2. The North York Community... Where we started
The following map (Map 1) is a geographic look at the North York community and the approximately 800 neighbourhoods it contains. Neighbourhoods, for the purpose of this study, are defined and referred to using the geographical boundaries of Enumeration Areas (EAs). Thus, the terms EA and neighbourhood are used interchangeably in this report. An EA is the smallest standard geographic area for which census data are reported. Having such a small unit of analysis allows for a detailed and objective look at the community's characteristics.
According to the 1996 Census, there were about 53,000 children aged zero to six living in the community. Their distribution is represented on Map 1 by the purple dots (one dot represents 10 children). The total population was close to 600,000; almost 108,000 families with children (approximately 51% of households).
There were several neighbourhoods where the density of children was very high (over 100 children in the neighbourhood). The number of children was generally higher in neighbourhoods near the parks and green spaces and lower around the industrial areas.