The Role of Community Engagementin Urban Sustaiability: Investigation of three neighbourhoods in Toronto

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INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER

Examensarbete i Hållbar Utveckling 38

The Role of Community Engagement in Urban Sustaiability -

Investigation of Three Neighbourhoods in Toronto

Mabel Chow

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THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

Investigation of three neighbourhoods in Toronto

Master thesis in Sustainable Development Mabel Chow

Institutionen för geovetenskaper Uppsala Universitet

2011

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Contents

1. Introduction ... 7

1.1. Historic significance of communities ... 7

1.2. Mode rn-day communities; from the ego-citizen to the eco-citizen ... 7

2. Literature Review ... 8

2.1. Neighbour hood empowerment ... 8

2.1.1. Meanin gful spaces ... 8

2.2. Neighbour hood engagement ... 8

2.2.1. Place of Dwelling ... 9

2.3. Neighbou rhood utility ... 9

3. Question ... 9

3.1. Aim ... 9

3.1.1. Objective ... 9

4. Methods ... 10

4.1. Data Sources ... 10

4.1.1. Qua ntitative Analysis ... 10

4.1.2. Qualitativ e Analysis ... 10

4.2. Neighbour hood selection ... 10

5. Background Study ... 10

5.1. City of Toronto ... 10

5.1.1. Ur ban growth ... 11

5.1.2. Em ployment situation ... 11

5.1.3. Burgeoning income gap between rich and poor ... 11

5.1.4. Educa tion profile ... 11

5.1.5. Sum mary ... 12

5.1.6. Definition of a neighbourhood ... 12

5.2. Neighbourhood decay/failed social opportunities (no. 72 Regent Park) ... 12

5.2.1. Political boundaries ... 12

5.2.2. Residen tial profile ... 12

5.2.3. Population composition ... 13

5.3. Up-a nd-coming neighbourhood/abundance of social opportunities (no. 76 Bay Street Corridor) ... 13

5.4. Neighbourhood vitality/balanced social opportunities (no. 78 Kensington-Chinatown) ... 14

6. Discussion ... 14

6.1. Real crime in Toronto ... 14

6.2. 51 and 52 Police Division ... 14

6.3. Crim e rates per neighbourhood ... 15

6.4. Neighbour hood disempowerment and prevalence of crime ... 15

6.4.1. Crime and the psychology of space ... 15

6.4.2. Neighbour hood degradation and opportunistic crimes ... 16

6.4.3. Socio-ec onomic vulnerability and crime ... 16

6.4.4. Culture of fear ... 17

6.5. Decreasi ng engagement in ownership ... 17

6.5.1. Deface d facades ... 17

6.5.2. Hom eownership ... 18

6.5.3. Prope rty crime... 18

6.6. U tility ... 18

6.6.1. Role of speculative real estate: red herring v. real estate boon ... 18

6.6.2. Gent rification/invested interest in community: business interest utility ... 19

6.6.3. Social capital ... 19

6.6.4. Jane Jacobs, ‘urban drama’, and community activism ... 20

6.6.5. Renewed interest: increasing house prices and gentrification ... 20

6.6.6. Neighbourhoo d value: waiting out the shock value ... 21

6.6.7. Crime and social control ... 22

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6.6.8. Neighbourh ood accountability: local business claims on neighbourhood security ... 22

7. Conclusion ... 23

8. Acknowledgement ... 24

9. References ... 24

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THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

Investigation of three neighbourhoods in Toronto

MABEL CHOW

Chow, M., 2011: The Role of Community Engagement in Urban Sustainability; Investigation of three neighbourhoods in Toronto. Master thesis in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, No. 38, pp, 30 ECTS/hp

Abstract: This paper considers the quantitative and qualitative observation-based assessment of neighbourhood health i n t hree Tor onto neighbourhoods. In so doing, t he pa per addresses prevailing c hallenges an d opportunities in a rang e of forms o f neighbourhood health. Th e Bay Street Co rridor, Kensington-Chinatown, and R egent Pa rk were studied as e xemplar cases o f nei ghbourhoods i n vary ing degrees of degradation. The research i nvolved a robust e valuation of ra w statistical analysis, census data, a necdotal evide nce, a nd annual reports t o demonstrate t he sp atiality of cri me, real est ate, and s ocio-economic oppo rtunity. R esults from t his analysis have demonstrated that certain neighbourhood characteristics are prone to hi gher or lower crim e rates, structural neglect, real estate speculation, and proprietary action. ‘Fear proves itself’ in as far as neighbourhood action provides impetus to create defensible spaces to increase neighbourhood engagement and ownership and to protect agai nst neglect a nd crime. What is clear from th ese descri ptions is th at neighbourhood health is significantly associated with endogenous behaviour; positing the important role that community advocacy plays in stew arding neighbourhood h ealth. Understanding neighbourhood health r equires an appr eciation of lo cal social assets, and how these in digenous resources artic ulate o pportunities for sustain able u rban d evelopment.

The long evity o f cities in volves building n eighbourhoods fo r people an d providing a stab le stru cture th at promotes and perpetuates sustainable city living. By exploring them es in urban sociology, psychology of place, and place bel onging, t he inve stigation highlights the intrinsic value of civic acc ountability, utilit y, and empowerment in sustainable urban development.

Keywords: Sustainable Development, urban engagement, utility, empowerment, neighbourhood health, proprietorship, neighbourhood decay

Mabel Chow, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE‐ 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden

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THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

Investigation of three neighbourhoods in Toronto

MABEL CHOW

Chow, M., 2011: The Role of Community Engagement in Urban Sustainability; Investigation of three neighbourhoods in Toronto. Master thesis in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, No. 38, pp, 30 ECTS/hp

Summary: T he sustaina ble city em bodies a movement for m aking cities liveab le and sustai nable: reducing emissions, demand-side m anagement, a nd t ransforming the u rban l andscape. Notwithstanding, t he m oniker implies a much more extensive framework than for the implementation of superficial upgrading programs like recycling paper, designing g reen parks, an d co nstructing gree n r oofs (Mega 1999). The longevity o f th e sustainable city movement involves building cities for people and providing a stable structure that promotes and perpetuates sustainable city liv ing. With an in -depth comparison of several lo cal neighbourhoods, this research project serves to illustrate the tenuous relationship between urban sociology and sustainable development within neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto. Urban soci ology inherently explores the psychology of place and place belonging. The investi gation will probe a t the intrin sic value of civic accountability and em powerment i n sustainable urban development. T he expected results are to underscore community advocacy and ownership as cornerstones for sustainable urban development.

Keywords: Sustainable Development, urban engagement, utility, empowerment, neighbourhood health, proprietorship, neighbourhood decay

Mabel Chow, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE‐ 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden

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1. Introduction

The satellite image of the world at night is striking.

The de nse clusters of electrified ‘’beac ons’’ that indicate occupied urban areas are starkly juxtaposed by t he sm aller vo ids o f n on- or un der- serviced rural areas. In comparing historical images, the differe nce bet ween urba n a nd rural occupation are even sharper.

Satellite image taken from

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CitiesAtNight/

Besides ex hausting re sources, ene rgy being just one o f t hem, cit ies pr oduce other wast es exacerbating the phenomenon known as the ecological f ootprint. C onceived by Wackernagel and Rees th e ecological foo tprint is a q uantitative measurement of how much la nd a nd water resources need to be consumed in order t o sustain an area based on its current infrastructural demands (Global Footprint Network, 2009). Used widely by urban econom ists and acade mics, the ec ological footprint is used as justification for criticism o f urban areas which ha ve chosen t o pursue a n unsustainable urban lifestyle.

Realising th is, so me c ities h ave alread y increased efforts to e ncourage citizens to e mbrace a more sustainable lifestyle. Th is transfo rmation i s significant to the longevity of urban cities. Ind eed, considering a further Malth usian-like dilemma o f increasing urb anisation and decrea sing food resources, th e co ncept of urban su stainability – living ‘’greener’’ – is an app ealing altern ative to resource shortages and overcrowding.

Achieving urban su stainability o r, in other word s,

‘’the passage from ego-citizens to eco-citizens and socio-citizens, will certain ly requ ire sign ificant amounts of m obilisation, education a nd c ulture’’

(Mega, 1999). Ac hieving sustain able liv ing requires deeper psychological understanding of the complexities asso ciated with co mmunity engagement an d particip ation as th e im petus for urban sustainability.

‘’Only b y in corporating th e so cial d imension in to the sustain ability co ncept can we exp ect th e concept to fu lfil its p otential as a too l to allow for community developm ent a nd s ocial welfare in harmony wi th t he en vironment and based o n cohesion and social justice’’ (Ga rces’ et al., 2007, p. 166).

This res earch expl ores t he br oad t opic of urban sustainability v ia co mmunity en gagement b y investigating th ree th ematic p rinciples: civ ic engagement, empowerment, and utility. Th e study area – T oronto, Canada – was selected because of the author’s intimate knowledge of the city but also for its si milarities with o ther urb an areas. Th e results of th e stu dy are meant to be used as recommendations fo r o ther cities, wh ich have experienced similar scale growth, to promote urban sustainability through community engagement.

Volumes of contemporary urban literature ex ist on the theoretical role of space and urba n ownership.

The task in this research paper is two-fold which is to fastidiously educate the reader on existing urban theories and s econdly to apply th ese th eories in to the findings. The organisation of the paper reflects this direction.

1.1. Historic significance of communities

The ad vantages o f ‘living commu nities’ reflects a primordial af finity for sha red heritage, fam ily bonds, kinship, and duty to fellow neighbours that dates bac k to earlier successful urba n civilizations (Kitto, 1951; Mumford, 1937). Active citizenship, community stewar dship, l ocal en gagement, ci vic accountability, and se nse of bel onging were important su rvival t echniques t hat hel ped communities t o flourish and su stain th emselves even d uring t imes of st ruggle an d st rife (Stren &

Polèse, 2000; Parés & Saurí, 2007; Berg, 2009).

1.2. Modern-day communities;

from the ego-citizen to the eco- citizen

The persuasion of a coll ective voice, from Russia to China, shows that public ownership of space can precipitate, wh ether positive or negative, ch ange.

Public engagement has already yielded more than a few s uccesses in the European Union, including cities from Valencia to Reggio Emilia, such that the CEMR, C ouncil of European M unicipalities and Regions, declared participation as:

A precond ition fo r t he con struction of th e political identity of the European Union….

Urban regeneration is not about places; it is

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about people. These types of ev ents unlock creative individuals, co-articulate a sense of vision and create a momentum, a t hrust for the future. (Mega, 1999).

The l ongevity of t he s ustainable ci ty movement would i nvolve bui lding ci ties for people and providing a stab le stru cture t hat pr omotes and perpetuates gr een city living. Part of w hat has made g reen cities l ike Freibu rg, Germany;

Copenhagen, Denmark; an d Van couver, Canada successful is the willingness to e ngage citizens t o continue generating a m ore sust ainable l ifestyle (O’Hare, 2010). In t hese cities, th e m omentum from transforming the ego-citizen to the eco-citizen has had a rooted val ue i n t he growth a nd s ocial development of the urban society.

2. Literature Review:

Theories about the social city:

community empowerment, engagement, and utility

The followi ng theories form the concept ual framework upo n which th is research is p remised.

The sociological implications associated with these three will th en b e further elab orated wit hin th e discussion se ction. T he or ganisation of t he research stru cture is su ch so th at th e reader will first be introduced to the broad themes and then be enabled to associate the particular m eta-theories with the results.

The meta-theories are cate gorized in three themes:

neighbourhood em powerment, e ngagement, a nd utility.

2.1. Neighbourhood empowerment

For Milun (2007), s pace a nd subjectivity, or how one intera cts with spac e, is a d ialectic interdependency. M ichel de C erteau i n his essay , Walking in the City, argued further t hat the u nion between the mappable and unmappable city is to be evaluated as a whole. The mappable city describes the readable space whic h can be navigated through fixed co ordinates and st reet si gns (M ilun, 20 07).

The unmappable city is th e un readable city wh ere

‘’walking n arrates in terests and desires t hat are neither determined nor cap tured by th e syste m o f signification used to codify them’’ (Milun, 2007, p.

241). In ot her words, how the city is experienced, and s ubsequently ho w o ne resp onds t o it, i s as important as how it is structured.

The normative model of the healthy neighbourhood is based on considerations made by the United Way of Toronto report on neighbourhood vitality:

If our city is to remain strong, vibrant and competitive in the years to come, then its neighbourhoods m ust be places where people want to live. Parents must feel that neighbourhood str eets are s afe f or their children to walk, and that local p arks are safe places for their children to play. They must be assured that there a re places for their teena gers to m eet and get invol ved in sports and social events (Meagher, n.d., p. 1)

Whether act ive or pas sive, s uch res ponse exhibits the degree of entitlement a commu nity as such has over its urban surroundings. The resea rch findings discussed later sho w th at even sm all v ariations i n the ur ban i nfrastructure manifests di fferent responses often t o t he det riment of c ommunity health and structural integrity.

2.1.1. Meaningful spaces

Cultivating m eaningful co nnections in a ho stile environment whe re t he n orm i s for a nonymous social transactions makes it increasi ngly harder for one to ‘know their place’ (Meyrowitz, 1985, p.

308). With this realig nment o f th e human p syche inwards, the social contract that once bonded public individuals ‘’on t he basis of ci tizenship an d therefore to ack nowledge and res pect each other’s equal ri ghts’’ was br oken (M eyrowitz, 1985, p.

303).

The det erioration fr om insider to outsider; fro m active p articipant to p assive ob server, t herefore diminishes the individual sense of age ncy over his or her own urban surroundings. The term agency is used here to mean the capacity of an agent to act in a world of his or her o wn volition. Sense refers to both perception and logic and place refers to both social position and p hysical lo cation (Meyrowitz, 1985).

The distortion of th e fou r meanings su bverts t he fortitude of d welling and u ndermines the social security of community living. This apathy weakens community bonds and does nothing to invoke pride of where one lives or with whom one s hares their community with . As th e fin dings will in dicate, eroded m eaningful space c an be a gateway for neighbourhood disintegration.

2.2. Neighbourhood engagement

The power of informal control and neighbourhood engagement is significant to perpetuating an image of security and safety. Jacobs’ urba n dram a reinforces this psychology and the role of dwellin g in building communities.

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2.2.1. Place of Dwelling

A place of dwelling is the ce ntral figure for whic h all social transactions re volve a round (Sea mon, 1983). Th e ‘permanency o f dwelling’ is a pivotal fixture i n p henomenological di alogue whe n discussing the urban city. A dwelling, most often a built structure, with its inert properties accentuates its p otential fo r ‘pouring in’ m emories and meanings. The city is an apparat us for sus taining human contact (Alexa nder, 1977). Th e abstraction of re ality in the ‘im agined’ city suggests hidden opportunities to create a unique urban narrative that is both personally significant and socially unifying.

Milun (2007) argues th at the ‘b lank st ory boo k’

metaphor can al so im bue feel ings of i solation, anomie, and disengagement. Once esta blished through speec h an d p rose, the social na rrative of the city is self-p erpetuating: ‘’ (social) sp ace is a (social) product’’ (Milun, 2007, p. 26).

2.3. Neighbourhood utility

The psy chosomatic expression of having established one ‘’r oots’’ c orrespond t o a s ense o f belonging to t he city wh ich is in deed tied with urban ci tizenship, em powerment, and en gagement (Hiss, 1 990; Relph, 1976). The se nsation of belonging to a space, t he urban city, c omes from much more than entitlement via property ownership (Relph, 1976).

To illu strate th is effect, Milu n poses th e contradictive t hat ‘’i f pe ople do n’t know a nd feel where they are , they don’t know who they are. ‘ A space of e verywhere being described as a s pace of nowhere creat es an urban commons of general cognitive confu sion’’’ (2007, p . 135). Depth of place is directly proportional to the degree of social attachment and e ngagement wi thin an d f or a particular place. Depth of place descri bes

‘’people’s id entity of and with place’’ (Seam on, 2007). For Relph, identity with place is the crux of lived in tensity o f which is d efined t hrough th e concept of insideness. Finally, placelessne ss is a residual conse quence o f pl ace voi d o f depth of place or insideness (Relph, 1976; Seamon, 2007).

Places may be experienced authentically or i n au thentically. An au thentic sen se of place is ‘a direct a nd genuine experience of the entire complex of th e identity of pl aces—not m ediated and distorted t hrough a se ries of quite arbitrary social and intellectual fashions about how that expe rience should be , nor fo llowing stereo typed co nventions.

(Seamon, 2007).

Common urban maladies, most if not all with social underpinnings, involve high crime rates, vandalism, isolation, a nxiety and apat hy. Indee d, s uch soci al

malaise in the urban environment is e mblematic of the message their city is sending their residents.

3. Question

The question as to the state of neighbourhood well- being m eans ev aluating civ ic en gagement, u tility, and accountability as b arometers of neighbourhood vitality. In wh ich ways do es th e u rban environment influence civic engagement? How can social net works em power c ommunity resi dents t o action a nd what are the c onsequences? In which ways can civic empowerment be achieved to foster urban su stainability? How is su stainable u rban development achievable?

3.1. Aim

This research is in fluenced by th e nascent work produced by eminent urban theorists on themes of urban s pace, place bel onging, urban e ngagement, sociability, and accessibility. The aim is to critique the eth os of u rban liv eability as red ucible to building pa ved piazzas, food m arkets, a nd c offee shops (Biddulph, 2000).

Jacobs (1992) and Relp h (1 976) r ecognised the primacy over the built environment by the genuine architects of s pace: urba n ci tizens (Jac obs, 1992;

Relph, 1976). U nderstanding t he ef fect of neighbourhood so cial dynamic on civic

engagement and s ocial co hesion a re p rominent discourses thro ughout th e investigation. Th e investigation is a multifaceted approach t o understanding t he ur ban envi ronment whi ch involves n arrative d iscourse and case st udies. . Finally, th e ro le o f m y stu dy is to ex amine th e urban t rifecta: har dware, s oftware, an d heartware (Mega, 1999).

3.1.1. Objective

The study proceeds by contrasting the differences in u rban structure between three study area s in an effort to elucid ate p otentialities an d areas of stability. The study has the following objectives:

-to describe t he ch allenges an d opp ortunities th at neighbourhoods face;

-to u nderscore ci vic enga gement and p ride as an invaluable asset for urban sustainability;

-to s uggest st rategies t o c ounter neighbourhood decay;

-to d etermine a b aseline f or f uture n eighbourhood health studies; and

A f undamental prem ise of t his st udy i s m anaging and promoting com munity pri de as a cruci al dimension t o preserving t he vitality of neighbourhoods. In t his sense, neighbourhoods ought to be recognised as public spaces that shoul d

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be m anaged and stewarded t o ens ure continual vitality in the face of change.

4. Methods

The resea rch param eters are delineated by the neighbourhood units defined by the City of Toronto (City of T oronto, 2010e). The findings a nd analysis are presented in two subsections. The first presents key characteristics of the selected neighbourhoods th at I have id entified as representative o f various stag es of n eighbourhood health. Fro m th e en suing d escriptions, clearly neighbourhood h ealth is significantly associated with endogenous beha viour; t herefore un derlining the si gnificant rol e o f c ommunity advoca cy pl ays in stew arding n eighbourhood h ealth.

Understanding neighbourhood h ealth r equires an appreciation of local soci al assets, and how these indigenous r esources ar ticulate o pportunities f or sustainable u rban de velopment. The secon d section em ploys b oth qu antitative an d qu alitative analysis.

4.1. Data Sources

Neighbourhood vitality and decay is explore d in depth by re-v isiting h istorical neighbourhood trends which are th en supplemented with narrativ e analysis and current ev ents. Where possible, congruity bet ween st udy ar eas was m anaged by minimizing t he di screpancy bet ween st udy si ze, location, a nd geogra phical distance. E xtensive investigation i nto t he pursuant t hemes i nvolved a pragmatic conclusion from quantitative data and on which qualitative analysis served to strengthen data lapses or discrepancies.

4.1.1. Quantitative Analysis

Raw d ata sources were so ught fro m Statistics Canada, the archives of th e City o f To ronto, and other or ganisational ann ual repo rts. Se condary data so urces in t he f orm of st atus reports an d progress s ummaries were s ought where primary data were lacking. Comparable variables across all three neighbourhoods were identified such as crime rates, land value, real estat e trend s, ownership structure, neighbourh ood decay, and service opportunities to demonstrate statistical sig nificance between neighbourhood ch aracteristics an d exogenous factors. Sup erfluous observations were made base d o n a dditional re pository of demographic s urveys a nd di stribution m aps w hich graphically ill ustrated serv ice av ailability, so cio- economic scales, and neighbourhood stability.

Unless ot herwise indicate d, any refe rence of currency henceforth refers to Canadian currency.

4.1.2. Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative co rroboration was g athered fro m anecdotal evi dence incl uding m edia reports , photo survey, and indigenous accounts.

4.2. Neighbourhood selection

I selected t hree neighbourhood areas t o represent different characteristics and sta ges of neighbourhood decay, base d on a com bination of anecdotal evi dence a nd statistical data. The selection of a third area , which cha racterised a median betwe en polar e xamples, wa s elected for the pu rpose of est ablishing a base line of comparison. I n this w ay, th e third study area, Kensington-Chinatown (n o. 78 ), is used as a barometer of neighbourhood health against the two others. B ased u pon i ndigenous k nowledge a nd scholarship, each neighbourhood was then selected as th e ar chetype on a scale o f neighbourhood health:

-Neighbourhood decay/failed social opportunities (no. 72 Regent Park);

-Up-and-coming neighbourhood/abundance of social opportunities (no. 76 Bay Street Corridor);

and

-Neighbourhood vitality/balanced social opportunities (no. 78 Kensington-Chinatown).

5. Background Study

Toronto has a po pulation of appr oximately 2 .48 million pe ople and i s res ponsible fo r p roviding a range of m unicipal serv ices to th ese co nstituents, including wel fare, homes for the a ged, c hild care, parks and recreation, arts and culture, tourism and heritage, an d ur ban pl anning (City of Toronto, 2011c; City of Toronto, n.d.). The City of Toronto was f ormed i n 1998 by t he am algamation of si x adjacent m unicipalities: Old To ronto, Etobicoke, York, No rth Yo rk, East Y ork, and Scarborough (City of Toronto, 2010b).

5.1. City of Toronto

The C ity of Tor onto, h owever, i s not t o be confused with the Great er Tor onto Area and the Toronto Cen sus Metrop olitan Area, CMA, wh ich both inv olves co nstituency b oundaries beyond those of t he City of To ronto. B esides already including t he 6 boroughs o f The C ity o f Toronto, the Gre ater T oronto Area i ncludes Halt on, Peel, York a nd Durham. The Tor onto C ensus Metropolitan Area is a co mmonly used designation employed f or st atistics and col lecting a ggregate regional data and i ncludes t he C ity o f T oronto as well as 2 3 o ther su rrounding m unicipalities (Strategic & Corporate Policy Division 2004). Fo r the pu rposes of th is st udy, an d in term s o f scop e and breadth, t he use of ‘ Toronto’ i s use d i n i ts equivalency to the City of Toronto.

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Graphic presentation showing relationship between the three study areas. Modified from

http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/profiles_map_and_index.htm 72 (in red) Regent Park

76 (in green) Bay Street Corridor 78 (in purple) Kensington-Chinatown

5.1.1. Urban growth

Since 2 001, t he p opulation of T oronto has experienced a p opulation growth e quivalent t o 2,503,281 with half of those identifying themselves as a visi ble minority. In com parison, the non- visible m inority pop ulation i n T oronto ha s decreased by almost hal f fr om the peri od 20 01 t o 2006 (C ity Pl anning Division, a nd t he Soci al Development Fi nance & Administration D ivision, n.d., para. 1; City Planning Division, and the Social Development Fi nance & Administration D ivision, 2008, para. 1 ). Fore seeing a dem and i ncrease on urban in frastructure and serv ices, th e City o f Toronto adopted a st rategic growth plan called the Official Plan Strateg y which id entifies certain areas, with app ropriate cap acities, fo r i ntensified urbanisation. Further urban growth is thus palpable in these rec ognized a reas: Do wntown and Central

Waterfront, t he Cen tres, th e Av enues, th e Employment Districts whi ch has subsequently experienced s ignificant gr owth i n t he periods following th e Plan’s i nauguration. On th e whole, these strate gies bisect com pletely one neighbourhood area – No. 76 Bay Street Corridor.

These plans ha ve als o been inst rumental in approximating the build-up of service areas around certain parts of the city.

5.1.2. Employment situation

In a rem arkable co ntrast to th e larg e pop ulation growth, the City of Toronto experienced three years of declining employment from 1.29 million in 2000 to 1.25 m illion in 200 3 (Toronto C ommunity Foundation, 2004, p. 16 ). Unemployment remains

high am ongst youth a nd visi ble minorities. The youth u nemployment rat e i n 2003 was almost double that of the Toronto average. In l ight of an increasingly div erse ethn ic an d you thful p rofile, Toronto is clearly d eficient in p roviding th e economic resources necessary to support a furthe r immigration wave. Thi s i s co nsidering t hat Toronto h as th e h ighest prop ortion in th e Greater Toronto A rea of pe ople wi thin t he 25 t o 44 y ear age group wit h 1 percent of that betwee n the ages of 15 an d 24 ( City Plan ning D ivision, and th e Social De velopment Fi nance & Adm inistration Division, n.d.).

5.1.3. Burgeoning income gap between rich and poor

Toronto c ontinues t o e xperience a wi dening gap between polar economic strata with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Th e percentage of T oronto h ouseholds wi th ann ual i ncome over

$100,000 increased when, within the same period, the n umber of lo w-income families ex perienced also a parallel increase. And while a fe w households have achi eved a n an nual i ncome over

$100,000 t his i s si gnificantly count erbalanced by the m uch l arger p roportion of l ow-income households which accommodates also the 4.7 percent decrease in households of median incomes (City Planning Division et al., n.d.).

Holding a job now, as com pared to in the past, is less stable. In 2003, the average length of time at a job was 8 7 m onths i n t he T oronto R egion compared t o 98 m onths across C anada (C ity Planning Di vision et al., 20 08a). Afford ability additionally co ntinues to b e a g rowing co ncern in Toronto with alm ost hal f o f r enter h ouseholds spending 30 percent or m ore of th eir inco me f or rent. With this, th e n eighbourhood in come g ap continues to be d istinctive. Between 1 998 and 2002, the median income for families with children in T oronto’s 1 2 poorest nei ghbourhoods i ncreased 3.6 percent, from $32,574 to $33,750. Meanwhile, the same median income for families with children in Toronto’s 12 wealthiest neighbourhoods rose by 7.8 pe rcent fr om $14 4,868 to $ 156,100. Poverty rates were greatest among visible minority families.

In 2001, t he po verty rat e fo r vi sible m inority families with children was 3 7.8 percent u p from 31.5 percent in 1991 (City Planning Division et al., 2008a).

5.1.4. Education profile

The wo rk fo rce is lar gely well educated wit h approximately 60 percent ha ving had postsecondary educat ion qual ifications; a percentage t hat i s about 4 p ercent hi gher t han t he Ontario average (Toronto Community Foundation, 2004, p. 8). The cost of post-secondary education in T oronto, h owever, c ontinues t o become m ore

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expensive c omparative to rates ac ross ot her Canadian pr ovinces. In th e period between 1995 and 1996, post-secondary tuition rose by 58 percent while in co mparison, ov er the sa me p eriod, first- year tu ition at universities in Vancouver ro se o nly 42 percent and, in Montreal, actually decreased by 18 percent.

5.1.5. Summary

The t rend seems t o su ggest a pre judiced concentration of eco nomic opportunities in h igh income-earning gr oups. This bi as, h owever, is crucial to understanding utility of social assets as a proxy whe n fa ced wi th a so ur ec onomic o utlook.

In fact, a recent study on the effect of gentrification in T oronto neighbourhoods i ndicates t he value of neighbourly ob ligation and co mmon in terest in sustaining neighbo urhood health in the face of economic decline (Walks & Maarane n, 2008). A study by t he C ity of Toronto on st rong neighbourhoods also id entified th e i mportance fo r active com munity involvem ent; dem ocratic processes; st rong sen se o f bel onging; and a welcoming community (Freiler, 2004).

Policies and p ractices pu rsued m ore broadly al so have l ess ca pacity t o ful ly engage t heir cl ients. In co ntrast, neighbourhood-scale o rganizations ca n root th emselves with th e people th ey serve an d imp rove th eir sen sitivity to clients and their capacity for

sustainability. As a resu lt, local p rograms have an a dded a dvantage i n producing their intended results. (Meag her, n .d, p . 2).

There are 140 neighbourhoods i n th e City o f Toronto. With the efforts of the 1993 Action Plan, developed b y the To ronto City Su mmit Allian ce, Toronto i dentified a nd a dvanced t angible eff orts towards making healthier neighbourhoods (Toronto City Su mmit Allian ce, 2 003). Th e major contribution of the Pla n wa s the endorse ment for

the b enefits of neighbourhood v itality and civ ic engagement to Toronto (City of Toronto, 2010d).

5.1.6. Definition of a neighbourhood

The g eographic bo undaries of To ronto neighbourhoods ar e an ad aptation of th e criteria provided by St atistics C anada. Th us, neighbourhoods ha ve borders t hat a dhere t o recognizable physical f eatures, h ave a popu lation size bet ween 2500 an d 8 000, an d ha ve a mostly homogeneous soci o-economic community profile (Savoie et al., 20 01). Th e City o f To ronto established bou ndaries as such to help d etermine where public services would better serve the unique needs o f a sp ecific dem ographic profile. In deed, there are an estimated 240 dis tinctive neighbourhoods with in th e l imits o f t he City o f Toronto which require, to some ex tent, specialised services t hat cater to s pecific needs (City of Toronto, 2000). Inadequate provisioning of public resources and services is a recurring theme in urban sustainability and will be further discussed in detail as a factor in achieving a healthy neighbourhood.

5.2. Neighbourhood

decay/failed social opportunities (no. 72 Regent Park)

Regent Park seems to exhibit the worst case of the three of neighbourhood decay. Regent Park is characterised by a younger, low-income, and less educated population.

5.2.1. Political boundaries

The ph ysical b oundaries fo r t he n eighbourhood of Regent Park are delineated by Gerrard Street to the North, Parliament Street to the West, the Don River to th e East and Qu een Street East to th e Sou th.

The neighbourhood is m ade up of higher r enter households, a y ounger t ransient p opulation, a higher tha n avera ge pe rcentage o f vi sibly minorities, post 1940’s block houses, low ren t, and the lower income earning bracket. Rege nt Park is considered one of the city’s neglecte d areas housing the majority of the City’s low-income new immigrants (City of Toronto, 2010c).

5.2.2. Residential profile

The nei ghbourhood i s ol der and i s marked by a higher p ercentage o f visible minorities with lo w internal population ch ange. Resid ential stru ctures were predominately const ructed du ring t he l ate 1940s un til 19 60 with m ost ex hibiting need fo r major home reparations. T here are com paratively fewer new stru ctures with less th an 1 p ercent having been bu ilt b etween 2001and 20 06.

Moreover, the rate of renter to home ownership is significantly higher wi th 89 pe rcent rent ed

Graphic presentation of neighbourhood, Regent Park, http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/pdf4/cpa72.pdf

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compared to 11 pe rcent owned. T he average gross rent is also sign ificantly lo wer th an for th e rest of Toronto at $54 8 w ith an av erage sale pr ice of

$394,853 (‘’Graph illu stration of 20 06 Reg ent Park’’, 2 008; Tor onto Li fe, 20 11). All th ese variables wo uld seem to su ggest a no ncommittal outlook for future neighbourhood growth in Regent Park.

5.2.3. Population composition

The nei ghbourhood dem ographic p resents a much younger population of youth ages 5 to 24 relative to the o lder ag e co hort of 64 an d above. Th is is supported by the fact that the working age group, of ages 25 to 64, represent little more than half of the demographic pr ofile. The sec ond l argest represented d emographic, wi th o ne-third, are children ag es 0 to 14 . At th e sam e ti me, th e incidences of l ow income for individuals 15 years and over have i ncreased si nce 20 01 t o 2006. I n contrast t o t he rest of T oronto, t here i s a hi gher portion of y outh wi thout a hi gh sc hool di ploma with sim ilar d ifferences wit h you th not holding a post secon dary ed ucation (‘’Graph illu stration of 2006 Regent Park’’, 2010). For the age cohort 20 to 24, the percent of unemployed youth is 6 percent higher t han i n Tor onto with t hose wh o are employed ear ning less th an $10,000 an d primarily in blue collar professions.

5.3. Up-and-coming

neighbourhood/abundance of social opportunities (no. 76 Bay Street Corridor)

The B ay St reet C orridor e xhibits fe wer of t he vulnerabilities ch aracteristic o f Reg ent Park and enjoys a b etter econ omic sit uation than all th ree.

For t his r eason, th e neighbourhood is also m ore amenable to upgrading and regular maintenance.

The Bay Street Corridor limits are defined by Bloor Street West to the North, along University Avenue to the west, Front Street to the south, and Yonge Street to the east. The area encapsulates many functional Toronto structures including the Financial District, the University of Toronto, medical research centres, the Mount Sinai Hospital, and several entertainment facilities including the Four Seasons Theatre. As a result, the percentage of upwardly mobile single young professionals in this neighbourhood is disproportionately higher than for the rest of Toronto. The area is

characterised by a higher total population change, younger and more homogenous demographic and educated working class (City of Toronto, 2010a).

Residential structures are relatively new with most constructed b etween 19 81 to 1 990 and 19 91 to 2000 with th e latter p eriod bu ilt most lik ely to accommodate the wave of immigrants from 1991 to 2006. Owi ng to a hi gher po rtion of newer apartment buildings of five st ories or hi gher, the area requires far fewer, compared to the other two neighbourhoods, major house repairs.

5.3.3. Population composition

The age distribution curve for the neighbourhood is normal wi th a pea k dominated by 20 t o 3 4 y ear olds a nd a

plateau at 45 to 69 years of age.

Youth bet ween 20 t o 2 4 y ears of age without a high schoo l diploma i s substantially lower th an the Toronto average at 2.6 percent. Again, the num ber of youths wi th post-secondary degrees i s higher t han average with 56.8 pe rcent compared to the average of 39.2 percent with the work fo rce engaged primarily i n white co llar

occupations (‘Graph illustration of 2006 Bay Street Corridor’’, 20 10). The l anguage a nd et hnicity of the Bay Street Corridor is mostly homogenous with percentage of immigrants and recent i mmigrations a b it lo wer com pared to th e rest of To ronto. Th e composition i s m ade of m ostly m arried co uples without children but biased towards younger people earning $100,000 an d ov er an d w ith t he median income hover around $45, 000 (‘’Graph illustration of 2006 Bay Street Corridor’’, 2008). The average rent is $ 1,250 with average sale p rice of $367,374 (Toronto Life, 2011).

Graphic presentation of

neighbourhood, Bay Street Corridor, http://www.toronto.ca/demographics /cns_profiles/2006/pdf3/cpa76.pdf

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5.4. Neighbourhood vitality/balanced social

opportunities (no. 78 Kensington- Chinatown)

Kensington-Chinatown has a m ore ecl ectic pr ofile than the previous two neighbourhoods attributing to its two ethnic districts. As such, the neighbourhood is also more diverse but also exhibits an older and more stable profile.

The nei ghbourhood of Kensi ngton-Chinatown contains t wo of T oronto’s m ost di stinctive communities; on e is Toronto’s larg est eth nic marketplace a nd the other catering to a m ore characteristically bohem ian an d al ternative lifestyle. Th e neighbourhood is en closed from the north by College Street, from the west at Bathurst Street, fr om t he So uth by Queen Street West and University Avenue to the East.

The 2006 profile shows an aging age gr oup with a higher po rtion of working age ad ults¹ ( ‘’Graph illustration of 200 6 Ken sington-Chinatown’’, 2007). Resid ential bu ildings were primarily constructed b efore 19 46 with a fair representation also estab lished b etween 1971 and 19 90. Despite this fact, m ost o f th e st ructures, unlike t hose in Regent Park , requ ire only regu lar m aintenance work wi th m ajor repai rs representing only 9 percent of the cases. Furthermore, the a rea around Queen Street West has also been receiving renewed interest in dev elopment e specially a mong the higher, bu t smaller, h igh in come b racket with 10 percent of buildings bei ng const ructed between 1991 and 2006 . Th is b ias is r eflected b y th e 60 percent averag e in 2006 for low in come in

1 15-64 years of age

individuals a ges 15 a nd o ver w hen, at t he sam e time, 11. 5 pe rcent o f p rivate ho usehold i ncomes averaged $ 100,000. T he average gross rent is higher t han f or R egent Pa rk at $ 892 with an average sale price at $369,864 (Toronto Life, 2011).

5.4.3. Population composition

The languages predominately spoken is Chinese at 86 percent, with th e rest j ust ab out equally distributed among Vietnamese, Portuguese, Arabic, and Spanish. The disproportionately higher ratio of Chinese to other langu ages is co rrelated to th e area’s notoriety as Tor onto’s bi ggest C hinatown.

The area is a djacent to a post secondary institution so it is n ot su rprising th at th e average postsecondary deg ree hol der bet ween ages 20 and 24 i s hi gher, 41.1 percent t han t he 3 9.2 perce nt Toronto a verage. The pe rcentage of y outh i n unemployment is p roportionately lower than th e Toronto average with 12.6 percent to 14.5 percent.

6. Discussion

The discussi on that follows involves a closer investigation of the causes of neighbourhood health of the investigated study areas.

6.1. Real crime in Toronto

Overall, the City of Toronto has experi enced a decrease in violent, proper ty, sexual assa ults, other crimes and criminal code offences from the period 2005 to 2 008 ( Toronto Po lice Ser vice, n.d, p . 4 ).

Violent cri mes, h owever, h ave ex perienced t he least steep decline with 34,820 in 2005 to 32,782 in 2008, an overall decrease of abou t 6 per cent, compared with all others. The number of break and enters in apa rtments ha ve also decrea sed while break a nd e nters i nto homes ha ve i ncreased from 3,442 in 200 5 to 5,384 in 2009. This paradox is partly explained by an i ncreasing trend for having security pres ence at the concierge area in apartments. Neighbourhood data also sh ows a linear relationship between percentage of university graduates an d property crime rat es. ‘ ’In neighbourhoods with low property crime rates, half of t he resi dents have a u niversity degree , whe reas this p ercentage drops to one th ird in neighbourhoods w ith high pr operty cr ime r ates’’

(Charron, 2009 ). Ot her studies ha ve al so sh own that othe r s uch nei ghbourhood c haracteristics can be sufficiently linked to crime.

6.2. 51 and 52 Police Division

Policing coverage o ver To ronto is di vided into units called Divisions which then have jurisdiction over one or more neighbourhoods. Deeper analysis of neighbourhood ch aracteristics o n cr ime r ates among th e three neighbourhoods is h enceforth

Graphic pr esentation o f nei ghbourhood, Ken sington- Chinatown,

http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/2006/pdf5/cp a78.pdf

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based on st atistical dat a p rovided p er Division.

Division 51, characterised by a higher incidence of criminal co de offences except for th eft ov er, th eft under, f raud a nd other, c overs t he neighbourhood of R egent Pa rk. Di vision 5 1 co vers a p opulation area of 94,738 in an area of 8.6 square kilometres.

Both Kensington-Chinatown and t he B ay St reet Corridor fall under the jurisdiction of 52 Division.

Division 5 2 co vers a p opulation a rea of 42,527 i n an ar ea of 9.2 squ are k ilometres ( Toronto Po lice Service, n.d, p. 11).

6.3. Crime rates per neighbourhood

The factor of p ropinquity, th e d omination of location on marketability, is a source of fru stration that can give im petus to act up on physical surroundings A report on neighbourhood crime in Toronto by Statistics C anada i ndicates t hat crimes are m ore likely to be in areas wh ich provide conditions m ost co nducive for d eviant activ ities such as proximity t o i nfrastructure, high hum an density, less educated, low income status, structural degradation, and lack of soci o-economic opportunity ( Charron 2009). N ot so su rprisingly then, th e area of downtown east si de, wh ich includes t he R egent Par k nei ghbourhood, i s considered a crim e h ot sp ot in Toron to (St atistics Canada, 2 006b). W orking under this p reamble, the n eighbourhood of Regen t Park , wh ich was earlier identifi ed as the least advanta ged of all studied neighbourhoods with lower socio-economic opportunities, would b e lik elier to exp erience a higher rate of real crim es th an th e t wo (City o f Toronto, 2010c).

In fact , a n ex amination of worker de nsity, et hnic settlement, in come d istribution, and homeownership gat hered from St atistics Canada also m ake a strong correlatio n between sp atial distribution and geography of crime. Characterised by fewe r econ omic opt ions, R egent Park neighbourhood is less lik ely to have a high worker density, l ower i ncome earne rs, a nd have a hi gher ethnically-diverse an d m obile po pulation. The research article Neighbourhood Characteristics and the Distribution of Police-reported Crime in the City of Toronto argues further:

Neighbourhoods wi th a h igh rat e of violent crime are more densely populated and have a higher percentage of residents living i n m ulti-unit dwellin gs. Th ey also have t he highest perce ntages o f chi ldren (under the a ge of 15), re nters, single- parent fam ilies and visible min orities.

The residents of these neighbourhoods are also less lik ely to h ave a u niversity degree, more likely to earn a lower wage,

and m ore lik ely to liv e i n low-income households. (Charron, 2009).

…

In contrast, in the north area along Yonge Street, where reside nts ea rn a hi gher income, th e violent crim e rate is m uch lower than avera ge. The busi ness district—the B ay Street area whe re m ost of the workers in the finance a nd insurance industry are em ployed—has a violent crime rate well below th e average for the city of Toronto. (Charron, 2009).

Both R egent Par k an d Kensington-Chinatown exhibit co mparable ethn ic settle ment patterns despite both having similar higher visible minority profile (Statistics Canada, 2006c). The rea son for lower crim e rates in th e Kensington-Chinatown area than Regent Park, despite similar demographic profiles, fal ls u nder t he preceding, an d first theoretical conce pt, sect ion: neighbourhood disempowerment.

6.4. Neighbourhood

disempowerment and prevalence of crime

The malevolence of deviant crimes is proportionate to th e p sychology o f sp ace (Caldeira, 2000).

Neighbourhood empowerment, as discussed earlier, engenders s pace and subjec tivity together. The outcome o f th e in teraction can produce self- ownership and en titlement. Co nversely, th e erosion of either can perpetuate a heighte ned state of f ear and d isorientation w ithin one’ s ow n environmental su rroundings. Such m isgivings instigate a vicious cycle of isolative defensive techniques that leaves s pace for opportunistic crimes and community integrity vulnerable.

6.4.1. Crime and the psychology of space

Defensive t echniques l ike di sengagement an d introverted behaviour a re ad optive measures against th e th reat th at is b elieved t o ex ist o utside the do orstep (W ilson et al., 19 82). Wilson et al (1982) describes this disassociation with the ur ban environment as symptomatic of why people fail to acknowledge or help pe rsons being attacked or seeking help; ‘’t he ca use i s not ’a pathy’ o r

’selfishness’ but the abse nce of som e plausible grounds for feeling that one must personally accept responsibility’’ (p. 275). This anonymity begets a breaking down of com munal barriers, or, the sense of m utual regard fo r th e obligations o f civility, which th en all see ms to sig nal th at ‘n o one cares’

and s ending a message t o residents ‘ not t o get involved’ (W ilson et al., 1982) and what also breeds c onditions am enable fo r o pportunistic crimes.