On the Margins, Literally and Figuratively

One thing that we in Toronto allow ourselves to be proud of is the fact that our downtown core has not been allowed to rot out. There are pockets of poverty, but for the most part our downtown is a safe, livable place. The reality though is that we've just pushed poverty to the corners. By doing this, it appears that we've merely pushed poverty to the margins - the east and northwest of the city.

The problems of poverty are compounded in these areas by the fact there are no services. In turn this apparently leads to health problems. The poorest neighbourhoods are the least-serviced ones too. We need to find the money to build transit into these areas. We also need to stop building areas like this. I understand that winding residential streets and an abundance of cul-de-sacs are designed to stop traffic from sailing through residential areas. Take a look though at the Annex, the whole neighbourhood is virtually impassable by car due to its one-way streets, that however does not impede pedestrians who wish to use the simple grid layout in the neighbourhood.