Sanathan Kassiedass
Toronto’s older suburbs have become “sandwiched” between the city’s core and newer developments at the periphery. The new suburbs are attractive to new residents, especially to young families, as they offer larger homes built to modern market preferences at a lower cost and they are also near new employment centres and amenities such as large-format retailers. To other residents, the core is attractive due to its strong employment centre, volume and variety of amenities, efficient public transit, and varied lifestyle options. As the older inner suburb inhabitants leave to new suburbs or the core, property values and rents in the older suburbs drop, attracting recent immigrants who have a lower economic status. The spatial concentration of newcomers in the older suburbs is of concern, because those areas lack access to resources that could help them achieve upward mobility. This report provides a case study on the community of North Etobicoke, showcasing the pattern of socio-economic change that it has undergone, and calling for revitalization of the area to attract a population with a greater mix of ethnicities and income levels.
This student working paper was written by Sanathan Kassiedass as part of coursework in the School of Planning, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo. The author acknowledges Markus Moos, Pablo Mendez and Michael Seasons for helpful comments on earlier versions. The author remains solely responsible for any errors, omissions or opinions.
View the rest of Kassiedass’ working paper: Changes in Socio-Economic Status of North Etobicoke, an Inner Suburb of Toronto: Poor new residents with reduced chances of achieving upward mobility (PDF)