work, guidance throughout the project, and helped organize the community consultation portion of the Profile.

Moreover, we would also like to thank Dr. John Andrew and Dr. David Gordon for their organizational assistance and comments, as well as Dr. Gerry Barber for his GIS expertise. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the hard work of Calvin Chan who led the GIS portion of the Profile, as well as the many students that worked tirelessly on the Profile maps: Dorothy Belina, Adam Bentley, Bryan Crosby, Bryan De George, Joscelin Higgins, Trevor Illingworth, Devin Lake, Laura Maxwell, Andrew Morton, Krystan Perepeluk, Will Plexman, Bart Ryan, Bramhanand Singh, Teresa Thomas and Corey Wilson. 

We would also like to thank Dearbhla Trainor of Rogers & Trainor Commercial Realty Ltd., and Richard Lau from the Social Planning Network of Ontario for their assistance. We also extend our thanks to Jeff Moon and Susan Greaves who helped us navigate the resources available at the Queen’s University Library. We would also like to express our appreciation to Kathy Sequin from the Katarokwi Native Friendship Centre and Leela Viswanathan for their guidance throughout the project, as well as Steven Godfrey, Jenn Sandham and Michael Szilagyi for the use of their photographs.

Thank you!  

 * Profile Reference documents available from the Social Planning Council: Profile Snapshots and the Kingston Community Profile