Resources For ANC
Our future success and the quality of life in our city depends upon our collective ability to build strong and resilient neighbourhoods. Because when we believe we can make a difference, we often do. Working together, we will build stronger and more resilient neighbourhoods that make Toronto a great city.
Our Building Strong Neighbourhoods strategy is targeting funding, building local residents' engagement with their neighbourhood, establishing community hubs, and building the capacity of local agencies, community leaders and residents. Torontonians are willing to put their money where their hearts are: by providing millions of dollars to respond to the human needs of neighbourhoods. At the very heart of this work—and the starting point for all of United Way's neighbourhood work—is the experiences and hopes of local residents.
Organizations
Local
- 211 Toronto: A United Way-funded member agency and expert in information and referral about services in the city.
- Greater Toronto Urban Observatory: Hosted by the University of Toronto's Centre for Urban and Community Studies, the GTUO acts as a research repository for Toronto's urban region. It has excellent maps as well.
- The Strong Neighbourhood Task Force: A joint project of the United Way Toronto and the City of Toronto, with the support of the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, which emphasized the importance of neighbourhood infrastructure. There are neighbourhoods in Toronto where the population has grown and changed, but local human services have not responded. As a result of the Task Force, 13 priority neighbourhood areas have been identified in our city that, based on need and available services, that will benefit most from community investments. (Read the report: Strong Neighbourhoods: A Call to Action, pdf - 2.6 MB)
- Toronto City Summit Alliance: A multi sector coalition working to meet the Toronto region's challenges.
- Greater Toronto Urban Observatory: monitors and evaluates regional urban conditions and trends. It seeks to disseminate an improved policy-relevant knowledge base about the Toronto urban region by providing reliable, accurate, and timely information to policy-makers, businesses, researchers and citizen groups.
Canada
- The Caledon Institute: A non-profit think tank focused on poverty, social policy and community capacity building.
- Tamarack Institute: An institute for community engagement, with an excellent learning centre as well as information on Vibrant Communities, a community-driven effort to reduce poverty in Canada.
International:
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation (U.S.A.): One of the most prominent American leaders in the area of community change and renewal. See especially the Making Connections program, which focuses on children, family and social networks. They have a large library of resource material.
- Roundtable on Community Change, Aspen Institute (U.S.A.): Focusing on community change through policy and applied research work, they also have a large library of resource material.
- The Young Foundation (U.K.): The Young Foundation's work on neighbourhoods and local innovation provides an insight into discussions in the United Kingdom.
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Skills Building
Anti-Racism
One of the central principles of United Way's work in neighbourhoods and through agencies is to build inclusively. It takes courage to look at how race and racism can change lives, but equity has to exist in such a diverse place as Toronto. The following provide some key starting points.- Neighbourhood Councils as a Tool for Building Social Inclusion (pdf - 207 KB)
- A Community Builder's Tool Kit (pdf - 531 KB) (U.S.A.)
- Evaluation Tools for Racial Equity (U.S.A.)
- Vital Difference (U.S.A.)
Conflict-Resolution
- The Conflict Resolution Information Source (U.S.A.): An online clearinghouse for materials on dispute resolution.
General
- Community Problem Solving (U.S.A.): M.I.T. professor Xavier de Souza Briggs offers a set of strategic tools and references for community building.
- The Citizen's Handbook, A Guide to Building Community. Published by the Vancouver Citizen's Committee. This Canadian site provides information on community organizing: e.g. planning, leading, fundraising, involving people, evaluating; community building activities: e.g. community gardens, street reclaiming, festivals and parades, study circles, organizing on hot issues; a range of articles on organizing theory and practice, and participation; and links to other resources.
Leadership
- Development Training Institute (U.S.A.): Creating a network of leaders for community driven social change.
Partnering
- Community Building Resource Exchange (U.S.A.): This web site provides a broad array of resources and information about innovative community building efforts to revitalize poor neighborhoods and improve the life circumstances of residents and their families.
Research Methodologies
- Toronto Neighbourhoods and Census Data Research Guide: A guide to doing research on Toronto neighbourhoods, produced by Ryerson University.
- Citizen Works, Tools for Organizing (U.S.A.): Founded by Ralph Nader in April 2001 to advance justice by strengthening citizen participation in power, giving people the tools and opportunities to build democracy.
- Measures for Community Research, Aspen Institute (U.S.A.)
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Knowledge Building/Addressing The Issues
Built Environment
Local residents are forced to take two or three buses to see a doctor, or to find a play space for their toddlers, or to take an English language class.- Project for Public Spaces: A New York-based organization that has worked with the City of Mississauga to create public places which create community.
- Sustainable Communities: The Federation of Canadian Municipalities lists support and resources on the topic of green cities and communities.
- walkON: An organization of public health units in Ontario that promotes walkable communities.
- Trip to School: Children's Experiences and Aspirations: A report on how Ontario children commute to schools.
Children, Youth & Families
- Kids Grow Ontario: A clearinghouse for research on children and youth in the province. Funded by the Trillium Foundation.
- Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Community (U.S.A.): A similar focus but is located in the United States.
Community Economic Development
- The Canadian Community Economic Development Network: A network of community-based organizations and co-operatives in Canada. One of their focuses is neighbourhoods.
- Centre for Community Enterprise: Expertise and resources for community economic development, working on issues of community resilience and revitalization.
- Social and Enterprise Development Innovations: SEDI is a non-profit organization that assists people who are struggling economically. They motivate them to aim higher and develop the tools they need to achieve their goals, in partnership with community groups across Canada.
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Crime
Crime and safety can be a concern in neighbourhoods. These websites are places to get some hard facts on the topic. Demographics
- Statistics Canada Census Tract profiles: Statistics Canada's online small area profiles from the 2006 census. It is searchable by postal code.
- City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles: Key demographics about the 140 City-defined neighbourhoods in Toronto.
General
- Canadian Social Research Links: Catalogs research across Canada on a wide range of issues. Subject guides are available.
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Health
- Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition: A non-profit organization that is active on a range of issues. Resources include how to do a health audit in your local community.
- Toronto Community Health Profiles: Data-rich descriptions of Toronto neighbourhoods produced by the City of Toronto Public Health unit.
- The Wellesley Institute: Advances the social determinants of health through community-based research, capacity building, and the informing of public policy.
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Newcomers and Marginalized Population
- Assisting Clients, At Work, Settlement.org: The Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants hosts this resource-rich website for Canadian newcomers and those who work with them.
- Ethno-Racial Groups in Toronto, 1971 – 2001: A Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile (pdf - 835 KB): "The Ornstein Report" is considered a foundational research piece. Produced and updated by Michael Ornstein at York University, it uses StatsCan data to describe the economic situation of visible minorities in Toronto.
- Metropolis: Established as a Centre of Excellence, Metropolis focuses on migration, diversity and changing cities. It acts as a central repository for research and policy on these issues and hosts a series of databases.
Poverty
- The National Council of Welfare: An advisory body to the federal government on issues relating to low-income Canadians.
- Urban Poverty Statistics in Toronto: Produced as part of the Urban Poverty Project, the Canadian Council on Social Development produces key statistics about our city.
Social Inclusion and Social Capital
- The ESRC Research Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion: At the London School of Economics, their focus is on exploration of different dimensions of social disadvantage, particularly from longitudinal and neighbourhood perspectives, and examination of the impact of public policy.
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United Way Toronto Resources
- Neighbourhood Vitality Index (pdf | 465 KB)
- ANC Plaza Project in Scarborough Village, Toronto (pdf | 326 KB), March 27, 2006
- ANC Learnings, Year 1 (pdf | 1.22 MB), 2006.
- Best Practices for Youth Programming (pdf | 1.11 MB), February 2005
- Newcomer Best Practices Review (pdf | 1 MB), February 2005