Islands of isolation in a modern metropolis: Social structures and the geography of social exclusion in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Zsofia Mendly-Zambo*
School of Health Policy and Management, York University
Luke Power
School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh
Amina Khan
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Toba Bryant
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University
Dennis Raphael
School of Health Policy and Management, York University
Abstract
In response to a request from a local community health centre, an inquiry was undertaken into the service needs and day-to-day lives of residents in five social housing complexes in the inner suburbs of Etobicoke, Toronto. Unlike other low-income communities embedded within larger wealthier communities, these complexes have little in the
way of health care, social service, or recreational facilities. Focus groups revealed that anticipated issues of difficulty in accessing primary health care services, limited access to support services, and lack of recreational opportunities for youth were intensified by gentrification of neighbourhoods, ongoing experiences of racism and discrimination, a
dearth of occupational opportunities for youth and political invisibility of these residents. These experiences of social exclusion are especially troubling when contrasted with the opportunities for health and well-being offered to many others in one of Canada’s wealthiest urban communities.
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Dennis Raphael, PhD
Professor of Health Policy and Management
York University
4700 Keele Street
Strong College, Room 334
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
416-736-2100, ext. 22054
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Website:
http://health.info.yorku.ca/health-profiles/index.php?mid=162284
Of interest:
The Politics of Health in the Canadian Welfare State
https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/the-politics-of-health-in-the-canadian-welfare-state
Poverty in Canada, 3rd edition,
Forewords by Cathy Crowe, Rob Ranier and Jack Layton
https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/poverty-in-canada-d3408482-0caa-489a-8a76-7faf7587d00a
Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care, 3rd edition
Foreword by Gary Teeple
https://www.canadianscholars.ca/books/staying-alive
Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 3rd edition
Forewords by Michael Butler and Maude Barlow, Carolyn Bennett and Roy Romanow
http://tinyurl.com/hm5l4hn
Immigration, Public Policy, and Health: Newcomer Experiences in Developed Nations
http://www.cspi.org/books/immigration-public-policy-and-health
About Canada: Health and Illness, 2nd edition
https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/about-canada-health-and-illness
Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences
Foreword by Alex Scott-Samuel
http://www.cspi.org/books/tackling_health_inequalities
Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada: Essential Readings
http://tinyurl.com/3C8zteu
See a presentation! The Political Economy of Health Inequalities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NCTYqAub8g
Also, presentation at the University of Toronto on how Canada stacks up again other nations in providing citizens with economic and social security.
http://vimeo.com/33346501
See what Jack Layton had to say about my books!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/04/10/cv-election-ndp-layton-platform.html
at 27:20