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rfmcdonaldIn a recent links roundup at Torontoist, Hamutal Dotan linked to a column by Metro Canada columnist Matt Elliott, one that took a look at Torontonian demographics. Inspired by the comments last month of Toronto’s deputy mayor Doug Holyday that children shouldn’t live in downtown Toronto, Elliott decided to take a look at the latest findings from Statistics Canada on the proportion of children living in different areas of the city.
My riding is Davenport, the downwards-facing triangle in the west-centre. There, the under-14 proportion amounts to 13%. But, as a second map showing change in the under-14 population in Toronto’s different ridings shows, many area of the downtown core saw increases in the number of under-14s while many outer areas saw sharp falls.
It’s probably worth adding that the demographic patterns shown in Elliott’s maps, of a relatively old downtown and a relatively young periphery, mirrors the ongoing divisions between core and peripheries in the City of Toronto.
Based on 2011 census figures for federal ridings in Toronto, the map above breaks down the percentage of the area population that was 14 or under in 2011. A darker shade of green means more kids.
Immediate conclusion: very few children live downtown. In Trinity-Spadina, the percentage of the population under 14 is less than half that of the rest of the city. In fact, most parts of the old City of Toronto fall below the amalgamated city average. For the most part, kids are clustered in Etobicoke and Scarborough—the suburbs—just as Holyday predicted.
Maybe the deputy mayor was right. People don’t want to raise their kids in the heart of this city.
My riding is Davenport, the downwards-facing triangle in the west-centre. There, the under-14 proportion amounts to 13%. But, as a second map showing change in the under-14 population in Toronto’s different ridings shows, many area of the downtown core saw increases in the number of under-14s while many outer areas saw sharp falls.
As a whole, the City of Toronto got older between 2006 and 2011. The median age in this city is now 40.4, up from 39.2 in 2006. City-wide, the under-15 population declined by 2%. But certain areas of the city bucked the trend. Leading the way was the downtown core in Trinity-Spadina, which saw its youth population increase by 6%. Parkdale-High Park, which most would consider at least downtownish, was up 4%.
At the same time, supposed kid-friendly suburban areas are showing steep declines. Scarborough is down sharply, especially as you move north. The same is true in Etobicoke, with a decline showing even in Etobicoke Centre, Holyday’s stomping grounds and presumably the kind of place he thinks people want to raise their kids.
The data isn’t consistent enough to draw sweeping conclusions—families are still flocking to Willowdale, for example, and hell if I can figure out what’s going on in Davenport—but there’s enough here to challenge some ingrained assumptions. It’s clear that many young families do want to settle downtown and raise their children, even with unsubstantiated fears that their kids might end up playing in traffic.
It’s probably worth adding that the demographic patterns shown in Elliott’s maps, of a relatively old downtown and a relatively young periphery, mirrors the ongoing divisions between core and peripheries in the City of Toronto.
