The Area and it's Surroundings

The Old and the New...Homes in Lawrence Manor (Photo 3)

While walking through Lawrence Manor, one of the first things I noticed was the vast Jewish, Orthodox population. According to a 2001 Canadian Census, the Lawrence Manor neighborhood has a population of 58 160, and of that, 16 825 are Jewish (UJA Federation, 2011). Located just west of Bathurst street, the area is bordered with several Jewish schools, cultural centre’s, synagogues, restaurants, retail shops, and kosher grocery stores. The houses in the area are modest, predominately detached brick homes, split level homes and bungalows. While each house is located on a relatively large lot, newer custom-built homes are becoming more common in the neighborhood. Just east of Bathurst ranging to Avenue Road, houses a wealthier population with newer and larger homes. This area of Toronto has outrageously high property values, as more people are renovating and building new homes. As a result people are willing to pay more for the older homes that are left in the area, to begin laying roots in the already developed neighborhood. Acting as a boarder between the two areas, are the several strip malls, and low rise buildings along Bathurst Street. As discussed by Ute Lehrer, in her journal looking at condominium development and gentrification, disinvestment in the inner suburbs of Toronto is evident (2009). A drastic decrease in the income of inner suburb residents has led to a period of decline (Lehrer, 2009). Lawrence Manor however, is undergoing significant expansion in residential property development. Moreover, luxury condominiums are slowly being built within the area, attracting larger populations. It will only take a matter of time for Lawrence Manor to develop, and be in the same place regarding property value as its neighboring neighborhood. 

Map of Lawrence Heights (Photo 2)

Bordering the far west end of the Lawrence Manor neighborhood is Lawrence Heights. Accommodating a large population of low-income families in Metro Toronto Public Housing, the City of Toronto worked to bridge the gap between connecting neighborhoods, through the implementation of a revitalization project (City of Toronto, 2012). This project sought to provide guidance on connecting neighborhoods, in order to meet community needs (City of Toronto, 2012). The overall goals of the plan for revitalization of Lawrence Heights was to transition into a mixed-income and mixed-use neighborhood, and eliminate the barrier that the Allen Expressway creates between the two neighborhoods (City of Toronto, 2012). According to Martine August, social mix is meant to create socio-economically diverse urban areas (August, 2008). Furthermore, socially mixed public housing redevelopment is an attempt to produce a socially and economically diverse neighborhood (August, 2008).  As The city of Toronto acted upon the Lawrence-Allen Revitalization Project, the intentions were to create a healthy neighborhood with diverse incomes, buildings, and land uses (City of Toronto, 2012).