Building Cities for Families: Attracting and Retaining Households

Planning for sustainable cities means creating complete communities with increased residential densities, housing choices, and services that attract a diversity of populations at all stages of their life. This exploratory study identifies the challenges that discourage households with children from moving to the downtown area and explores the public and private initiatives and strategies that can be used to attract and retain such families in downtown neighbourhoods by providing required infrastructure, amenities, and services. Data shows that households with children are underrepresented in downtown Toronto compared to the rest of the city. This exploratory study identifies the factors that the downtown area needs to provide long-term options for households with children, such as affordable and suitable housing, accessible schools and play spaces, and an overall attitude shift about the place of families in downtown Toronto.