The strength and vitality of the many neighbourhoods that make up Toronto, Ontario, Canada has earned the city its unofficial nickname of "the city of neighbourhoods."[1] There are 158 neighbourhoods officially recognized by the City of Toronto (in 2022, 34 neighbourhoods were created from 16 of the previous 140)[2] and upwards of 240 official and unofficial neighbourhoods within city limits.[3]

Roncesvalles, a 'core' neighbourhood of Toronto, in 2001

The current City of Toronto is the amalgamation of the former Metropolitan Toronto municipalities. Along with the original City of Toronto, these are East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, and York. The names of these municipalities are still often used by Toronto residents, sometimes for disambiguation purposes as amalgamation resulted in duplicated street names. The area known as Toronto before the 1998 amalgamation is sometimes called the "Old Toronto", and "the core". For administrative purposes, Toronto is divided into four districts: Etobicoke-York, North York, Scarborough and Toronto-East York.

Map of Toronto including the former municipalities that existed before 1998

The Old Toronto district is, by far, the most populous and densest part of the city. It is also the business and administrative centre of the city. The uniquely Torontonian bay-and-gable housing style is common throughout the former city. The "inner ring" suburbs of York and East York are older, predominantly middle-income areas, and ethnically diverse. Much of the housing stock in these areas consists of pre-World War II single-family houses and some post-war high-rises. Many of the neighbourhoods in these areas were built up as streetcar suburbs and contain many dense and mixed-use streets, some of which are one-way. They share many characteristics with sections of the "old" city outside the downtown core. The "outer ring" suburbs of Etobicoke, Scarborough, and North York are much more suburban in nature, although even these districts have some old-city characteristics (in particular southern Etobicoke along the shore of Lake Ontario) in areas bordering Old Toronto, and have developed modern urban centres of their own, such as North York City Centre around Mel Lastman Square.

The following is a list of the more notable neighbourhoods, organized by former municipality.

Neighbourhoods by former municipality

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Toronto

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Old Toronto refers to the City of Toronto and its limits from 1967 to 1997. It is sometimes referred to as the "South" or "Central" district, and includes the "downtown core". Some of these names such as "The Fashion District" are (or were) used as marketing for the areas or by BIAs; this area is actually called "King-Spadina" by locals. Another example is the "Old Town of York", also known as "King and Parliament" (although that intersection is one block east of the original ten blocks that formed the old town). Some people in the area[who?] also consider it to be a suburb of the main city of Toronto, as many choose to move there in pursuit of a more relaxed and "backwoods" vibe.[4]

Since the early 21st century, Old Toronto is having a boom in condominium construction.

Many were recreated or named to reconnect the areas with their past history, early beginnings, or even recent use and prominence. Some historical city "wards" used in the 19th century are no longer used: St. David's, St. John's, St. Paul's, St. George's, St. Andrew's, and St. Patrick's wards. There was a ward named for the patron saint of each of the three British nationalities: English (St. George), Scottish (St. Andrew), Welsh (St. David) and Irish (St. Patrick). St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick still survive as subway stations, though St. George station is not named after the ward, but after St. George Street instead, itself named after Quetton St. George, a local military officer and landowner. St. Lawrence's Ward (named after the patron saint of Canada and the river, itself also named after the saint) remains, known today as "St. Lawrence". St. Paul's (named after the saint) remains as the name of an electoral district for each of the three levels of government, although the electoral district has very little to no overlap with the historic St. Paul's Ward and beginning in the 2015 Canadian federal election, the electoral district was renamed Toronto—St. Paul's. This meant that the St. Paul's electoral district is a misnomer for much of the history of the electoral district.

For the purposes of geographic distinction, Old Toronto is broken down into four subsections:

Downtown Core (Central)

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East End

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North End

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West End

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East York

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An autonomous urban borough until 1997, East York is primarily located north of Danforth Avenue between the Don River to the west and Victoria Park Avenue to the east, though the Shoppers World Danforth shopping plaza/mall hybrid, on the south side of Danforth Avenue west of Victoria Park Avenue, is located in East York. East York was an exclave of York from 1922 to 1924 and became a separate municipality to simplify governance. East York developed contemporaneously with the West End of old Toronto, and it is similar in form and character. In 1967, East York was expanded to include the Town of Leaside. Since the 1998 amalgamation, it is administered together with old Toronto, and separate from Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke-York, by the "Toronto and East York Neighbourhood Council".

East York itself is commonly divided into two zones with mainly Edwardian urban neighbourhoods situated south of Taylor-Massey Creek and referred to as Old East York.

Etobicoke

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The former township and city of Etobicoke is on the west side of the Humber River. Several of its neighbourhoods, such as Long Branch, New Toronto, and Mimico, were villages independent of Etobicoke. Others, such as Claireville, Islington and Thistletown were former postal villages established when Etobicoke was an agrarian district. Others are residential subdivisions built after World War II as Toronto developed.

Etobicoke is often divided into three zones: north, central, and south, roughly approximate to that of the electoral districts of all three levels of government.

North York

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The former city of North York is located north of York, Old Toronto, and East York, from the Humber River to the west and Victoria Park Avenue to the east. North York is split by Yonge Street into an east section and a west section. Several of North York's neighbourhoods (such as Lansing, Newtonbrook and Willowdale) developed from postal villages when North York Township was primarily agrarian. Others are residential subdivisions developed after World War II. North York City Centre is a commercial district developed to be the 'downtown' of the city.

Scarborough

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The district of Scarborough extends from the east side of Victoria Park Avenue to the eastern limits of Toronto. West Rouge was transferred from Pickering to Scarborough in 1974 as part of the establishment of Durham Region. It is the largest district by area.

Many of the neighbourhoods, such as Agincourt, Brown's Corners and Milliken, correspond to former postal villages supporting the then-agrarian township. Others are residential subdivisions developed after World War II. Others are commercial districts.

York

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The former city of York is situated between Old Toronto and North York, west of Bathurst Street (aside from the neighbourhood of Tichester at the southeasternmost corner of the former city, which extends as far east as Walmer Road and includes much of St. Clair West station, including its northern unstaffed entrance on Heath Street West, as well as St. Michael's College School). The community of Weston, to the northwest, was itself an independent village until 1967. Several neighbourhoods are former residential subdivisions built on the limits with Toronto before and after World War II.

York is often divided into two sections: a western section and an eastern section, on either side of GO Transit's Barrie rail line.

History

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Lists of city-designated neighbourhoods

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For administrative purposes, the City of Toronto divides the city into 158 neighbourhoods. These divisions are used for internal planning purposes. The boundaries and names often do not conform to the usage of the general population or designated business improvement areas. A number of neighbourhood maps of Toronto do exist, some produced by real estate firms and some by Internet portals. A project to map the neighbourhoods according to the common usage of the residents was done by the Toronto Star newspaper. Based on feedback from Toronto Star readers, it has produced the most comprehensive, albeit informal, neighbourhood map. 31 of these neighbourhoods are Neighbourhood Improvement Areas with the strategy to strengthen the social, economic and physical conditions and delivers local impact for city-wide change in these areas.[2]

Table

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CDN number City-designated neighbourhood Former city/borough Neighbourhoods covered Neighbourhood Improvement Area Map
129 Agincourt North Scarborough Agincourt and Brimwood N
128 Agincourt South-Malvern West Scarborough Agincourt and Malvern N  
20 Alderwood Etobicoke Alderwood N  
95 Annex Old City of Toronto The Annex and Seaton Village N  
42 Banbury-Don Mills North York Don Mills N
34 Bathurst Manor North York Bathurst Manor N
169 Bay–Cloverhill Old City of Toronto N
52 Bayview Village North York Bayview Village N
49 Bayview Woods-Steeles North York Bayview Woods N
39 Bedford Park-Nortown North York Bedford Park, Ledbury Park, and Nortown N  
112 Beechborough-Greenbrook York Keelesdale and Silverthorn Y  
156 Bendale–Glen Andrew Scarborough Bendale N
157 Bendale South Scarborough Bendale N
122 Birchcliffe-Cliffside Scarborough Birch Cliff and Cliffside N
24 Black Creek North York Jane and Finch Y
69 Blake-Jones Old City of Toronto The Pocket and Riverdale N  
108 Briar Hill-Belgravia York Fairbank N  
41 Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills North York The Bridle Path and York Mills N
57 Broadview North East York Old East York N
30 Brookhaven-Amesbury North York Amesbury N
71 Cabbagetown-South St. James Town Old City of Toronto Cabbagetown and St. James Town N
109 Caledonia-Fairbank York Fairbank and Cedarvale N
96 Casa Loma Old City of Toronto Casa Loma and Wychwood N  
133 Centennial Scarborough Scarborough Port Union and Centennial N
167 Church–Wellesley Old City of Toronto Church and Wellesley and Toronto Metropolitan University N
120 Clairlea-Birchmount Scarborough Clairlea N
33 Clanton Park North York Wilson Heights N  
123 Cliffcrest Scarborough Cliffside N
92 Corso Italia-Davenport Old City of Toronto Corso Italia, Davenport, Earlscourt, and Regal Heights N  
59 Danforth - East York East York Old East York, The Danforth N
66 Danforth Old City of Toronto The Danforth N
47 Don Valley Village North York Don Valley Village, The Peanut N
126 Dorset Park Scarborough Dorset Park N
168 Downtown Yonge East Old City of Toronto N
171 Junction–Wallace Emerson Old City of Toronto Dovercourt Park, Wallace Emerson, Junction Triangle and Davenport N
172 Dovercourt Village Old City of Toronto Dovercourt Park N
155 Downsview North York Downsview Y  
83 Dufferin Grove Old City of Toronto Brockton and Dufferin Grove N  
62 East End-Danforth Old City of Toronto Upper Beaches, East Danforth N
148 Easr L'Amoreaux Scarborough L'Amoreaux, Leacock, and Bridlewood N
9 Edenbridge-Humber Valley Etobicoke Humber Valley N
138 Eglinton East Scarborough Eglinton East Y  
5 Elms-Old Rexdale Etobicoke The Elms and Rexdale Y
32 Englemount-Lawrence North York Lawrence Manor and Glen Park N  
11 Eringate-Centennial-West Deane Etobicoke Centennial Park and West Deane Park N
163 Fort York–Liberty Village Old City of Toronto Liberty Village, Exhibition Place N
159 Etobicoke City Centre Etobicoke Islington-Six Points N
13 Etobicoke West Mall Etobicoke Centennial Park and Eatonville N  
44 Flemingdon Park North York Flemingdon Park Y
102 Forest Hill North Old City of Toronto Forest Hill N  
101 Forest Hill South Old City of Toronto Forest Hill N  
25 Glenfield-Jane Heights North York Jane and Finch Y
141 Golfdale–Cedarbrae–Woburn Scarborough Y
65 Greenwood-Coxwell Old City of Toronto Leslieville N
140 Guildwood Scarborough Guildwood N  
53 Henry Farm North York Henry Farm N
88 High Park North Old City of Toronto High Park North, West Bend N  
87 High Park-Swansea Old City of Toronto High Park, Roncesvalles and Swansea N
134 Highland Creek Scarborough Highland Creek N
48 Hillcrest Village North York Hillcrest Village N
161 Humber Bay Shores Etobicoke Mimico, Humber Bay N
8 Humber Heights-Westmount Etobicoke Humber Heights-Westmount N
21 Humber Summit North York Humber Summit Y
22 Humbermede North York Humbermede and Emery Y
106 Humewood-Cedarvale York Cedarvale and Humewood N  
125 Ionview Scarborough Ionview Y  
158 Islington Etobicoke Islington-Six Points N
90 Junction Area Old City of Toronto The Junction N  
110 Keelesdale-Eglinton West York Keelesdale and Silverthorn Y  
124 Kennedy Park Scarborough Scarborough Junction Y
78 Kensington-Chinatown Old City of Toronto Alexandra Park, Chinatown, Grange Park, Kensington Market N
6 Kingsview Village-The Westway Etobicoke Kingsview Village and Richview Y  
15 Kingsway South Etobicoke The Kingsway N
147 L'Amoreaux West Scarborough L'Amoreaux, Leacock, and Bridlewood N
114 Lambton Baby Point York Baby Point and Old Mill N  
38 Lansing-Westgate North York Lansing N
105 Lawrence Park North Old City of Toronto Bedford Park, Teddington Park, and Wanless Park N
103 Lawrence Park South Old City of Toronto Lawrence Park, Lytton Park, North Toronto N
56 Leaside-Bennington East York Leaside N
84 Little Portugal Old City of Toronto Little Portugal and Brockton N
19 Long Branch Etobicoke Long Branch N  
146 Malvern East Scarborough Malvern N
145 Malvern West Scarborough Malvern N
29 Maple Leaf North York N
12 Markland Wood Etobicoke Markland Wood N
130 Milliken Scarborough Milliken N
160 Mimico–Queensway Etobicoke Mimico N
135 Morningside Scarborough Morningside N
144 Morningside Heights Scarborough Malvern Y
73 Moss Park Old City of Toronto Moss Park, Corktown and Garden District N  
115 Mount Dennis York Mount Dennis Y  
2 Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown Etobicoke Smithfield Y  
99 Mount Pleasant East Old City of Toronto Davisville Village, North Toronto N
18 New Toronto Etobicoke New Toronto N  
50 Newtonbrook East North York Newtonbrook N
36 Newtonbrook West North York Newtonbrook N
68 North Riverdale Old City of Toronto Riverdale N
74 North St. James Town Old City of Toronto St. James Town N
173 North Toronto Old City of Toronto North Toronto N
54 O'Connor–Parkview East York Parkview Hills, Topham Park N
154 Oakdale–Beverly Heights North York Downsview Y
121 Oakridge Scarborough Oakridge Y
107 Oakwood Village York Oakwood Village N  
58 Old East York East York Old East York N
80 Palmerston-Little Italy Old City of Toronto Little Italy and Palmerston N
149 Parkwoods–O'Connor Hills North York Parkwoods N
150 Fenside–Parkwoods North York N
23 Pelmo Park-Humberlea North York Humberlea N  
67 Playter Estates-Danforth Old City of Toronto Playter Estates and Greektown N
46 Pleasant View North York Pleasant View N
10 Princess-Rosethorn Etobicoke Princess Anne Manor, Thorncrest Village, and Princess Margaret N
72 Regent Park Old City of Toronto Regent Park, Trefann Court Y  
4 Rexdale-Kipling Etobicoke Rexdale N
111 Rockcliffe-Smythe York Harwood, Syme Y
86 Roncesvalles Old City of Toronto Roncesvalles N  
98 Rosedale-Moore Park Old City of Toronto Rosedale and Moore Park N
131 Rouge Scarborough West Rouge, Rouge Park N
89 Runnymede-Bloor West Village Old City of Toronto Runnymede-Bloor West Village N
28 Rustic North York Y
139 Scarborough Village Scarborough Y
174 South Eglinton–Davisville Old City of Toronto Davisville Village N
70 South Riverdale Old City of Toronto N
85 South Parkdale Old City of Toronto Parkdale, South Parkdale Y
40 St. Andrew-Windfields North York York Mills and Hoggs Hollow N
116 Steeles Scarborough N
16 Stonegate-Queensway Etobicoke Humber Bay, Queensway N
118 Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan Scarborough N
61 Taylor Massey East York Crescent Town Y
63 The Beaches Old City of Toronto The Beach/Beaches, Beaches North N
3 Thistletown-Beaumond Heights Etobicoke Y
55 Thorncliffe Park East York Y
81 Trinity-Bellwoods Old City of Toronto N
79 University Old City of Toronto N
43 Victoria Village North York Y
164 Wellington Place Old City of Toronto N
165 Harbourfront–CityPlace Old City of Toronto N
166 St Lawrence-East Bayfront The Islands Old City of Toronto Distillery District, Old Town, St. Lawrence N
136 West Hill Scarborough Y
1 West Humber-Clairville Etobicoke N
162 West Queen West Old City of Toronto Niagara N
143 West Rouge Scarborough Malvern N
35 Westminster-Branson North York N
113 Weston York Y
91 Weston-Pelham Park Old City of Toronto Carlton, Davenport, St. Clair Gardens Y
119 Wexford-Maryvale Scarborough N
152 East Willowdale North York N
153 Avondale North York N
37 Willowdale West North York N
7 Willowridge-Martingrove-Richview Etobicoke N
142 Woburn North Scarborough Y
64 Woodbine Corridor Old City of Toronto N
60 Woodbine-Lumsden East York N
94 Wychwood Old City of Toronto N
170 Yonge–Bay Corridor Old City of Toronto Bay Street, Financial District N
100 Yonge–Eglinton Old City of Toronto Chaplin Estates N
151 Yonge–Doris North York N
97 Yonge–St. Clair Old City of Toronto N
27 York University Heights North York Y
31 Yorkdale-Glen Park North York Glen Park, Lawrence Heights N

Business improvement areas

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There are also several dozen city designated business improvement areas, covering almost all of Toronto's commercial areas. Some of these serve a particular ethnic group or several similar ethnic groups as part of an ethnic enclave.

Multiple listing service districts and neighbourhoods

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After the update of Toronto Multiple listing service (MLS) on July 5, 2011, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) introduced a new search feature for the Toronto MLS, used by real estate agents operating in the region. MLS searches can be refined at three levels and MLS users can search houses by area, then by municipality, and then by neighbourhood or community. As with the other MLS services for other jurisdictions, it used Microsoft's Bing Maps for its web mapping features until 2018, when it switched to Google Maps. These feature changes were the first change of this magnitude in about 50 years of Toronto MLS history since its establishment.[5]

The change was designed to eliminate the obsolete coding systems whereby Greater Toronto was divided into 86 artificial districts denominated by alphanumeric codes. Due to the growing population in the city and the increasing difficulty of browsing the code-based system, the TREB made a radical change, which is intended to simplify the use of MLS for real estate agents and homebuyers.[6]

Because Toronto is a populous municipality of its own, the core city area will continue to be split into coded districts, although each of the districts will in turn contain neighbourhoods. Hence, the city will be easily searchable as well.[6]

The following table contains a complete list of Toronto districts with a possibly incomplete list of Toronto neighbourhoods within each district:[7][8]

District Number Neighbourhoods Included
C01 Downtown, Harbourfront, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Dufferin Grove, Palmerston, University, Yonge–Bay Corridor, Kensington Market, Chinatown, Trinity Bellwoods, South Niagara, Island airport, The Islands, Waterfront communities C1, Queen's Park, Ontario Provincial Government, Victoria Hotel, Central Bay Street, First Canadian Place, Design Exchange, Adelaide, Union Station
C02 The Annex, Yorkville, South Hill, Summerhill, Wychwood Park, Deer Park, Casa Loma
C03 Forest Hill South, Oakwood–Vaughan, Humewood–Cedarvale, Corso Italia, Forest Hill Road Park
C04 Bedford Park, Lawrence Manor, North Toronto, Forest Hill North, Lawrence Park, Lawrence Heights, Roselawn
C06 North York, Clanton Park, Bathurst Manor
C07 Willowdale West, Newtonbrook West, Westminster–Branson, Lansing-Westgate
C08 Cabbagetown, St. Lawrence Market, Toronto waterfront, Moss Park, Church and Wellesley, Garden District, Regent Park, St. James Town, Ryerson, Berczy Park
C09 Moore Park, Rosedale
C10 Davisville Village, Midtown Toronto, Mount Pleasant, Davisville North, Davisville
C11 Leaside, Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park
C12 York Mills, St.Andrew - Windfields, Bridle Path, Sunnybrook, York Mills West
C13 Don Mills, Parkwoods, Victoria Village, Banbury, Parkwoods
C14 Newtonbrook East, Willowdale East, Newtonbrook
C15 Hillcrest Village, Bayview Woods-Steeles, Bayview Village, Don Valley Village, Henry Farm, Pleasant View
E01 Riverdale, Danforth (Greektown), Leslieville, Blake-Jones, Greenwood, Coxwell, Studio District
E02 The Beaches, Woodbine Corridor, East End - Danforth, The Beaches West, South Central Letter Processing Plant Toronto
E03 Danforth (Greektown), East York, Playter Estates, Broadview North (Old East York), O'Connor–Parkview, Crescent Town, Woodbine Heights, Woodbine Gardens, Parkview Hill
E04 The Golden Mile, Dorset Park, Wexford, Maryvale, Scarborough Junction (Kennedy Park), Ionview, Clairlea, Birchmount
E05 Steeles, L'Amoreaux West, Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan, Clarks Corners, L'Amoreaux
E06 Birch Cliff, Oakridge, Hunt Club, Cliffside
E07 Agincourt, Malvern West, Milliken
E08 Scarborough Village, Cliffcrest, Guildwood, Eglinton East (Knob Hill)
E09 Scarborough City Centre, Woburn, Morningside, Bendale (Cedarbrae), Cedarbrae
E10 Rouge (South), Port Union (Centennial Scarborough), West Hill, Highland Creek, Port Union
E11 Rouge (West), Malvern, Rouge, Upper Rouge
W01 High Park, South Parkdale, Swansea, Roncesvalles Village, Roncesvalles, Parkdale Village
W02 Bloor West Village, Baby Point, The Junction (Junction Area), High Park North, Runnymede, Dovercourt Village, Christie
W03 Keelesdale, Little Jamaica, Rockcliffe–Smythe, Weston-Pelham Park, Corso Italia, Davenport, Caledonia-Fairbanks
W04 York, Glen Park, Amesbury (Brookhaven), Pelmo Park – Humberlea, Weston, Fairbank (Briar Hill-Belgravia), Maple Leaf, Mount Dennis, Pelmo Park – Humberlea W4, Beechborough, Greenbrook, Yorkdale, Rustic, Glencairn, Upwood Park
W05 Downsview, Humber Summit, Humbermede (Emery), Jane and Finch (Black Creek or Glenfield-Jane Heights), York University Heights, York University, Pelmo Park – Humberlea W5, Downsview-Roding-CFB, Emery
W06 New Toronto, Long Branch, Mimico, Alderwood, Humber Bay Shores
W07 Sunnylea (The Queensway – Humber Bay), Sunnylea, Stonegate - Queenway, Thompson Orchard
W08 The Kingsway, Central Etobicoke, Eringate-Centennial-West Deane, Princess-Rosethorn, Edenbridge-Humber Valley, Islington–City Centre West, Markland Wood, Royal York South West, Princess Gardens, Humber Valley Village
W09 Kingsview Village-The Westway, Richview (Willowridge), Humber Heights – Westmount, Martin Grove Gardens, Kingsview Village, Westmount
W10 Rexdale, Claireville, Thistletown - Beaumond Heights, Smithfield: Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, The Elms (Elms-Old Rexdale), West Humber - Claireville, Mount Olive

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Globe's Insider's City Guides: Toronto" John Allemang, Tralee Pearce. The Globe and Mail. Jun 11, 2003. pg. T.1
  2. ^ a b Toronto, City of (4 February 2024). "About Toronto Neighbourhoods". toronto.ca.
  3. ^ "City of Toronto Residential Communities and Business Improvement Areas Map" (PDF). toronto.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-01-03. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  4. ^ "Areas and Suburbs in Toronto | Expat Arrivals". Expat Arrivals. 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  5. ^ New Zoning in Toronto MLS Brings Neighbourhood Names and Municipalities by Jamie Sarner, accessed on July 5, 2011.
  6. ^ a b MLS Zoning Change: TREB Introducing Friendly Community Names Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine by ILoveToronto.com, accessed on July 5, 2011.
  7. ^ Looking at Homes: Your Daily Listings by Jamie Sarner, accessed on July 5, 2011.
  8. ^ TREB Zones & Regions Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine by Toronto Real Estate Board, accessed on July 5, 2011.
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