Income Polarization in Toronto

I attended an event at Yonge Street Mission this week on understanding our changing city. David Hulchanski, author of The Three Cities within Toronto (PDF), presented some of his research.

In 1970, about two-thirds of the City of Toronto's neighborhoods were middle income. Now, that number is less than a third (29%). Two maps, one from 1970 and one from 2005, show the difference. The blue represents high income, the yellow represents middle income, and the darker color represents low income. First, 1970:

Look at the difference in 2005:

There's a lot less of the middle income levels, and a lot more of the lower income areas, especially in the inner suburbs like Etobicoke and Scarborough. The bottom line: the gap between rich and poor is growing, and the middle is disappearing.

There's a lot more research available at The Greater Toronto Urban Observatory. The Star also has a helpful summary.

Some reflections:

• Poverty is not just a downtown issue.
• Many of our Toronto churches were started in neighborhoods that were more middle-income than they are now, and need to adapt to a community that is completely different.
• The inner suburbs are increasingly areas of great need and great opportunity.
• Churches have an opportunity to break through socio-economic barriers. For instance, they can choose not to flee from areas with lower-than-average income.

Comments

[Paul Martin]

For those of us who grew up in the city, this is quite a revealing study. The fish in the aquarium are not always so aware of their water changing. I think your point about adaptation is crucial in this regard, Darryl. Thanks for this!

[Ken Davis]

It would interesting to see a comparison of maps showing the movement of people out of the city. That is, the poverty is increasing, not simply because of the economy tanking, or the influx of immigrants, but because those who have money are deserting the city. I echo Paul's thanks to you for this post. I especially appreciate your call for Christians to stay or move back into, the city. How we need believers who will hear the call to go into the city as missionaries. "Come over to Rexdale and help us!"

[Jamie Arpin-Ricci]

Great post. It is so critical for people to realize that "urban" & "suburban" (in respect to socio-economics) are no longer geographic concepts. They now are better understood as demographic terms, reflecting the shift in movement of location."Linking Arms, Linking Lives" is a critical book for this dynamic.Peace, Jamie

[Leanne]

Anyone living in the city could have told you this by simple observation.

[Art]

Ken, My wife and I lived in Scarborough back in 1987. You do not have enough money to pay us to move back into "The Bog Smoke," - anywhere in the City. You can thank the inane policies of the municipal government for some of our displeasure, but for the most part neither of us are "city folk."Your observation that this phenomenon may be due to those with money leaving Toronto can be born out by studies in other jurisdictions. (I would furnish a link to such studies but right now I don't have the time.) It is a documented fact that as people with wealth move out of an area, those with less money move in,.... or is that visa versa?