Gentrifying Toronto: identifying and quantifying neighbourhood change

This paper builds from the knowledge of the causes, developments and consequences of gentrification and identifies areas susceptible to the activity in the City of Toronto. This was achieved by examining theoretical and observational studies incorporating GIS and statistical modeling broadening the analysis of gentrification. A PCA and K-means cluster analysis revealed a grouping of 168 census tracts (36%) in Toronto that consisted of a significant influx of creative industries and had a significant decrease of Black residents from 2006 to 2016.

A quantitative analysis was developed from the resulting clusters to detect similar scales of gentrification. The author links how state-led interventions and artistic activities appear to be strong precursors of gentrification, directly driving investment and disinvestment and ultimately displacing vulnerable populations throughout the city of Toronto neighbourhoods. Connecting gentrification to policy and activities allows policy makers to allocate resource that encourage economic opportunity, emphasize meaningful community involvement and resist new policies that intensify displacement.