Sarah Levy

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is seen as a solution by urban planners to combat traffic congestion and increase accessibility for those who rely on transit. The desire to live near the transit line for easy access to the downtown and other parts of the city can lead to increased property values within close proximity to transit lines. Advocacy groups have criticized that TOD has the potential to lead to affordability problems and the potential displacement of disadvantaged residents. Literature provides little guidance on choosing the most appropriate methods for measuring displacement of disadvantaged populations, which may undermine the ability to compel policy action. This study examines the strengths and limitations of different approaches to measuring displacement related to TOD. This is done by synthesizing existing literature, and conducting a time-series mapping to illustrate key indictors over time. To achieve this goal, the CensusPlus and Canada Revenue Agency household income datasets for 2001, 2006 and 2011 were drawn from Environics Analytics (EA) for Toronto, Ontario. The analysis found that there is a slight displacement in one of the neighbourhoods located on the south side of the Sheppard Line since variables show an increase in educational attainments and rate of recent movers while there is a decrease of lone-parent households. This study illustrated the importance of using consistent datasets to identify displaced households. Future research should utilize a mixed-methods approach to measure displacement and examine the effectiveness of current strategies to prevent or mitigate displacement from occurring.