Toronto Reference Library Blog

Most of us have our own idea of what Our Toronto is, whether we grew up here or chose Toronto over other cities. We’ve been hearing the phrase “Three Cities Within Toronto”, and more recently, “Vertical Poverty”.  What does this mean?

Prof. J. David Hulchanski and others have long been interested in housing and income issues. A few years ago, the “3 cities within our city” concept was launched. Although “inner city” brings to mind rundown neighbourhoods in the core of the former city of Toronto, recent research turns this concept on its head.

Both Vertical Poverty, issued by the United Way and Three Cities Within Toronto from the Cities Centre, U. of. T., quickly dispel this notion. And our idyllic visions of suburbs arching around the core with single-family homes housing well-educated Torontonians with 2.2 kids, earning good incomes, and sporting at least one car in the driveway no longer holds true.

What has come to light is that areas where incomes have fallen substantially over the past 35 years are in the northeastern and northwestern parts of Toronto – what we used to call the ‘burbs — now called the “inner suburbs” because it’s the inner part of a larger suburban area that spreads way out to the Greater Toronto area.

And what makes up a lot of these neighbourhoods? Huge tracts of high-rise apartments, the Towers in the Park, that are showing grave signs of “Vertical Poverty”. Now these are new and challenging ways to look at our city.

Three Cities Within Toronto: Income Polarization Among Toronto's Neighbourhoods, 1970-2005 is available at the Urban Affairs Library in Metro Hall, which also has a limited supply of free copies for interested users.

Most of us have our own idea of what Our Toronto is, whether we grew up here or chose Toronto over other cities. We’ve been hearing the phrase “Three Cities Within Toronto”, and more recently, “Vertical Poverty”.  What does this mean?

Prof. J. David Hulchanski and others have long been interested in housing and income issues. A few years ago, the “3 cities within our city” concept was launched. Although “inner city” brings to mind rundown neighbourhoods in the core of the former city of Toronto, recent research turns this concept on its head.

Both Vertical Poverty, issued by the United Way and Three Cities Within Toronto from the Cities Centre, U. of. T., quickly dispel this notion. And our idyllic visions of suburbs arching around the core with single-family homes housing well-educated Torontonians with 2.2 kids, earning good incomes, and sporting at least one car in the driveway no longer holds true.

What has come to light is that areas where incomes have fallen substantially over the past 35 years are in the northeastern and northwestern parts of Toronto – what we used to call the ‘burbs — now called the “inner suburbs” because it’s the inner part of a larger suburban area that spreads way out to the Greater Toronto area.

And what makes up a lot of these neighbourhoods? Huge tracts of high-rise apartments, the Towers in the Park, that are showing grave signs of “Vertical Poverty”. Now these are new and challenging ways to look at our city.

Three Cities Within Toronto: Income Polarization Among Toronto's Neighbourhoods, 1970-2005 is available at the Urban Affairs Library in Metro Hall, which also has a limited supply of free copies for interested users.