Community Planning + Development

Our Community Planning + Development team works across the neighbourhoods of Jane-Finch to support community-based, community-led initiatives, with a focus on addressing issues related to social and economic justice. We work to ensure that our local neighbourhoods are shaped by the people who live in them.

Our approach includes community engagement, research, and organizing to address issues facing local residents and to work toward policy and systems change. We also focus on influencing planning, design, and development.

Through various activities, projects, and events, residents are supported to develop skills and capacity, act as advocates for their families and community, and take on the leadership necessary to create meaningful change and strengthen their neighbourhoods.

We are building a stronger Jane and Finch through…

  • We design, coordinate, and facilitate equity-driven community engagement processes. We host a wide range of in-person and virtual activities with diverse groups of local residents, community organizations, and other partners including the City of Toronto to identify local needs and aspirations and to collaboratively craft new visions, programs, and initiatives.  

    We also collaborate on research projects to better understand the scope and impact of policy changes and a variety of issues in our communities. Informed by our on-the-ground research, we work with neighbourhood and citywide groups to advocate for investments to address systemic inequities and build community-based solutions.

  • We mobilize collectively for greater voice and influence with institutions and policy makers. We organize community gatherings to discuss, plan and take action. We work towards increasing and improving participatory democracy, which includes increasing voter turnout, supporting residents in making deputations and written responses to issues affecting residents.

    We learn alongside residents and community groups about systems that impact our communities, organizational structures and policies, developing new patterns of working together and developing resident capacity with regards to community action and mobilization.

  • We provide education opportunities, training, and technical assistance through planning and design initiatives. We also work with residents and community partners to bring their ideas to life through the design, pre-development, and construction of tangible neighbourhood projects, like public spaces, community facilities,  etc. 

  • We offer administrative, staff, and other resources to grassroots groups and organizations to support their efforts. 

    The team supports a variety of initiatives, projects and services which are driven and led by resident engagement. These initiatives are what the community knows to be needed and are supported and implemented with the community members as the designers and leaders of each activity.

    You can learn more about our trusteeship opportunities here.

Our Community Priorities include…

  • Community Space
    Supporting the co-design and development of welcoming, inclusive spaces that reflect community needs and identities.

  • Green Space
    Advancing access to safe, vibrant, and sustainable outdoor spaces through resident-led planning and stewardship.

  • Local Economic Development
    Creating pathways for community wealth-building by reducing barriers to good jobs and career opportunities, supporting inclusive planning and entrepreneurship, securing community benefits from public and private developments, and advancing economic justice in Jane-Finch.

  • Community Development
    Strengthening networks of residents, grassroots groups, and local organizations to lead initiatives grounded in lived experience.

  • Policy Development
    Contributing to equitable policy change by mobilizing community voice and producing community-informed research.

  • Systems Change
    Supporting community to ensure their involvement in shaping decision-making processes.

  • Service Design and Coordination
    Ensuring programs and services are co-developed with those most impacted, to reflect real needs and improve accessibility, inclusion, and impact.

Current Programs

  • Black Creek Fair Economies aims to reduce barriers to good jobs and career opportunities for local residents, securing community benefits through upcoming public and private development projects; and working towards economic justice at Jane-Finch. 

    Keep up to date with upcoming workshops and events on Facebook or Instagram.

Corner Commons

Corner Commons is a community-led public space located at the southeast corner of the Jane/Finch intersection in the parking lot of the Jane Finch Mall. It’s a free, accessible and joyful space created with, by, and for the Jane-Finch community. Each year, Corner Commons is available to the public for the summer months. 

Corner Commons is a winner of the 2022 National Urban Design Awards in the category of Community Initiatives. 

Follow them on Instagram to keep up to date with events, programming and the installation process. 

Photo credit: Terryl Knox