Client Background: Sarah is a 28-year-old, white Caucasian, McMaster
University graduate who moved to Hong Kong for 5 years working as an apprentice.
In HK, Sarah met her husband John who is 30 years old and Chinese ethnicity. Sarah
and John both have a steady income of $100,000 each, adding to $200,000 per year.
Sarah has been guaranteed a secure job in downtown Toronto, and John has been
granted a transfer. However, they don’t want to live in the downtown area and
would prefer a quiet family oriented neighborhood in the suburbs that still provides
to their young active life. There for, they have intentions of buying a car, but like the
idea of public-transportation. They also have hopes for having a child in the next
two years. Sarah and John don’t have many political inclinations, but they are in
favor of Rob Ford and the Conservative party.
According to Natalie Sagar Real Estate, an appropriate neighborhood for
Sarah and John to start a family in would be one that is a quiet and child friendly;
has a park, playground and recreational centre. Sarah and John think that education
is important and a potential neighborhood must have a few well-rated schools to
choose from, including Catholic or Private schools. They would also prefer a safe
neighborhood for their family to live in with low crime rates. Having a local
shopping district near by with a choice of restaurants would be appropriate for their
“on the go” lives. Because they have the intention of buying a car, public
transportation to downtown is not necessary but would be highly favorable as
driving downtown can be a hassle. Finally, although Sarah and John have the income
to purchase a luxurious house, they would like to stay in a middle-high income
neighborhood, however, in an affordable one as it is their first house and they don’t
want to be constrained with large payments.
The three neighborhoods that are being recommended to Sarah and John as
seen in Figure 1, are Hill Park (Swansea) in the West end of Toronto, Leaside
(Bennington) in Central Toronto, and Kennedy Park (Scarborough Junction) in the
East Side of Toronto.
Recommended Neighborhoods:
High Park (Swansea):
High Park is a very child friendly neighborhood that is occupied by a wide
range of people, with a population of 5,985 (Statistics Canada, 2011). Boundaries
consist of Bloor St. W, Parkside Dr, The Queensway, and Windermere Ave, as seen in
Figure 1.2. The population consist of 310 children age 0-4 and 280 children age 5-9
(Statistics Canada, 2011). The rest of the population occurs to be of residents age 20
and over with an even distribution). It contains 2,800 married people and 705
people married with children at home (Statistics Canada, 2011). High Park consists
of many single-family homes and also many rentals for singles and couples (MTP,
2013). The land is characterized by gently rolling hills, winding streets and towering
oak trees. High Park is known for its 339 acres of park land that is home to the Jamie
Bell Adventure Playground (located on Bloor St) that was inspired by the
community and children. It also contains a fishing pond, outdoor theatre, animal
paddocks, picnic ground, two libraries and a variety of sport facilities, including a
pool (MTP, 2013). In 1995, High Park’s theatre set a record with a 115,000 audience
count over a 6 week performance of a Midsummer Nights Dream (Toronto Star,
2013). The houses have a Victorian, Edwardian and Tudor-style that were built in
the 1800’s/ early 1900’s (MTP, 2013). Several houses have been divided into
multiple-family dwellings. The homes have many architectural details such as glass
windows, lush wood trims, French doors, hardwood floors and fireplaces. There are
also condos