Toronto used to be a middle-class, middle-income kind of town – but no more. Prof. David Hulchanski of the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre has updated his maps that dramatically document the shrinking number of middle-income neighbourhoods in Toronto – and the Toronto Star has helpfully put them into an on-line flash graphic .

This is not just an abstract concern for urban researchers. Deep and persistent poverty brings with it any number of social, economic and health concerns. Rising costs for shelter and other necessities over the past quarter-decade set against shrinking incomes makes for a very tight squeeze. Last fall, the City of Toronto’s Department of Public Health released its powerful report called The Unequal City , which sets out in devastating detail the toll that poverty has on the health of Torontonians. And to see it all in map form, check out Toronto Community Health Profiles – which provides detailed maps of the city tracing major health indicators.