DiverCity

Immigrants make up nearly half of the population of the Greater Toronto Area, and they are redefining the city’s built form and public realm by introducing new typologies and repurposing existing ones, often organically and through grassroot organizations. Where are the “third places” that newcomers and immigrants meet and gather? How do they make this city home? This guided tour will take us through the complex inner suburb of Scarborough and its myriad and vibrant malls, strip malls, and plazas which house some of the most diverse culinary experiences in the world and that, despite the downward trends in inner suburbs elsewhere, are thriving. Scarborough, like many regions of the Greater Toronto Area, is a slowly merged assemblage of various villages, towns, and subdivisions. In the act of stitching these communities together immigrants have left their mark within the various built forms that pepper the landscape. Our journey will take us to a planned development in Golden Mile, a grassroot community centre in Scarborough, an ethno-condo-mall, and a City-owned Community Centre in Markham.