On Thu, 12 Mar 1998 10:09:42 -0500 Julia Greenbaum wrote:

> I received a copy of the Community Report for the Community Quality of
> Life Project.  As a resident of Riverdale I found it quite interesting. It
> certainly raises some important issues that residents of the area face
> and depicts at least some of the residents in an accurate light.
>
> I did however find the depiction of Riverdale as a community suffering
> from poverty, crime and pollution as a little overstated.  I realize that there
> are poorer areas of Riverdale, however, much of the community is far
> from poor.  Houses are selling for over $400,000 and Playter Estates,
> where houses are worth even more than that, is also part of Riverdale.  I
> felt that the report represented South Riverdale, but had little to do with
> North and Prime Riverdale.  It would be like writing a report about the
> Annex and only referring to some of the poorer parts -- south west
> Annex and not Yorkville.

Thank you for your comments.  Interestingly, some of our informants who live in
"North Riverdale" commented that while unemployment used to be a problem only
in S. Riverdale, everyone, everywhere, nurses, teachers, businessmen are now
worried about their jobs and in many cases have lost them.

The Riverdale 2000 Report (September, 1994) points out that there is social
housing and MTHA housing as well as many seniors' residents placed all through
the community.  While this is one of the strengths of the community, its diversity, it
is also associated with the kinds of issues that we identified in the community and
other quality of life reports.  Also,

City demographics show Riverdale has  (both well off and poorer combined) "more
female-headed single parent families when compared to the rest of the city... The
low birth weight rate in half of Riverdale's 18 census tracts is higher than the
city's."  Additionally,

"As part of the riding Broadview-Greenwood, Riverdale ranks in the bottom 25% of
the ridings ranked by low income across Canada..."  and there is lots more in the
Report "Riverdale 2000: Vision for a Health Community" ...

Re: crime, 51 Division has the highest break-in rate in Metro. I (living on the edge
of Prime Riverdale] have had three break-ins and neighbours all have many tales
and stories about security.

I haven't been able to swim in Lake Ontario lately, and last look I took, the Don
River is pretty dead.
>
> While I do appreciate the spirit of the research, I feel that an honest
> "Health Promotion Approach to Understanding Communities" must reflect
> the entire community, or at least be clear about the boundaries of
> community it is studying.
>
One of the things about Riverdale is that in its diversity, it has pockets of wealth
coexisting with low income.  It is difficult to find (and I can tell you having given out
10's of thousands of leaflets over the past three elections) any set of streets that
does not have its pockets of poverty and low income.  It is because of this that I
live there and not in a sanitized city/suburb such as the annex, Don Mills, or
elsewhere.  And by the way, some of our prime Riverdale people spoke about the
increasing numbers of 'beggers' on the Danforth, a problem that is somewhat less
apparent on Queen Street East, in the South Riverdale area.

Any other Riverdale residents out there??

Thanks for your interest!

  ******************************************************************
  The cabinet minister lies in his bath.  With one hand he tries
  To force the wooden brush below the glassy surface.
  This childish play hides a serious core.
       -Bertolt Brecht
  ******************************************************************

Dennis Raphael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Acting Director,
Masters of Health Science Program in Health Promotion
Department of Public Health Sciences
Graduate Department of Community Health
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Room 101
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5S 1A8
voice:    (416) 978-7567
fax: (416) 978-2087
e-mail:   [log in to unmask]