Non-profiting for “a more inclusive creative city” Tracking the gentrification frontier from Toronto’s downtown to the disinvested inner-suburbs by Sophia Ilyniak supervised by Laam Hae (Political Science) A Major Paper submitted to the Faculty of Environmental Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Environmental Studies York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 18, 2017 Table of Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... i Abstract ................................................................................................................................. iii Foreword ............................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 Key concepts and gap in research ............................................................................................................ 3 Gentrification through collaboration ................................................................................................... 3 The non-profit sector and its colonizing/displacing effects ................................................................. 5 Objectives and methodology ................................................................................................................... 6 Organization of Major Paper and research methods .......................................................................... 8 Positionality ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: Context ................................................................................................................ 10 Parallel strategies of creativity and priority ........................................................................................... 11 The rise of community arts .................................................................................................................... 12 From priority to improvement ............................................................................................................... 14 Towards making space ...................................................................................................................... 14 (De)stigmatization for cost-saving revitalization ............................................................................... 15 A consensus on the next frontier ........................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 3: The utopian city-building organization ................................................................. 19 Producing spill-over effects from the arts accommodation crisis ......................................................... 20 The creative turn ............................................................................................................................... 22 From poverty relief to wealth generation ......................................................................................... 25 Place-making for keeps .......................................................................................................................... 27 From challenges to opportunities ...................................................................................................... 30 Setting the gaze on Toronto’s inner suburbs ..................................................................................... 32 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 4: The Weston Project .............................................................................................. 35 From “home of the bicycle” to disinvestment ....................................................................................... 36 Geography matters ............................................................................................................................ 37 The Weston 2021 Revitalization Strategy .............................................................................................. 43 The Hub: a collaborative project ....................................................................................................... 48 Railroaded: discontent on both sides of the tracks ............................................................................... 53 Anti-tower ......................................................................................................................................... 54 Not “nothing” on Weston Road ......................................................................................................... 56 The residents of 33 King Street .......................................................................................................... 58 Against the “Walmart of the arts” ..................................................................................................... 59 Building a creative competitiveness consensus in Weston ................................................................... 61 The local non-profit environment ..................................................................................................... 61 UrbanArts .......................................................................................................................................... 62 Focus on the community benefit ....................................................................................................... 64 Artscape: “changing who is here” .......................................................................................................... 67 From priority, to improvement, to where? ....................................................................................... 68 The Artscape Weston Project: Afterword .............................................................................................. 70 Chapter 5: Summary & Conclusions ....................................................................................... 75 The creative city philanthropic “solution” and the false choice of inclusion ......................................... 77 Reflections and considerations for the other side of the frontier ......................................................... 80 A call for counter-mapping the Trojan horses ....................................................................................... 82 References ............................................................................................................................ 83 Appendices: primary research conducted .............................................................................. 95 Appendix 1: field observation codes ...................................................................................................... 95 Appendix 2: interview process ............................................................................................................... 97 Appendix 3: interview codes .................................................................................................................. 98 List of Figures Figure 1. The "Three Cities of Toronto" map by David Hulchanski (2007). Priority neighbourhood boundaries are outlined in grey within City #3, which largely corresponds with the inner- suburbs. ................................................................................................................................ 12 Figure 2. Map of Toronto showing former priority neighbourhoods and new neighbourhood improvement areas (NIAs). Source: Toronto Star. ............................................................... 16 Figure 3. Cultural mapping exercise at Creative Spaces Outside of the Core roundtable meeting in 2013. Source: Toronto Artscape. ...................................................................................... 18 Figure 4. One of Artscape's signature annual fundraising events, “Salon”, at Artscape Wychwood Barns, 2015. Photo by Maurizio Calero. Source: Toronto Artscape. ................. 26 Figure 5. Artscape staff and selected non-profit arts tenants visit future Daniels Spectrum site in Regent Park, 2011. Source: Toronto Artscape. .................................................................... 27 Figure 6. Map of existing Artscape properties and those officially in development in Toronto. Location of Weston Hub highlighted in box. Source: Artscape, 2015a. ............................... 34 Figure 7. Looking north at main intersection in Weston, Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue. Source: author. ..................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 8. Heritage homes in Weston's north-east quadrant. Source: author. ............................. 40 Figure 9. The railroad tracks dividing Weston, looking south. Source: author. ........................... 41 Figure 10. Map of Weston demographics and Weston 2021 Revitalization Strategy Boundaries. Sources: 2006 Census of Canada; City of Toronto. Note: Data on Dissemination Area level. .............................................................................................................................................