Envisioning a regenerative Niagara Falls through tourist mobility and connection.
What’s happening?
Tourism in Niagara has become one of its biggest industries, along with manufacturing and agriculture. As years pass and both manufacturing and agricultural activity decline, tourism becomes more and more important to the region.
Tourism, as it exists currently in Niagara and the way it is being developed by investors, the government, and other relevant stakeholders, is not bringing long-term benefits to the locals and is actively detrimental to the environment, weakening the ecosystem and local economy to the point that it creates dependence on tourism as the region's main income generator. As development is planned around this, this dependence is continuously being reinforced by mechanisms that support economic, social, and physical structures that leave Niagara a car-and-tourist centric region, placing the environment and its local residents in the background.
Niagara is car-dependent:
Statistics Canada data shows that Niagara is dominated by the automobile as a mode of transportation, as 93% of residents use a car as their main mode of commuting. (Statistics Canada, 2021)
Niagara Falls is populated by tourists :
Niagara region has a population of 477,941, of which 88,071 (18%) live in Niagara Falls. (Statistics Canada, 2021)
On the other hand, each year Niagara Falls receives about 12 million visitors per year, of which 8 million come during the summer. (Niagara Tourism Industry Association, 2023)
How do we envision a regenerative Niagara around tourist mobility?
The vision:
Develop and promote a form of tourist mobility that protects and nourishes the environment, benefits locals and connects them with tourists, and gives tourists an amazing experience that makes them want to stay for longer or come back.
The system values:
Based on the proposed systems vision, there are three values that encapsulate the leverages and opportunities identified in the current system, which will serve to support the new vision: connection, community, wanderlust.
Envisioned result: Falling in love with the falls
Promoting local businesses and strengthening local and community-based tourism will generate a positive impact throughout the entire system, as it will increase the number of tourist attractions, reduce the distance that tourists need to cover between them, incentivize the use and development of micro mobility systems. All of these will, in turn, benefit the local economy, increase the tourists' space of action and motivation for exploration and wandering, and promote sustainable practices.
The end result will be a resilient and regenerative tourism for Niagara Falls that will:
Leave tourists with a newfound appreciation and knowledge about the place and its people.
Leave the community with a stronger local economy and a more reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship with tourists.
Leave the environment better, more protected, and prioritized.
