Greater Toronto Summit 2011 Breakout Session
The Challenge: At their best, neighbourhoods can be inclusive places full of opportunity, activity, and enterprise that respond to the needs of residents. Healthy neighbourhoods are both the source and inspiration for resilient individuals and communities. They are mixed use and have residents from across the income spectrum. Strong neighbourhoods create cohesive and supportive places to live, work, learn and play, serving as building blocks for a strong region, province and country.
The challenge is to create a Toronto region where integrated, accessible neighbourhoods meet individual needs and aspirations, and realize shared community visions. All members of civil society – community groups, businesses, service agencies and residents – can work together to put in place the key ingredients for strong neighbourhoods including equitable access to an appropriate mix of jobs and appropriate social and physical infrastructure, such as affordable housing, transportation, schools, social services, recreation and open spaces. Responding to this challenge requires, among other things, better leveraging the capacity of civil society to plan, build and participate in communities. Given that engagement often occurs within local communities, a place-based lens – examining issues at the neighbourhood level – offers a powerful way of understanding and addressing this particular challenge.
Find the backgrounder for Every Place Matters: Investing in Complete Neighbourhoods and Communities here.
Neighbourhoods and Affordable Housing Roundtable proceedings document available here.
Moderator: Jehad Aliweiwi, Executive Director, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office
Speakers
- Susan McIsaac, President & CEO, United Way Toronto
- Kamalesh Visavadia, Manager, Human Services, Peel Region
- Jennifer Tory, Regional President, Greater Toronto Region, RBC
- Brad Graham, Ontario Fellow in Residence, School for Public Policy & Research (on secondment from the Ontario Growth Secretariat)
Questions for Discussion:
- How do we enable, empower and support a mix of players within neighbourhoods to work together to build strong communities?
- What is the best way to replicate successful private sector business practices that lead to investments and innovative partnerships in communities?
- There was strong consensus in CivicAction’s Neighbourhoods and Affordable Housing Working Group that there is latent entrepreneurialism in low income communities and also a belief that stronger, more established businesses could realize returns by assisting those entrepreneurs. How could this be accomplished? What kind of business to business mentorship model would be appropriate?
