'Blacks in near-ghettos?' black visible minority population in metropolitan Toronto housing authority public housing units

• Published in: Housing studies 1994-10, Vol.9 (4), p.435-457
• Main Author: Murdie, Robert A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Black people; Blacks; Ghettos; Local authority housing; Metropolitan Areas; Public Housing; Tenants; Toronto; Toronto, Ontario
• ISSN: 0267-3037; 1466-1810
• DOI: 10.1080/02673039408720799

Concern has been expressed in Toronto since the 1970s about the 'ghettoisation' of black tenants in Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority (MTHA) public housing. Very little specific evidence exists, however, about the incidence of blacks in MTHA housing. The objectives of the present study are to provide a more detailed perspective on the incidence of blacks in MTHA housing compared to the rest of Toronto and the segregation of blacks within the MTHA system. The results indicate that the proportion of black tenants in MTHA housing increased from 4.2 per cent in 1971 to 27.4 per cent in 1986, a much greater increase than for blacks in the rest of Toronto. Explanations include the recent black Caribbean immigration to Toronto, income constraints, family composition and supply, cost and discriminatory constraints in Toronto's rental housing market. The evidence also suggests that there is some concentration of blacks within MTHA housing, especially in suburban high rise developments. The most likely explanation is a form of 'constrained choice'.