The Study Neighbourhoods
1. St. James Town (Census tract 65)
St. James Town -- described by Patricia McHugh as "15 somber towers ... cheerlessly extruding a population of 15,000 souls 16 to 33 stories into the sky."
St. James Town is a community with special characteristics and needs. Its population of 15,358 resides in 18 high-rise apartment buildings and represents a 23% increase over the past ten years, even though no new housing has been built. As such, the community is the most densely populated neighbourhood in Canada – ten times the average population density of the City. It is home to many new immigrants and low-income earners.
Map of St. James Town area (East Side of Downtown Toronto)
Directions from the University
Take the Bloor line East to Sherbourne
Walk south on Sherbourne and then East on Howard until you reach the Northwest corner of the neighbourhood.
2. Yorkwoods/Grandravine in the broader Jane Finch community
Central Location: Driftwood Community Centre, 4401 Jane Street
Located in the northwest corner of metro Toronto, Jane-Finch is home to 75,000 people from over 100 countries around the world. The area has a high percentage of teen mothers, working poor and single-parent families. Negative media coverage has branded the community as rife with crime and other social problems. The area is characterized by high levels of poverty and unemployment. However, Jane-Finch is also rich in community spirit and involvement, with a history of self-help initiatives – improving voter turnout during elections, raising academic achievement by local students, improving the community's image--initiatives which provide hope for the future and the foundation for local economic action.
The Yorkwoods community is a MTHA housing site located generally east of Jane Street and south of Finch Avenue, at the intersection of Grandravine Drive and Driftwood Avenue. The site is comprised of two large blocks separated by Grandravine Drive. Immediately abutting the community to the west is Yorkwoods Public School, Oakdale Park Middle School and Oakdale Community Centre. There are 303 townhouse units on this seven-hectare site, in clusters ranging from four to sixteen townhouses. As illustrated in Schedule D, the community is not serviced with internal public or private streets. While some of the units do front onto public streets, the majority do not, and face narrow, internal asphalt pathways which wind throughout the site. This layout creates public safety concerns, and difficulties for visitors, emergency services staff, delivery persons, etc. to locate townhouse units within the site. Random relationships between front and rear yards are also created, which result in a lack of privacy. Parking structures are located at the edge of the site which is inconvenient and does not enhance the streetscape.
Project Rebirth was a report drafted in 1989 by Jane Finch residents and service providers which assessed physical and social elements affecting quality-of-life in the broader Jane Finch community, including but not limited exclusively to the MTHA public housing communities. The report advocated meaningful community participation and partnerships amongst public and community based agencies, and included highlights of physical and social indicators in the community.
The University Village Community Improvement Plan (CIP) was approved in 1990 by the former City of North York and granted provincial funding through PRIDE, the Program for Renewal, Improvement, Development and Economic Revitilization. This CIP addressed the area of the Jane Finch community which is north of Finch Avenue and east of Jane Street, including portions of the MTHA public housing sites. The above-mentioned Project Rebirth assessment was utilized in developing this plan. The CIP resulted in approximately $800,000 of enhancements in the City portion of the public realm with respect to elements such as landscaping, lighting, trails and furnishings in the Driftwood Court, Driftwood Avenue and Driftwood Park areas.
In 1999 the first background report to support the new Official Plan, Social Indicators and Priority Areas was prepared. The report described socio-economic conditions in the City, focusing on indicators of social vulnerability so that planning may be tailored to the unique nature of various communities. Indicators used in this study were tenant household distribution, tenant households paying more than 50% of gross income on shelter, lone-parent families, multiple family households, low income households, unemployment, social assistance and adults lacking education. This analysis revealed the broader Jane Finch community as one of the ten highest ranking priority areas in Toronto. Similarly, the St. James Town and Regent Park communities were revealed to be in this group of ten high priority areas.
Yorkwoods is located in Ward 9. Information about the population of Ward 9 is available at: http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/wards2000/ward9.htm
Map of Grandravine/Yorkwoods Village area (in Jane/Finch Area)
Directions from the University
Take the subway North to Downsview
Take the 180 bus to Yorkwoods gate (on map)
3. 3. Warden Woods--Southwest Scarborough. The Warden Woods community, one of the oldest public housing sites in Canada
A central location in the community is the Warden Woods Community Centre, which is located just off Warden Avenue on the Northeast side of the community. The location of the community Centre is starred in the map below.
74
Fir Valley Court
Scarborough, Ontario
M1L 1N9
Phone: 416 694-1138
Fax: 416 694-1161
Map of Warden Woods (in Scarborough)
larger map of Warden Woods area:
Directions from the University
Take the Bloor subway line East to Warden exit.
get on Bus 69, take it two stops south to Fir Valley Court