Affiliation: Urban Studies Program Coordinator and Associate Professor of Social Science, York University

Website: Douglas Young

Presentation: The Tower Renewal Program: Toronto's Suburban Moment

Many districts in the City of Toronto that were developed as suburbs in the decades following WWII are now perceived by policy-makers as areas in decline and in need of revitalization. Three major policy initiatives announced over the past five years are aimed at improving everyday life in those suburban neighbourhoods. Toronto's Priority Neighbourhoods strategy targets the most socially deprived areas with new spending initiatives; Transit City's goal is an ambitious plan to build new transit lines across suburban Toronto; and the Mayor's Tower Renewal Program proposes rehabilitation of the City's highrises. Taken together, the three programs suggest a Suburban Moment.