[URBAN NOTE] "How Davenport is giving new meaning to gentrification"

[rfmcdonald]

NOW Toronto's Daqniel Rotsztain describes gentrification in what may as well be my neighbourhood.

Where I live at Dufferin and Davenport, the modest dwellings of Corso Italia meet the larger houses of Regal Heights.

More young people are moving into this neighbourhood north of the Dupont tracks in search of reasonable rent while staying close to the cultural institutions of the west end. Unsurprisingly, some see the influx of new residents as gentrification. But the numbers don’t quite add up in that regard.

According to the 2006 census, the most recent city data, these neighbourhoods had average individual incomes of $29,000 and $31,362, respectively. Compared to the 2006 citywide average income of $29,068, areas like Dufferin and Davenport are decidedly average: not too wealthy, but by no means poverty-stricken.

Young people aren’t moving to this area seeking dirt cheap cost of living. Rather, they’re looking for something more affordable than the prohibitively expensive rents colonizing the more southerly parts of the west end.

Maybe it’s the cafes, venues and art spaces that have begun to emerge, especially along Geary Avenue. As the US-based gentrification watcher Curbed points out, brunch spots, craft beer bars, and “inexplicable” general stores all score high points when determining if a neighbourhood is gentrified.

However, the kind of culture that young people are establishing in this area, the kind of culture pointed at by Curbed and described as “new” and “radical,” looks remarkably like the lifestyles that have already been forged by the Italian and Portuguese populations over the last 50 years: lively street culture, gardening, people watching from porches, DIY wine and beer making, hanging out in cafes. These are all activities that could be equally called “hipster” and “Italian.”