School of Planning MES student Jane Kelsey has been partnering with Region of Waterloo Public Health to explore how alcohol access changed in the Region from 2014 to 2023, as the Province of Ontario plans to increase retail alcohol access by 2026. She found that off-premises alcohol outlets increased 64% in the Region between 2014 and 2023. From an equity standpoint, neighbourhoods with a larger number of rentals and a higher percent of people living alone had higher access to alcohol – both in terms of brick-and-mortar stores and online alcohol delivery.
These findings were shared recently by Jane with nearly 20 Region of Waterloo employees to highlight how we might anticipate alcohol-related harms changing as the number of alcohol outlets increases even further. Work like that done by Jane in collaboration with the Region of Waterloo highlights the importance of evidence-driven collaboration between community agencies and the Planning community to help ensure healthy communities for our future.
School of Planning MES Student Jane Kelsey