Information about Winnipeg’s 236 neighbourhoods is “NOW” just a click on a mouse away.
Neighbourhoods of Winnipeg (NOW), a joint project of the city, WinnipegREALTORS@ and Economic Development Winnipeg Inc. (EDW), is a new leading-edge website resource designed for people living in the city or considering a move to Winnipeg, as well as businesses looking at the city as a place to set up shop.
“We want to attract new investment to the city,” said Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz at a press conference announcing the launch of the new website, which was held last Monday at the offices of the EDW in the Paris Building, “and, at the same time, ensure that Winnipeg remains healthy and viable for existing businesses to thrive and grow.
“The new web portal, Neighbourhoods of Winnipeg — or NOW — is one way that we are making it easy to do business within the city of Winnipeg.”
Development of the website took about three years to complete.
NOW provides a single access point for such information as municipal data, census and demographic information, economic development information, historical data, spatial and mapping information, and facilities for including and sharing data by external groups and constituencies.
Information is displayed using text, dynamic maps (of various kinds), charts, graphs, story viewers, and image galleries.
“It will be a terrific resource for many,” said Katz.
In the economic development section of the website, WinnipegREALTORS® commercial members are posting up-to-date listings.
Richard Dettman, the president of WinnipegREALTORS®, said the NOW website is an example of “working together to make Winnipeg a city we, and others considering relocating here, will be proud to call home.”
Dettman said the site gives easily available information to people transfering to Winnipeg by “focusing on what they want and what they need.”
The website also has a link to the WinnipegREALTORS® site where up-to-date residential listings are posted.
“The city comes to life on the website,” said Dettman. “It’s a great showcase for our city.
“It’s rich in content and diverse in data,” he added.
“NOW is a tool our citizens can use to learn more about Winnipeg and discover what makes our neighbourhoods so unique, creative and culturally diverse” said Marina James, the president and CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg.
“NOW tells people why Winnipeg is the right place to live, play and invest.
“Attracting and retaining people in Winnipeg is a critical part of a healthy city and contributes greatly to our quality of life,” she added.
Under the Neighbourhood Well-being section of the website, topics covered include housing finance, housing assistance, housing repairs and renovations, housing surveys, social housing, rental accommodations, residential homes, and temporary accommodations.
Katz said the new website will help people find out the differences between the city’s 236 neighbourhoods.
“It will help people who don’t know the difference between Royalwood and Crescentwood,” he said.
For the record, the neighbourhood of Crescentwood is an early planned community noted for its elegant homes (images are available on the website), and is bounded on the east by the Red River, the north by Academy Road, the west by Cambridge Street and the south by Corydon Avenue, Stafford Street and Grosvenor Avenue.
Royalwood is a much newer neighbourhood located east of the Seine River and west of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Emerson line, between the Perimeter Highway on the south and Bishop Grandin Boulevard on the north.
As more neighbourhoods are developed, they will also be added to the website.
“It has lots of room to grow,” said James.
“Winnipeg is fortunate that it can historically be described as a community of communities; it is made up of many distinct and unique neighbourhoods, all woven together by a rich community spirit,” according to the NOW website, which is at http://now.winnipeg.ca
It is also expected that students and researchers, as well as community groups preparing funding proposals, will make use of the website.