I feel like my neighbourhood is part of a book… If I walk home at night I can smell food being made…If I wake up in the morning, I can see an older man walking to the park to practice Tai Chi. So when I look around, I don’t see one thing, I see many different things.
Interviewee
The Community Voices report is a study conducted by researchers from Wellesley Institute, School of Cities, and UofT Scarborough, and centres the voices of those who live in Scarborough. Covering five neighbourhoods, three with lower socio-economic status and two upper income neighbourhoods, researchers Kofi Hope and Dan Silver examined what residents valued most and what could help their communities thrive.
The data collected indicated that residents have three main priorities and one secondary priority:
- Safety
- Transportation & Mobility
- Neighbourhood Services & Amenities
- Diversity & Housing
While these sentiments are nothing new for the community, many residents feel that they’ve been left out of the conversation when it comes to policy changes and decisions around what’s best for Scarborough.