The City is partnering with the United Way Greater Toronto to create a tool to help residents, community organizations, and City staff understand the unique needs, opportunities and assets of Toronto neighbourhoods and communities. The tool will be created through a community-informed process and will support evidence-based decision-making that advances equity in Toronto using quantitative and qualitative data.
In 2005, Toronto City Council adopted the first version of the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy, which included the identification of 13 Priority Neighbourhoods based on service access and crime statistics.
In 2014, the second version of the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020 was adopted by Toronto City Council. The City worked with residents, community agencies, academic experts and City of Toronto divisions, corporations and agencies to develop a Neighbourhood Equity Index based on data from the Urban HEART@Toronto research initiative. This work identified 31 Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) and began the place-based work of the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020 (TSNS 2020).
In 2022, Toronto City Council directed staff to update how The City assesses Toronto neighborhoods as part of the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy. City staff partnered with United Way Greater Toronto and started the process of developing a new neighborhood wellbeing tool that would address the gaps of the Neighbourhood Improvement Area model.
The City is again partnering with United Way Greater Toronto to implement a community-informed process to create a tool that will help residents, community organizations and City staff understand the unique needs, opportunities and assets of Toronto neighbourhoods and communities. The tool will support evidence-based decision-making that advances equity and improves The City’s ability to meet the needs of neighbourhoods and communities using quantitative and qualitative data.
The City identifies where resources are invested using both Neighbourhood Improvement Area (NIA) designation and a range of strategies and plans. These strategies reflect principles of reconciliation, equity and inclusion, and include:
Moving forward, the tool will replace the Urban HEART tool which was used to develop the NIA designation.
The TNAF process includes ongoing meetings with the following advisory groups.
Community members have been engaged in the development of this tool through project advisories and throughout a series of engagements starting in 2023. Insights and experiences shared by people with living/lived experience have informed the development of the conceptual model, quantitative data plan, and qualitative data plan. These experiences will continue to shape and influence the tool through the qualitative work planned for the tool.
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