OverviewToronto is not adding the range of homes required to match the diversity of residents’ needs. While this is a simple mathematical problem, it is also a complex political challenge with lasting economic and social impacts. In analyzing the latest housing statistics arising from the 2016 census, City Planning staff in a 2017 report noted:
“The total population has changed unevenly. About half of the population growth in the City of Toronto from 2011 to 2016 was south of Bloor Street, between Victoria Park Avenue in the east and the Humber River in the west.” Unevenness. This has been a common descriptor of growth and the distribution of wealth and opportunities across Toronto for the last 20-years. As such, the contrast between “have” and “have-not” areas, and “growth” and “no-growth” areas is becoming increasingly stark.
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Increasing Socio-Economic Polarization
The Toronto Foundation, in reporting annually on important social and economic indicators, had this to say in its 2017 Vital Signs report:
“While Toronto has a wealth of opportunity, we are seeing a growing divide in terms of who has access to those opportunities. Enclaves are deepening, as is income inequality. Increasingly, neighbourhoods are divided into rich and poor, with fewer mixed communities. Though we are a wealthy city, we are also a city where too many are being left behind. And we have a long road ahead to meaningfully address the systemic biases in our society rooted in racism, colonization and oppression. As we move forward in a world of change and uncertainty, we need to work together to build a city that not only celebrates, but also lives up to its commitment to fairness. Building fairness and greater equity means ensuring all Torontonians have access to and can capitalize on the positive opportunities offered in our city. To do so, we need to be thoughtful stewards of what makes our city an excellent place to live.”
Toronto’s neighbourhoods have become exclusive bastions for a minority of wealthy, established, largely older and Caucasian residents. To ignore this spatial and socio-economic asymmetry, wittingly or not, will be at our collective peril. Toronto's situation has reached crisis levels. If the city cannot correct course, and soon, it will run a very real risk of alienating and pricing-out an entire generation of young couples and families. This would have significant negative implications, both on Toronto's quality of life, and its very identity as a city.
So, how do we go about increasing the supply and diversity of housing throughout Toronto? Please click Housing to learn more.
So, how do we go about increasing the supply and diversity of housing throughout Toronto? Please click Housing to learn more.