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Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce
I don't want this to get personal - I like KW and there are some good things happening there - but in terms of urban form, I find KW a little lacking. The other places I mentioned have more nooks and crannies and interesting little side streets to investigate. Once you stray off King St, there's very little to see. And then there's the architecture of those other cities - KW doesn't match up very well. The good news is KW's booming and LRT will only improve the situation.
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Next time you're in Kitchener in good weather, leave King St and take a wander down to (beautiful) Victoria Park and then head up Queen Street to the KPL (currently undergoing a major expansion), the Civic District and CITS/KWAG. Downtown is indeed very linear, but it is slowly "thickening". If it's sustained, the high tech boom and development of the Innovation District should help considerably, as will more new residential projects in the Downtown. Guelph, Cambridge (Galt) and Stratford have more attractive urban cores and have their respective advantages, but they lack K-W's energy, which is really what defines this town these days.