Ontario has a vision for the future of Thorncliffe Park. Residents worry if they'll be included

The future the Ontario government envisions for Toronto's Thorncliffe neighbourhood features six gleaming glass buildings, trees at street level, and a band playing in a square as people nearby enjoy lunch on a patio — at least, according to renderings from Infrastructure Ontario.

The government wants to build a transit-oriented community (TOC) in Thorncliffe, a type of community it defines as mixed-use, typically made up of residential and office towers near transit stops. It's one of 14 planned in the Greater Toronto Area

The goal, Ontario says, is to create more housing, more jobs and more space for retail and recreation near the planned Thorncliffe Park Ontario Line station. While residents say they desperately need what the government is offering, some who have already been priced out of the community say they fear gentrification. 

"What about the next generation?" said Aamir Sukhera, a member of neighbourhood advocacy organization I Am Thorncliffe. 

"When they want to leave their families, where are they going to go? How far are they going to be?... Is it going to disrupt the community that we have?"

Transit-oriented communities are often considered positive developments with the goal of revitalizing communities that have been historically marginalized, says Nemoy Lewis, an assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who specializes in equity and urban planning.

That's in theory, he says, and only if equity is at the heart of the TOC process. He'd like to see clear protections and safeguards in place to ensure long-standing affordability issues aren't exacerbated. 

"We should be mindful of what could potentially be the unintended consequences," Lewis said. 

CBC Toronto is spending time in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood as part of our Communities in Focus initiative. Our goal is to hear your stories about this unique neighbourhood and share them with the rest of the city. 

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Sukhera says he advocated for a TOC after Metrolinx announced the neighbourhood would have a stop on the Ontario Line.

But, he says the community's trust in the province is shaky over past interactions with Metrolinx, which decided to put a train maintenance facility in Thorncliffe, causing local businesses to have to move. 

Firm commitments to residents would go a long way, says Nosheen Khan, food security coordinator at The Neighbourhood Organization. She says the biggest concern about the TOC is whether affordable housing will be guaranteed.

"We're encountering so many families who are multiple families living in the same apartment. So we need to prioritize rentals and affordable housing absolutely," she said.