How long do people live in low-income neighbourhoods? Evidence for
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver
by Marc Frenette, Garnett Picot and Roger Sceviour
Business and Labour Market Analysis Division
Analytical Studies Branch research paper series, No. 216
Context
As a result of the rising level of spatial income disparity in major
cities, a substantial body of literature has investigated the link between
neighbourhood quality and individual outcomes. This research suggests
that living in low income neighbourhoods may have some negative social
and economic repercussions especially for childre
Objectives
Although the incidence of low-income neighbourhoods (and the people
living there) is well-documented, very little work has examined how
long people remain in low-income neighbourhoods. This paper studies
several issues related to duration of residential spells in low-income
neighbourhoods in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in the 1990s.
Findings
On average, when people move into a low-income neighbourhood, they
live there for 3.8 years. However, there is substantial variability.
One third of the people moving into a low-income neighbourhood live
there for two years or less while another one-third were there for 6
or more years.
These results varied according to location, family type, and age. Residents
of Toronto and Vancouver, families with children and older individuals
generally lived in a low-income neighbourhood longer than others.
A larger share of Montreal's population lived in a low-income
neighbourhood compared with Toronto and Vancouver, but they tended to
live in these neighbourhoods for a shorter period of time.
Previous studies conducted in the United States have associated living
in poorer neighbourhoods with negative outcomes such as exposure to
crime, poorer health and lower earnings potential.
Data source: Longitudinal Administrative Databank
1992 to 1999.
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