Neighbourhood Change- Building Inclusive Communities from Within.
 A Case Study of Toronto’s West-Central Neighbourhoods

This is a five-year community-based research initiative led by St. Christopher House and the Centre for Urban and Community Studies of the University of Toronto.  This work is funded by the Community University Research Alliance (CURA) program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.   

The Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto and St. Christopher House are undertaking a series of applied policy-relevant community research projects to better understand and respond to neighbourhood change.  The project is using the local neighbourhoods within downtown west Toronto as a case study. 

 

The core questions are: 

 -         Can we preserve existing lower-income and socially and ethnically mixed, affordable neighbourhoods as various forces raise local costs (particularly housing costs) and potentially displace or exclude certain people, businesses, and community services?

 

-         How can people in urban neighbourhoods successfully shape the development of their environment to create a community that is socially cohesive and inclusive?  

 

-         What can we learn from recent and emerging community practice about effective action against negative forces and support for positive forces to ensure better outcomes?

 

 Although considerable research has been done on globalization, its causes and consequences, this thinking has not been connected to the forces and outcomes experienced in neighbourhoods and urban districts. There is also a great deal of research on neighbourhood gentrification and displacement, but very little that is policy- and program-relevant and action-oriented.

 

There is a need to revitalize the academic debates and, at the same time, provide policy-makers and community members with relevant and usable information, analysis, and policy options. We would also like to build further capacity in the community and among university students and academics through collaborative, practice-oriented research. Research that is participatory and “bottom-up” from the start will produce a range of findings that contribute to knowledge and to practice at all levels.

 

If you would like to learn more about our Neighbourhood Change Program, and how you can get involved with this work, please contact Rick Eagan at ph. 416-532-4828 ext. 238 or by email at rickea@stchrishouse.org.