CUCS Research Bulletins present
a summary of the findings and analysis of the work of researchers
associated with the Centre. The aim is to disseminate policy
relevant findings to a broad audience.
The views and interpretations offered by the author(s) do
not necessarily reflect those of the Centre or the University.
CUCS Research Bulletins may be reprinted or distributed,
including on the Internet, without permission provided they
are not offered for sale, the content is not altered, and
the source is properly credited.
General Editors: L.S.
Bourne, P. Campsie, J.D. Hulchanski, P. Landolt, and G.
Suttor
For a list of all Research Bulletins, click here
Better Off in a Shelter? A Year of Homelessness & Housing among Status Immigrant, Non-Status Migrant, & Canadian-Born Families
Emily Paradis, Sylvia Novac, Monica Sarty, & J. David Hulchanski
Number 44, July 2008, 8 pages View the PDF
This year-long study compared the experiences of three kinds of homeless families who, at the beginning of the study, were living in a family shelter in Toronto: Canadian-born families, immigrant families with permanent resident status, and families headed by migrant women without permanent status. Although most families found housing within the year, not all were better off housed than they had been before becoming homeless or during their time in the shelter. Family emergency shelters seem to function as transitional and supportive housing in the absence of more appropriate housing programs for migrant women and those involved with child protection services. In the shelter, women had access to childcare and other services, were protected from abusive ex-partners, and found relief from the financial strain of paying high rents. Once housed, most women made trade-offs: higher rent for a safer neighbourhood, or poorer conditions for acceptance without discrimination.
Neighbourhood Gentrification and Upgrading in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver
R. Alan Walks and Richard Maaranen
Number 43, September 2008. View the PDF
Download gentrification maps: Toronto Montreal Vancouver
Download full Research Paper #211
In this study of neighbourhood change, the researchers traced the attributes of a consistent sample of 1,130 census tracts in the central cities of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver between 1961 and 2001. For each tract in each decade, the authors looked at conversion from rental to owner-occupation; changes in social status; changes in relative land values and housing affordability; changes in income; and changes in the average monthly rent. They found that gentrification has affected more than 36 percent of prewar inner-city neighbourhoods, where affordable housing has traditionally been located. Gentrification appeared more prevalent in Vancouver, followed by Toronto, and then Montreal. The results suggest the continuing displacement of low-income households from the inner cities.
Diversity and Concentration in Canadian Immigration: Trends in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, 1971 - 2006
by Robert Murdie
Number 42, March 2008, 12 pages View the PDF
Immigrants to Canada are increasingly concentrated in Canada's three biggest metropolitan areas. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver accommodate 70% of those who arrived between 2001 and 2006. The three biggest gateway cities, however, exhibit important differences in the ethnic groups they attract, and the patterns of settlement. Toronto and Vancouver have some similarities (more Asians, more immigrants settling in the suburbs), while Montreal has a larger proportion of European and African immigrants, who still tend to cluster in the central city. The suburbanization of immigration in Toronto and Vancouver poses challenges for service provision and planning and raises questions about the pros and cons of suburban ethnic enclaves in enhancing immigrant integration.
The Three Cities Within Toronto: Income Polarization Among Toronto's Neighbourhoods, 1970-2000
by J. David Hulchanski
Number 41, December 2007, 12 pages View the PDF
The City of Toronto is becoming increasingly divided by income and socio-economic status. No longer a city of neighbourhoods, modern-day Toronto is a city of disparities. In fact, Toronto is now so polarized it could be described as three geographically distinct cities made up of 20 percent affluent neighbourhoods, 36 percent poor neighbourhoods, and 43 percent middle-income earner neighbourhoods - and that 43 percent is in decline. The CUCS study analyzed income and other data from the 1971 and 2001 censuses, and grouped the city's neighbourhoods based on whether average income in each one had increased, decreased, or stayed the same over that 30-year period. It found that the city's neighbourhoods have become polarized by income and other ethno-cultural characteristics and that wealth and poverty are concentrated in three distinct areas.
Family Violence and Homelessness: Connections and Dynamics
by Sylvia Novac
Number 40, December 2007, 8 pages View the PDF
This research bulletin is a summary of a literature review on the connections between family violence and homelessness. Rates of family violence are very high and more prevalent in the histories of homeless people than among the non-homeless. This association is strong enough that some researchers have concluded that family violence is a major cause of homelessness. Moreover, it is increasingly identified by shelter users themselves as the reason for their homelessness. The bulletin summarizes recent research on the effects on different populations of the homeless (Aboriginals, immigrants, seniors, residents of rural and remote areas, and people with mental health issues) and draws implications for service provision.
Cities: A Philosophical Inquiry
by Frank Cunningham
Number 39, September 2007, 9 pages View the PDF
Urban philosophy might be organized around three questions: What is a city? What is a good city? What is the ideal city? Utopian philosophers from Thomas More to Ebenezer Howard and Le Corbusier concerned themselves with the third question, urban planners and social scientists typically with the second. In this paper Frank Cunningham maintains that the unique contribution of philosophers can best be realized by focusing on the "What is a city?" question. To this end he draws upon philosophical Pragmatism and on some views of Walter Benjamin, first to articulate a conception in which cities are seen as simultaneously coherent and incoherent and second to identify uniquely urban virtues. These ideas are applied to a selection of core persistent urban problems.
Canada's Dual Housing Policy: Assisting Owners, Neglecting Renters
by J. David Hulchanski
Number 38, September 2007, 8 pages View the PDF
View PDF of original book chapter
In this research bulletin, David Hulchanski describes Canada's two-part housing system and housing policy. The primary part consists of about 80 percent of households, including most owners, tenants in the higher end of the private rental market, households in the co-operative housing sector, and a few in non-profit and public housing. These households have secure tenure in good-quality housing appropriate to their needs and at a price they can afford. The secondary part consists of everyone else, including tenants in the lower half of the rental market (where housing quality is low), residents of poor-quality and poorly managed subsidized housing, and rural and impoverished owners. The division is largely based on housing tenure (owning and renting) and is the result of deliberate government policy. All three levels of government favour the ownership sector and provide good-quality social housing to a minority of those in need of adequate and affordable housing. They tend to ignore the needs of most low-income renter households.
More Sinned Against than Sinning? Homeless People as Victims of Crime and Harassment
by Sylvia Novac, Joe Hermer, Emily Paradis, and Amber Kellen
Number 37, September 2007, 7 pages View the PDF
Media reports tend to focus on the real or perceived criminal involvement of the homeless. What is less well known is that homeless people are more often victims of crime than housed people. This research bulletin draws on a survey that explored the experiences and views of homeless individuals who have been involved with the criminal justice system or been victimized. The survey found that homeless individuals appreciate the need for law and order, but are critical of perceived unfair policing practices, especially differential treatment of racialized persons. Also, although homeless individuals experience a high level of victimization, they are reluctant to report crimes to the police and feel alienated from police protection. The results suggest a need for mental health and addictions treatment for some homeless people, advocacy services (including liaison workers at courts and detention centres), better discharge planning, and special training for police officers.
A Revolving Door? Homeless People and the Justice System in Toronto
by Sylvia Novac, Joe Hermer, Emily Paradis, and Amber Kellen
Number 36, July 2007, 7 pages View the PDF
How many of Toronto's estimated 30,000 homeless people end up in correctional facilities for reasons relating to their lack of housing? And how many of the approximately 50,000 ex-prisoners released each year from provincial correctional facilities in the Toronto area end up on the streets? This research bulletin attempts to answer these questions, drawing on administrative data and interviews with homeless individuals, service providers, and key informants. The results reveal that a sizeable sub-group of homeless people are stuck in a cycle of staying in shelters, jails, and hospitals. Moreover, most who are incarcerated for short periods of time or held on remand receive little or no assistance to prepare them for community re-entry. The report concludes with recommendations for the Government of Ontario to address this problem.
Toronto's Little Portugal: A Neighbourhood in Transition
by Carlos Teixeira
Number 35, March 2007, 8 pages View the PDF
Little Portugal is located in the downtown west end of Toronto. Over the years, Portuguese immigrants have created an institutionally complete community that is also one of the most visible ethnic neighbourhoods in Toronto. Little Portugal is, however, changing because of the movement of many Portuguese from Toronto's downtown to the suburbs; the arrival of urban professionals, who seek to buy older houses close to the downtown core; and the arrival of immigrants and refugees from the Portuguese diaspora (including Brazil and Portugal's former African colonies). This research bulletin, based on interviews with residents of the area, describes how these changes are altering the characteristics of the neighbourhood, for better or for worse.
A Visceral Grief: Young Homeless Mothers and Loss of Child Custody
by Sylvia Novac, Emily Paradis, Joyce Brown, and Heather Morton
Number 34, February 2007, 7 pages View the PDF
This research bulletin is based on a report of the same name commissioned by The Young Parents No Fixed Address Committee (CUCS Research Paper 206, October 2006). The report explored service interventions for young homeless mothers who lose custody of their child and surveyed what is known about the effects on mothers of having children removed from their custody, as well as existing programs for homeless women in this situation, including bereavement and support services. Both the report and this bulletin include recommendations for improved services and suggestions for further research.
This bulletin is a summary of CUCS Research Paper #206. View the PDF of that paper.
New Urban Divides: How Economic, Social, and Demographic Trends are Creating New Sources of Urban Difference in Canada
by Larry Bourne
Number 33, February 2007, 7 pages View the PDF
More than 80 percent of Canadians live in urban areas, occupying 5 percent of the nation's land surface. Cities are now redefining and reshaping Canada. However, change is uneven within the country's urban system, and the growth rates and characteristics of its member cities also vary widely. These trends in turn are creating new forms of difference or new divides among cities and regions, in economic, social, and political terms and at different spatial scales. This research bulletin surveys the trends affecting Canada's cities and towns and the potential policy implications of the emerging urban divides among urban areas.
Liberty Village: The Makeover of Toronto's King and Dufferin Area
by Thorben Wieditz
Number 32, January 2007, 7 pages View the PDF
This short history of one of the neighbourhoods in west-central Toronto describes the stages of transformation of a formerly industrial area. The area first became a distinctive and diverse artists' community on the margin of Toronto's mainstream culture, but has more recently become an increasingly homogenized space that has been made safe, clean, and attractive for capital investment and new residents. The author argues that the gentrification of the area was municipally managed, as Toronto's economic development corporation, in combination with Toronto Artscape, worked to attract investment to the area.
Gentrification and Displacement Revisited: A Fresh Look at the New York City Experience
by Kathe Newman and Elvin K. Wyly
Number 31, July 2006, 8 pages View the PDF
Since the 1960s, researchers and policy-makers have argued over whether gentrification represents equitable reinvestment in inner-city neighbourhoods or polarizing displacement. Newman and Wyly re-examine the arguments for and against gentrification, based on a quantitative evaluation of displacement in New York City and its changes over the past decade as well as field work in gentrifying neighbourhoods. They conclude that the extent of displacement is often underestimated, and that gentification represents evidence of urban restructuring on a vast scale. Although some long-time residents in gentrifying neighbourhoods may find ways to stay put and enjoy the benefits that gentrification brings, their achievements are likely only short-term, as supports for low-income renters are dismantled.
Jane Jacobs, the Torontonian
by Barry Wellman
Number 30, July 2006, 6 pages View the PDF
Barry Wellman, a former neighbour of the late Jane Jacobs, points out that most U.S. and U.K. obituaries of the well-known writer fail to acknowledge that the second half of her life was spent in Toronto. He describes her contributions to Toronto urban life, including helping to stop the Spadina expressway; advising Toronto mayors, planners and activists; and contributing to the creation of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood and the revitalization of the King-Spadina and King-Parliament areas. He also mentions her difficult relationship with academics and suggests that this led to missed opportunities for exchanging views that might have benefited both her own thinking and that of her admirers in academia.
Toronto's West-Central Neighbourhoods: A Profile of the St. Christopher House Catchment Area
Sara Campbell Mates, Michael Fox, Meredith Meade, Peter Rozek, and Lori Tesolin
Number 29, June 2005, 8 pages View the PDF
This research bulletin is contains a demographic profile of the catchment area of St. Christopher House, a neighbourhood-based, multi-service, non-profit organization in Toronto's west end. The catchment area includes more than 100,000 people. The profile was prepared using 2001 census data, and includes data on population, household size and type, education, income, employment, immigration, ethnicity, and language. The information is also organized according to eight distinct neighbourhoods within the are"a: Dufferin Grove, Little Portugal, Niagara, Palmerston - Little Italy, Roncesvalles, South Parkdale, and Trinity - Bellwoods.
Toronto's South Parkdale Neighbourhood: A Brief History of Development, Disinvestment, and Gentrification
Tom Slater
Number 28, May 2005, 7 pages View the PDF
This brief history of a neighbourhood in Toronto just west of downtown describes the changes over time that have led to conflict between incoming gentrifiers and artists on one hand, and a long-standing population of poor and marginalized residents on the other. An area that was once an affluent enclave near the lake was disrupted by expressway building in 1950s, the deinstitutionalization of mental health patients in the 1970s, and by an influx of artists and middle-class homeowners beginning in the 1990sm. Although the area needs reinvestment, gentrification threatens the stability of the remaining.
Social Accounting for Social Economy Organizations
Laurie Mook, Betty Jane Richmond, and Jack Quarter
Number 27, January 2005, 7 pages View the PDF
In a follow-up to an earlier research bulletin (What is the social economy? J. Quarter, L. Mook, and B.J. Richmond, #13, March 2003), the authors illustrate a method of social accounting using a real-world example - the Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre in Toronto. Using information from the Centre's financial statements, the authors show how to create an Expanded Value Added Statement, which, among other things, includes both the contribution made by volunteers to the Centre, and the benefits that volunteers receive in their work (skills, experience, social interaction). This information can show funders how a social economy organization adds value to the goods and services it purchases, and how volunteers contribute to its success.
The Relationship between Housing Conditions and Health Status of Rooming House Residents in Toronto
Stephen W. Hwang, Rochelle E. Martin, George S. Tolomiczenko, and J. David Hulchanski
Number 26, November 2004, 5 pages View the PDF
This research bulletin, which is based on an article published in 2003 in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, describes a study conducted in 1997 on the health status of a sample of residents of rooming houses in Toronto, and on whether physical and organizational characteristics of rooming houses
are correlated with the health status of their residents. The researchers
found that rooming house residents have much poorer health status than the
general population, even when compared to individuals in the lowest income
quintile. Also, they found a strong correlation between the physical
attractiveness of a rooming house and the health of its residents. (Note:
Research Bulletin 16 also draws on this research to describe demographic
characteristics of rooming house residents.)
The Future of Housing Advocacy and Research
Peter Marcuse
Number 25, October 2004, 6 pages View the PDF
This research bulletin is based on a speech made at an international housing conference held in Toronto in June 2004 under the auspices of the International Sociological Association. Peter Marcuse, Professor of Urban Planning at Columbia University, urges researchers and housing advocates to get back to basics, rather than acting as housing technicians. This means, among other things, emphasizing redistribution, supporting public and non-profit housing, balancing demand- and supply-side measures, and eliminating discrimination. Above all, Marcuse stresses that there is no lack of good policy analysis; rather housing advocates need to use available research findings to put knowledge into action.
The Health of Canadians on Welfare
Nicholas T. Vozoris and Valerie S. Tarasuk
October 2004, 7 pages View the PDF
The authors undertook a secondary analysis of data from the 1996-97 National Population Health Survey to examine the likelihood that adults in households whose main source of income was welfare would report poor general, mental, and social health, and certain chronic conditions. They found that receipt of welfare is associated with poorer physical health and a lack of social support. Cuts to welfare are likely to further threaten the health of welfare. The authors argue that as welfare programs continue to be reformed, the impact of program changes on recipients' health and well-being needs to be assessed and monitored.
Termite
Control in Canada
Timothy Myles
Number 23, July 2004, 4 pages
View
the PDF
Conventional methods of dealing with
an infestation of termites involve saturating the soil around
the affected dwelling with large quantities of pesticides.
Such method are expensive, potentially harmful to the health
of urban residents, and ineffective, since they do not eliminate
termites. The Urban Entomology Program at the University
of Toronto has developed methods of eradicating termite
colonies using techniques such as Trap-Treat-Release, but
these methods remain at the experimental stage. The chemicals,
which are used in very small quantities, have yet to be
approved for use in Canada. More public-interest research
on less-toxic approaches to pest management is needed.
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The Future
of Social Housing: From Social Housing Estates to Social
Housing Systems
Hugo Priemus
Number 22, July 2004, 6 pages
View
the PDF
This research bulletin is based on
a presentation made at an international housing conference
held in Toronto in June 2004 under the auspices of the International
Sociological Association. Hugo Priemus, a professor of housing
at Delft University in the Netherlands, briefly surveys
the social housing situation in the European Union, and
the trend away from direct provision of social housing and
towards rent supplements and other demand-side approaches.
However, he argues for the retention of non-profit housing
corporations as an essential part of a social housing system
and recommends five ways to prevent social housing becoming
marginalized and stigmatized.
For
information about the housing conference, click here
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Beyond
the New Deal for Cities: Confronting the Challenges of Uneven
Urban Growth
Larry S. Bourne
Number 21, March 2004, 5 pages
View
the PDF
View news coverage: UofT
News Release, Toronto
Star
Although the "new urban agenda" in
Canada has focused on the imbalance between urban revenue
sources and service responsibilities, the real problems
facing Canadian cities have more to do with urban sustainability
in the context of uneven growth. Large metropolitan cities
must deal with sprawl, immigration, and the decentralization
of people and jobs, while smaller places cope with population
aging and out-migration. To respond to these realities,
government strategies should use the frame of functional
city-regions combining both city and suburb, as well as
adjacent, integrated municipal units. This bulletin draws
on the findings of CUCS Research Paper 201, "Urban Growth
and Decline in Canada, 1971-2001: Explanations and Implications."
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Transforming the
Non-Market Housing System in Ontario: How the Distinctions
Between Public Housing and Co-operative Housing Are Breaking
Down
Jorge Sousa and Jack Quarter
Number 20, January 2004, 7 pages
View
the PDF
The authors describe the differences
that have traditionally distinguished the two main forms
of non-market housing in Ontario, and the ways in which
the two forms are converging. For example, co-operatives
must seek capital funding from the same sources as public
housing, and are required to select tenants from the same
waiting lists. Meanwhile, some public housing projects are
allowing more tenant participation in management and catering
to a mix of incomes. There changes can largely be attributed
to theu neo-conservative agenda of smaller governments offering
reduced services.
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Bed Bugs in Toronto
Tim Myles and others
#19, December 2003, 4 pages
View
the PDF
View news coverage: UofT
News Release, Toronto
Star, Toronto
Sun, Canadian
Press
In Toronto, reports of bed bugs
by pest control companies and pest control officials started
to increase in 2001. By 2003, at least a dozen shelters,
hostels, and other forms of public housing were known to
have ongoing problems with bed bugs, despite spraying by
pest control companies. This research bulletin explains
what a bed bug is, suggests reasons for the resurgence of
bed bugs in Toronto, describes a test in which the researchers
used sticky traps and tape to capture and document bed bugs
in a Toronto rooming house, and offers methods for controlling
outbreaks, especially in group living situations.
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The Canadian Urban
System, 1971-2001:
Responses to a Changing World
Jim Simmons and Larry S. Bourne
Number 18, September 2003,
9 pages View
the PDF
This research bulletin
is a summary of Research Report 200, published by the Centre
for Urban and Community Studies. Using the results of the
2001 Census of Canada, the authors describe recent changes
in the Canadian Urban System, and how these changes have
forced a re-examination of older models and theories about
the structure and function of that system. They consider
the context within which the Canadian Urban System has developed,
shaped by globalization, immigration, government decisions
and policies, key events, and Canada’s position within
the North American continent. Finally, they consider how
these influences may shape the system in future, while acknowledging
that the system is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
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Housing Affordability,
Income, and Food Bank Users in the Greater Toronto Area,
1990-2000
Joseph H. Michalski
Number 17, July 2003, 7 pages
View
the PDF
This research bulletin, a summary
of an article from the Canadian Review of Sociology and
Anthropology, looks at housing affordability and the changing
financial circumstances of low-income households as the
context in which the economically marginal population uses
food banks as a coping strategy. The author discusses the
proliferation of food banks in Canada, especially Toronto,
in the 1990s, their role in the lives of low-income people,
and the demographics of food bank users. He notes the differences
in the profile of food bank users before the Ontario welfare
cuts of 1995 and afterwards and suggests that the results
indicate “the intransigent nature of food banks as
a cornerstone of contemporary Canadian society and a possible
substitute for governmental social policies.”
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Rooming House Residents:
Challenging the Stereotypes
Stephen Hwang, Rochelle Martin,
David Hulchanski, and George Tolomiczenko
Number 16, June 2003, 5 pages
View
the PDF
In 1998 a research team interviewed
295 residents of 171 licensed rooming houses in Toronto.
The survey questions covered demographic characteristics,
lifestyle, and health, as well as conditions in the rooming
house and other health determinants. The researchers found
that other than the fact that most roomers live alone (since
few rooming houses can accommodate couples or families),
have low incomes, and are therefore often food insecure,
it is not possible to make many valid generalizations about
roomers’ lives. For example, the survey found that
about a third of those interviewed were employed, nearly
15% had university degrees, and about 80% felt they had
adequate social supports, findings that challenge the stereotypes
that roomers are likely to be unemployed and socially isolated,
with low levels of education.
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Housing as a Socio-Economic
Determinant of Health:
Assessing Research Needs
James R. Dunn
Number 15, June 2003, 6 pages
View
the PDF
This research bulletin draws
on the results of a national stakeholder consultation to
identify needs, gaps, and opportunities in research on housing
as a socio-economic determinant of health. The consultation,
which was carried out by an interdisciplinary team of researchers
in partnership with the National Housing Research Committee
and the Canadian Housing Renewal Association, took the form
of an electronic questionnaire and eight one-day regional
workshops across Canada. Participants included people and
organizations in the housing sector, the health sector and
those at the interface. The consultations looked at the
following aspects of housing: physical hazards, physical
design, psychological benefits, social benefits, political
dimensions, financial dimensions, and location and identifies
research requirements and areas for further study.
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The Right to Adequate
Housing in Canada
Bruce Porter
Number 14, April 2003, 7 pages
View
the PDF
Bruce Porter puts Canada’s
housing situation into an international context, focusing
on the gap between Canada’s commitments under international
agreements such as the United Nations Covenant on Social,
Economic and Cultural Rights on one side, and the realities
of homelessness, evictions, and reduced social supports
for low-income people on the other. He also discusses the
extent to which the right to adequate housing is protected
under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and how
Canadian courts have interpreted the Charter in cases involving
housing. He concludes that although Canada represents one
of the starkest examples of unnecessary violations of the
right to adequate housing in the midst of plentiful resources
and a robust economy, what has occurred in Canada is part
of a larger global pattern. Advances must be made simultaneously
on both the domestic and international fronts if Canadians
are to move forward in claiming and enforcing the right
to adequate housing.
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What is the Social
Economy?
Jack Quarter, Laurie Mook, and
Betty Jane Richmond
Number 13, March 2003, 5 pages
View
the PDF
Although the economic role and
contribution of nonprofits and cooperatives are often overlooked,
in Canada an estimated 175,000 to 200,000 nonprofits generate
revenues of more than $90 billion a year and employ 1.3
million people (not including volunteers). This research
bulletin provides an overview of the social economy, including
the different types of organizations in the sector, their
most important characteristics, and their relationship with
the public and private sectors. The authors call for a new
kind of “social accounting,” which moves beyond
traditional measures such as net income and takes into account
social capital and social outputs, and transactions that
do not take place through the market.
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Ethnic Segregation
in Toronto and the New Multiculturalism
Mohammad A. Qadeer
Number 12, January 2003, 6 pages
View
the PDF
Although segregation in housing
is often regarded as evidence of repression or discrimination,
in some cases it may be voluntary and serve useful purposes.
The author views the many successful ethnic neighbourhoods
that have emerged in Toronto as evidence of the “new
multiculturalism,” which promotes not only an individual’s
right to organize his or her private life in accordance
with a particular culture, but also a groups’ right
to build communal institutions and maintain its heritage
and language. He outlines the three-step process by which
an ethnic neighbourhood is formed, and notes that spatial
segregation is not invariably related to poor living conditions.
Although ethnic enclaves are rich in social capital, mutual
support networks, and community organizations, they can
be isolating, inhibiting immigrants’ acculturation
to the ways of Canadian job market and social mores and
precluding networking in mainstream society. The author
concludes that social integration now means constructing
a “common ground” of institutions and services
for the civic engagement of diverse communities, rather
than preventing the formation of ethnic neighbourhoods.
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Housing Discrimination
in Canada:
What Do We Know About It?
Sylvia Novac, Joe Darden, J.
David Hulchanski and Anne-Marie Seguin
Number 11, December 2002, 7 pages
View
the PDF
This research bulletin contains
a summary of Housing Discrimination in Canada: The State
of Knowledge, published by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
in 2002. The study, which took the form of a literature
survey and interviews with 40 key informants, inventoried
research on housing discrimination in Canada to identify
gaps and suggest a research agenda to guide future housing
policy. The researchers looked at racial and sex discrimination,
discrimination against youth, gays, lesbians, and people
with disabilities, and discrimination on the basis of social
status. They also considered discrimination by landlords,
by non-profit housing providers, by real estate agents,
and by financial institutions, and looked at how some forms
of discrimination are built into the land use planning process.
The research suggests that overt racial discrimination has
decreased in recent decades, but that discrimination against
low-income people and those on social assistance is increasing.
Most existing studies are small scale, limited to a few
cities, and nearly all have focused on the rental sector
and on racial discrimination. Little systematic research
is available on the homeownership sector or on other forms
of discrimination. The authors suggest a research agenda
to fill in the gaps in this area of knowledge.
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Downtown Parking
Lots:
An Interim Use That Just Won’t Go Away
Antoine Belaieff
Number 10, August 2002, 5 pages
View
the PDF
Planners sometimes describe urban
surface parking lots as an “interim use.” Yet
many surface lots have been in operation for decades, and
there are no plans for their redevelopment. The author reviews
the problems of parking lots – suboptimal land use,
unsatisfactory urban design, environmental and fiscal impacts
– and suggests reasons why so many surface parking
lots persist. These reasons relate to the demand for parking,
the way in which parking lots are taxed, fragmented ownership,
the profitability of parking lots, and the failure of the
city to enforce laws and bylaws that might prevent the creation
of new lots or at least ensure that existing lots are well-landscaped
and maintained. The paper concludes with eleven recommendations
for alleviating the problems associated with surface parking
lots in Toronto.
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A Comparison of the
Rental Housing Experiences of
Polish and Somali Newcomers in Toronto
Robert A. Murdie
Number 9, July 2002, 6 pages
View
the PDF
The housing experiences of Polish
and Somali immigrants who arrived in Toronto between 1987
and 1994 show important differences. Researchers asked representatives
of 60 households in each of the two groups about their criteria
in choosing accommodation, how long it had taken them to
find somewhere to live, whether they had faced discrimination
in the housing market, and whether they were satisfied with
their current housing and neighbourhood. The researchers
also asked about the differences between the type of housing
first occupied after arrival in Canada and housing occupied
more recently. The results suggest that Somalis face more
discrimination than Poles, and that over time, the Polish
immigrants have moved from smaller to larger units, whereas
the Somalis had moved from larger to smaller, less expensive
units.
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The Case for Social
and Community Infrastructure Investment: Toronto’s
Quiet Crisis
Peter Clutterbuck
Number 8, June 2002, 7 pages
View
the PDF
The author makes a case for increasing
investment in Toronto’s community programs and facilities,
such as child care, public libraries, recreation programs,
seniors’ homes, public health units, and programs
for newcomers. Cutbacks and downloading have eroded services
and standards in this sector. However, as senior levels
of government recognize the vital role of cities in the
social and economic health of the country, and begin to
invest in hard infrastructure, funds may become available
for investment in the social infrastructure. Rather than
converting freed-up funds into property tax reductions or
absorbing them as cost savings, Toronto should redirect
the funds into the social infrastructure in order to enhance
the quality of life in the city.
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Homeless “Squeegee
Kids”: Food insecurity and daily survival: A study
of food habits among homeless
youth in Toronto
Naomi Dachner and Valerie Tarasuk
Number 7, May 2002, 5 pages
View
the PDF
This research bulletin presents
the findings of a six-month-long study of homeless youth
in Toronto. Although the primary focus of the study was
on food insecurity (defined as “the limited or uncertain
availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or
limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable food
in socially acceptable ways”), it also provides insight
into how young homeless people earn money, find shelter,
and cope with health problems. The study found that the
youth use various strategies to feed themselves –
going to inexpensive restaurants, buying easy-to-prepare
meals and cooking them in drop-ins, eating meals provided
by charitable programs, foraging in garbage cans, or stealing.
However, sometimes the young people went hungry because
they were too ill to get to a meal program or they needed
the time to earn money or attend a medical clinic. The study
sheds light on the health and lifestyle of homeless youth
and on some of the factors that make it difficult for young
people to find steady work and permanent housing.
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Does the Internet
Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital? Social
Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment
Barry Wellman, Anabel Quan Haase,
James Witte and Keith Hampton
Number 6, December 2001, 5 pages
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Using a 1998 survey of almost
40,000 visitors to a National Geographic website, the authors
tested theories that the Internet (a) increases social interaction
and strengthens communities as people use it to communicate
with friends and family and to organize as groups; (b) alienates
people from one another by competing for time with other
activities and by substituting an inferior form of interaction
for face-to-face meetings and telephone conversations; and
(c) supplements social interaction by providing an additional
means of communication to maintain existing social ties.
The survey results suggest that people’s interaction
online supplements face-to-face and telephone communication
without increasing or decreasing the overall level of social
interaction. Heavy Internet use is also associated with
increased participation in voluntary organizations and politics.
However, the transition from participation in all-encompassing
communities to participation in more fragmented personal
communities warrants additional study.
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One in Five...Housing
as a Factor in the Admission of Children to Care: New Survey
of Children’s Aid Society of Toronto Updates 1992
Study
Shirley Chau, Ann Fitzpatrick,
J. David Hulchanski, Bruce Leslie, and Debbie Schatia
Number 5, November 2001, 6 pages
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This study replicates a 1992
survey of the reasons why Children’s Aid Society of
Toronto workers decide when a child should be removed from
his or her family and placed in care. In 20% of cases, the
family’s housing situation was a factor in the decision,
compared to 18% in 1992. The number of children admitted
to care at least partly because of housing problems rose
from 290 in 1992 to 450 in 2000 – an increase of 60%.
Also, housing problems delayed the return of the child to
his or her family in 11.5% of cases, compared to 8.6% in
1992. The cost of such a delay is almost $2,000 per child
per month. The authors conclude that Toronto’s housing
situation is having a detrimental effect on the well-being
of many families with children and placing an additional
burden on the resources of the Children’s Aid Society,
and that the situation has worsened since 1992.
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Thinking About Urban
Inclusiveness
Richard Stren
Number 4, October 2001, 6 pages
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This research bulletin is based
on a presentation by the author to the UN Centre for Human
Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2001. The author describes
the rise and popularization of the concept of social or
human capital, and the role of municipalities in strengthening
social and human capital at a time of rapid globalization
and heightened economic competition. At the same time, the
increasing diversity of city populations is both a source
of conflict and an opportunity for greater creativity and
innovation in the global economy. The author mentions cities
that have tried to incorporate all citizens, including the
poor and vulnerable, in policy- and decision-making. No
city has succeeded in achieving social inclusiveness in
all areas – very large, diverse cities have had particular
problems – but the goal is nonetheless important.
The extent to which cities succeed in efforts to improve
inclusiveness and incorporate diversity into their structures
of governance will distinguish the most accomplished and
creative cities in future.
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“We’re
hired by the hospital, but we work for the community”:
Towards More Effective Hospital Involvement in Community
Action
Blake Poland, with Leslie Fell,
Heather Graham, Janet Lum, Elaine Walsh, Gail Yardy, Paul
Williams and Stasey Tobin
Number 3, October 2001, 5 pages
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Health care institutions are
increasingly required to work more closely with community
groups on disease prevention and health promotion. The authors
of the paper on which this research bulletin is based examined
the rationale and risks of this departure from hospitals’
traditional mandate of clinical care and the expected results
of such efforts. They found that hospital involvement in
community action ranges from token “consultation”
efforts to partnerships of equals. Relationships may be
strained by the community’s perception that the hospital
is co-opting community energies to serve institutional ends.
Using the results of a 1997 pilot study, the authors found
that members of community groups view hospitals as powerful
and able to command extensive resources, but may also mistrust
the motives of hospital staff in joint hospital/community
projects. The most crucial task for those seeking to do
community work from a hospital base is therefore to establish
trust and credibility within the community.
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A Tale of Two Canadas:
Homeowners Getting Richer, Renters Getting Poorer: Income
and Wealth Trends in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, 1984
and 1999
J. David Hulchanski
Number 2, August 2001, 5 pages
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Detailed surveys of household
income and wealth carried out by Statistics Canada in 1984
and 1999 show that in a fifteen-year period, the income
and wealth of homeowners has increased, while those of renters
have decreased. That is, the income and wealth gap between
homeowners and renters is wide and growing wider each year.
This means that fewer renters will be able to make the transition
to homeowners. The study also highlights the shortage of
affordable rental housing, because investors cannot make
money in the private rental sector and because the federal
government has abandoned its social housing construction
program. Construction of condos and suburban tract housing,
however, continues unabated. Because renters’ level
of income and wealth is so low compared to that of homeowners,
renters are unable to exert effective market demand for
new rental housing. Therefore, only significant public-sector
intervention will increase the supply of affordable rental
housing.
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Designing a Metropolitan
Region: The Lessons and Lost Opportunities of the Toronto
Experience
Larry S. Bourne
Number 1, July 2001, 6 pages
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This paper uses Toronto as an
example of urban governance and the management of change
in urban environments within the context of the increasing
scale and complexity of cities, the rapidity of change,
the level of uncertainty associated with globalization,
and the proliferation of actors and institutions involved
in urban development. The author finds that the configuration
of governments, institutions and regulatory bodies is less
important than the process by which decisions are made,
and that plans, even those that are never implemented, are
important as informal guides to development. Two prerequisites
for effective urban management stand out: proactive, involved
governments at higher levels, and mechanisms for redistributing
the costs and benefits of urban growth. The author finds
that although Toronto continues to provide a relatively
high quality of life for most of its citizens, its current
government structure of a single-tier city surrounded by
four two-tier regions is unstable, and the retreat of the
provincial government from involvement in urban affairs
may threaten its future success.
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