Inequity in the Suburbs

And the need to address growing inequality in housing, health, and mobility

Changing Face of the Suburb

Growing income inequality and poverty in our suburbs is one of the most significant trends of the last 50 years in Canada. They have been well documented with little change in urban planning policy. The cost of living in the inner city is rising as the demand for compact, mixed-use and walkable neighbourhoods has skyrocketed. This has left more affordable housing options further and further from the core of the city. This is exemplified by reporting that shows between food bank demand has reduced by 16 percent in the old City of Toronto, while it has increased by 45 percent in the inner suburban boroughs of Etobicoke, Scarborough, and North York between 2008 and 2016.

Defining the Inner Suburb

Within this discussion I will refer to the inner suburbs as the residential areas zoned for single-detached dwellings only- the so called “Yellowbelt” depicted in the map. These single detached neighbourhoods limit housing choice and occupy large swaths of Midtown Toronto, Etobicoke, North York, East York, and Scarborough.

Inequality in the Yellowbelt

A few select walkable, transit oriented residential neighbourhoods in Old Toronto’s midtown house an immense amount of wealth. Despite being largely single-detached residential neighbourhoods, they have great access to the Subway, parks, schools and some of the largest employment hubs in the region. It’s these factors that make them perpetually among the most desirable and expensive areas in the city. On the other hand, the car dependent suburbs of Scarborough and North Etobicoke are increasingly low income, experiencing higher rates of overcrowding and homelessness than ever before. These neighbourhoods also have great access to open space and schools but have much poorer access to transit, jobs, and essential services. Through the two development patterns we see our society’s segregation and inequality in income, health, transit access. Urban planning policies bears responsibility for the geography of these disparities and have a significant role to play in developing solutions.

Map of income by household curtesy The Local and MapTO.

Lack of investment in public housing since the 1990’s has lead to a shortage of housing for those who need it most. Zoning restrictions in Toronto also exacerbates inequality by stagnating legal, organic growth in residential neighbourhoods. This puts more pressure on the capacity of ageing apartment blocks and existing public housing (which currently has a wait period of 8.5 years for a 2 bedroom apartment).

Darker values on the map represent higher amounts of poverty. Here we can see the extent of poverty beyond the Downtown.

Rates of poverty as a percentage of the population by census tract.

Scarborough

In order to better understand the issues at hand, we must look to Scarborough. Toronto’s easternmost borough is its most diverse with over 70% of the population identifying as a visual minority. Another 9% identify as Indigenous, the highest in the Greater Toronto Area. Scarborough also has eight of Toronto’s 31 neighbourhoods that fall below the Neighbourhood Equity Score. This is part of the reason that one in three children are in low-income families. 42% of renter households are paying more that 30% of their household income on shelter alone. A 2016 report on housing and homelessness in Scarborough points to a “lack of affordable housing (market and non-market), discrimination and unfair rental practices, overcrowding, poor building conditions, and an insufficient availability of services” as underlying issues that make neighbourhoods vulnerable to cycles of poverty and homelessness. These vulnerabilities are responsible for an increase in the unhoused population in Scarborough.

Suburban Homelessness

As the inner suburbs were built for driving, walking was seen as a recreational activity and not a way to get from A to B. This creates an environment, as leafy and pleasant as it may be, that alienates walkers by giving them very few jobs, shops, and resources within walking distance. However, for people living at the margins of society, walking may be the only affordable way to get around. This map shows the average walk times to the nearest drop-in centre for people experiencing precarious housing and homelessness by census tract.

The 2016 report on housing and homelessness shows that Scarborough alone had around 950 people experiencing absolute homelessness and another 2500 experiencing hidden homelessness (couch-surfing) on any given night. It’s important to remember that women and children escaping poverty and violence are more likely to experience hidden homelessness as they find room with family and friends. Since the report was taken in 2016, housing prices have risen steadily and Toronto no longer has rent control on new units meaning the rate of reported and unreported suburban homelessness and overcrowding has likely increased.

Unsuitable Housing

The following map helps us understand the disproportionately suburban state of unsuitable housing. “Unsuitable” means that there are too many people occupying the dwelling unit to live comfortably together, according to the National Occupancy Standard. As more people live together under one roof to make ends meet through hidden homelessness or co-housing arrangements, we are seeing a surge in unsuitable suburban living arrangements.

Unsuitable housing as percentage of the housing stock by census tract

Despite poverty existing in many Downtown neighbourhoods, overcrowded housing is less common. The data shows us that it is in fact the inner suburbs that are more overcrowded and under housed than urban areas. This points to another key issue with the Tall and Sprawl approach to urban planning that Toronto is guilty of. Tall and Sprawl is an informal term to define planning policies that permit high-rises and single-detached houses much more than mid-rises, duplexes, and triplexes. While the urban centres of the city are building at a furious rate to keep up with demand and keep unsuitable living conditions lower, we are straining public amenities with small amounts of park space per person and school turning away students. The opposite problem is happening in our inner suburbs with high access to green space and schools below capacity but even lower access to suitable housing options. We need to find the middle ground in order to create additional units for legal rental properties, dignified co-housing/shared ownership, or intergenerational living.

The Over-Housed

Despite more people live in a single dwelling to make ends meet and the fact that Toronto added 230 000 residents between 2006 and 2016, over half of Toronto’s neighbourhoods became less dense between 2001 and 2016. The CCEA and the Canadian Urban Institute have explored that many Toronto neighbourhoods zoned primarily for single-detached dwellings experienced very little growth or, in some cases, population decline. Since 2001, neighbourhoods with single-detached zoning have collectively lost 220,000 people. This loss in population helps explain Toronto’s estimated 2 million empty bedrooms and an over-housing in many higher income census tracts. As family dynamics changed and demographics shifted, the built form could not adapt. Those with the means are ageing in place or buying beyond their need. While low income tracts struggle with overcrowding, prime family-oriented urban neighbourhoods with excess space can’t adapt to become duplexes or triplexes in order to create new housing for families where demand is high.

Health and Housing

There is a growing body of evidence that associates housing quality with morbidity from infectious diseases, chronic illnesses, injuries, poor nutrition, and mental illness. We can see the disparity in mortality rates based on postal code across Toronto, but it can get worse. In Winnipeg, there was a 18 year gap in life expectancy between neighbourhoods just two kilometres apart. Similar and more stark examples of neighbourhood health outcomes can be seen in many large American cities. On top of wealth-health inequalities, suburban communities routinely report higher rates of chronic disease because of car dependant lifestyles. These suburban neighbourhoods also have disproportionately lower access to healthcare services, especially by public transit and walking.

Action

Early reporting from New York City is showed that neighbourhood income level is a more predominant factor in the community spread of COVID-19 than neighbourhood density- something that has been reinforced in most major cities. The COVID-19 crises is exposing many structural issues that are shifting the burden of the pandemic to lower income groups. Visual minorities and new Canadians in lower income suburbs disproportionately work high-contact, low paying jobs. This points to the huge urban equity issue at the heart of suburban poverty. For many decades, our cities have geared social support and public transit towards the inner city, leaving service gaps in the suburbs. This issue is exacerbated during the pandemic as the city reduces transit service and social support becomes overwhelmed. We need mid-rise densities on main roads for the critical mass needed to support more reliable public transit and reduce congestion. We need new subsidized and market rental apartments- lots of them. We need walkable access to social services, groceries, and jobs.

Because our suburbs were designed not to change, they are ill-prepared to handle the major changes before them. It’s imperative that we let these neighbourhoods adapt to their new realities by making policies that increase resilience and opportunity. Secure housing and concentrated poverty are not just equity issues but public health concerns, especially in times like these.