[URBAN NOTE] "How Toronto’s Newly Proposed Wards Will Shake Up the City"

[rfmcdonald]

A graphics-heavy post at Torontoist by Sean Marshall looks at how new wards in Toronto will alter the city's politics.

Despite major population growth, concentrated in only a few parts of the city, Toronto’s ward boundaries have not changed since 2000, when the number of city councillors was chopped from 56 to 44. Sixteen year later, councillors in downtown Toronto and central North York are overworked. Not only must they represent a disproportionately larger population, they must keep track of numerous building applications, support more local business improvement areas, and work through great neighbourhood change. Wards 20, 23, 27, and 42 are the most underrepresented at City Hall; Ward 42 includes the new Morningside Heights neighbourhood, while condominium construction have swollen the number of residents in Wards 20, 23, and 27.

Consultants retained by the City of Toronto have been tasked with reviewing the size and shape of Toronto’s wards, and providing a recommendation for new ward boundaries that will take effect in time for the 2018 municipal election. Back in August 2015, the Toronto Ward Boundary Review Options Report was released. This month, after consultations at public meetings and with sitting councillors, the consultants are recommending 47 wards, up from the current 44. The final report’s recommendation, released on May 16, is similar to the “Minimal Change” option in last August’s report, but there have been some minor tweaks to the ward boundaries. Each new ward will have an average population of 61,000, with a range between 51,800 and 72,000 (+/- 15%).

There's much more at Torontoist.