St. Mike’s Hospital ranks the relative health of 140 Toronto neighbourhoods (with predictable results)
For health nuts who wonder if they’re settled in the best possible part of the city, St. Michael’s Hospital has answers. Urban Heart @ Toronto, a new study by the hospital (in partnership with a bunch of other organizations) evaluates the relative healthiness of 140 Toronto neighbourhoods.
Researchers made colour-coded maps to show how areas are performing in 15 health-related categories, including everything from premature mortality, to proximity to green space, to access to stores that sell healthy food. The end result is pretty much as you’d expect: Toronto’s richest neighbourhoods are the healthiest.
Affluent Rosedale-Moore Park is in tip-top shape. Residents are likely to be spotted jogging to yoga or strolling through one of the area’s many gourmet, organic food shops. North Riverdale, the Leslieville offshoot, is also a healthy area, likely thanks to its easy access to Don Valley green space and the local influx of young, yuppie families. Meanwhile, one of the city’s least-healthy areas, according to the study, is troubled Regent Park, where almost half of the population is low-income.
But despite these very expected results, there are a couple small surprises. For example, Regent Park, despite its numerous drawbacks, scored very well on community meeting spots. And the lovely Wynchwood, a farmers’-market destination, is apparently lacking in green space. Oddly enough, seemingly the only exception to the money/health correlation is the Bridle Path. Although income and education levels are extraordinarily high, apparently residents rarely walk and there are limited healthy food options and community meeting places. But really, if you live in a mansion like this, you can probably have your in-house chef prepare healthy feasts.
&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/urban-heart-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_262557" align="alignnone" width="656"] (Image: Courtesy of Urban Heart @ Toronto)[/caption]
For health nuts who wonder if they're settled in the best possible part of the city, St. Michael's Hospital has answers. Urban Heart @ Toronto, a new study by the hospital (in partnership with a bunch of other organizations) evaluates the relative healthiness of 140 Toronto neighbourhoods.
Researchers made colour-coded maps to show how areas are performing in 15 health-related categories, including everything from premature mortality, to proximity to green space, to access to stores that sell healthy food. The end result is pretty much as you'd expect: Toronto's richest neighbourhoods are the healthiest.
Affluent Rosedale-Moore Park is in tip-top shape. Residents are likely to be spotted jogging to yoga or strolling through one of the area's many gourmet, organic food shops. North Riverdale, the Leslieville offshoot, is also a healthy area, likely thanks to its easy access to Don Valley green space and the local influx of young, yuppie families. Meanwhile, one of the city's least-healthy areas, according to the study, is troubled Regent Park, where almost half of the population is low-income.
But despite these very expected results, there are a couple small surprises. For example, Regent Park, despite its numerous drawbacks, scored very well on community meeting spots. And the lovely Wynchwood, a farmers'-market destination, is apparently lacking in green space. Oddly enough, seemingly the only exception to the money/health correlation is the Bridle Path. Although income and education levels are extraordinarily high, apparently residents rarely walk and there are limited healthy food options and community meeting places. But really, if you live in a mansion like this, you can probably have your in-house chef prepare healthy feasts.){kind=link}
Looks like voting NDP is bad for your heart.
Another sad reality of how we have evolved as a species…the rich and powerful receive the best benefits of health, justice & acceptance, with the worst detriments going to the poor. It’s our reaction to articles such as these that gives the true tell-tale of who we’ve become though.
The uncaring nature (of the rich AND the poor) is the saddest part of all! The powerful lack basic compassion and humanity for those who are quite literally dying in the streets. And the poor lack the basic responsibility to take advantage of what opportunities are given to them instead they opt to spend their energy on bitterness towards the wealthy…
Has humanity still not learned?
Where can we find the actual map that will allow the user to zoom in? Urban Heart doesn’t seem to have it on their landing page.
This map treats large areas as homogeneous.
Not surprised about the Bridle Path area. Houses might be big and people might have home gyms (which they probably don’t use), but it’s SUCH a car-based area that walking just doesn’t happen very much. Glad I’m a downtown girl. I walk practically EVERYHWERE – often to the grocery store.
I think it’s really interesting where green and red touch.
Because Etobicoke-Lakeshore always votes NDP, right?
That area has the highest grouping of heart attacks with the highest proportion of NDP voters. If you can’t see the correlation then obviously you didn’t take statistics in school.
Excuse me, but according to the map above, the bridle path is in the solid green. This author obviously doesn’t know what they are talking about (likely lives below bloor street). Which means you obviously have no idea about the city you live in other than your little bubble below BLOOR.
What are you talking about? I live north of Bloor.
There is a link on the page…you can find the information here…http://www.torontohealthprofiles.ca/urbanheartattoronto/UrbanHeart_ExecutiveReport.pdf
If you took stats you’d know correlation is not causation.
That isn’t a rule and is not always true. If it was always 100% true, large amounts of important scientific evidence would have to be dismissed. It is called a dismissing correlation fallacy. Guess you didn’t learn that?
Okay, downtown girl.