Toronto

===Neighbourhoods and former municipalities===
{{main|History of neighbourhoods in Toronto|List of neighbourhoods in Toronto}}
[[File:Toronto map.png|thumb|Map of Toronto with major traffic routes. Also shown are the limits of [[Metropolitan Toronto|six former municipalities]], which form the current City of Toronto.]]

Toronto encompasses an area formerly administered by several separate municipalities that were amalgamated over the years. Each developed a distinct history and identity over the years, and their names remain in common use among Torontonians. Former municipalities include East York, Etobicoke, [[Forest Hill, Toronto|Forest Hill]], [[Mimico]], North York, [[Parkdale, Toronto|Parkdale]], Scarborough, [[Swansea, Toronto|Swansea]], [[Weston, Toronto|Weston]] and York. Throughout the city, there exist hundreds of small neighbourhoods and some larger neighbourhoods covering a few square kilometres.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

The many residential communities of Toronto express a character distinct from the skyscrapers in the commercial core. [[Victorian era|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian era|Edwardian-era]] residential buildings can be found in enclaves such as [[Rosedale, Toronto|Rosedale]], [[Cabbagetown, Toronto|Cabbagetown]], [[The Annex]], and [[Yorkville, Toronto|Yorkville]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Edwardian Residential Architecture In Toronto – Urbaneer – Toronto Real Estate, Blog, Condos, Homes|url=https://www.urbaneer.com/blog/edwardian_residential_architecture_in_toronto|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=www.urbaneer.com|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413163101/https://www.urbaneer.com/blog/edwardian_residential_architecture_in_toronto|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Wychwood Park]] neighbourhood, historically significant for the architecture of its homes, and for being one of Toronto's earliest planned communities, was designated as an Ontario Heritage Conservation district in 1985.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/midtown/wychwood-park/history | title=History of Wychwood Park | website=torontoneighbourhoods.net | publisher=Maple Tree Publishing | access-date=July 16, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822005638/http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/midtown/wychwood-park/history | archive-date=August 22, 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Casa Loma (neighbourhood)|Casa Loma]] neighbourhood is named after "Casa Loma", a castle built in 1911 by Sir Henry Pellat, complete with gardens, turrets, stables, an elevator, secret passages, and a bowling alley.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.casaloma.org/ | title=Casa Loma | website=casaloma.org | publisher=Liberty Entertainment Group | access-date=July 16, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712101236/http://www.casaloma.org/ | archive-date=July 12, 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Spadina House]] is a 19th-century [[manor house|manor]] that is now a museum.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=919d2271635af310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD | title=Spadina Museum: Historic House & Gardens | website=toronto.ca | publisher=City of Toronto | access-date=July 16, 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704082331/http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=919d2271635af310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD | archive-date=July 4, 2016 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

====Old Toronto====
[[File:Cabbagetown houses.jpg|thumb|[[Victorian architecture|Victorian]]-era [[Bay-and-gable]] houses are a distinct architectural [[List of house types|style of residence]] that is ubiquitous throughout the older neighbourhoods of Toronto.]]
The pre-amalgamation City of Toronto covers the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and north. It is the most densely populated part of the city. The Financial District contains the [[First Canadian Place]], [[Toronto-Dominion Centre]], [[Scotia Plaza]], [[Royal Bank Plaza]], [[Commerce Court]] and [[Brookfield Place (Toronto)|Brookfield Place]]. This area includes, among others, the neighbourhoods of [[St. James Town]], [[Garden District, Toronto|Garden District]], [[St. Lawrence, Toronto|St. Lawrence]], [[Corktown, Toronto|Corktown]], and [[Church and Wellesley]]. From that point, the Toronto skyline extends northward along Yonge Street.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Old Toronto is also home to many historically wealthy residential enclaves, such as [[Yorkville, Toronto|Yorkville]], Rosedale, The Annex, Forest Hill, [[Lawrence Park, Toronto|Lawrence Park]], [[Lytton Park]], [[Deer Park, Toronto|Deer Park]], [[Moore Park, Toronto|Moore Park]], and Casa Loma, most stretching away from downtown to the north.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
East and west of downtown, neighbourhoods such as [[Kensington Market]], [[Chinatown, Toronto|Chinatown]], [[Leslieville]], [[Cabbagetown, Toronto|Cabbagetown]] and [[Riverdale, Toronto|Riverdale]] are home to bustling commercial and cultural areas as well as communities of artists with studio lofts, with many middle- and upper-class professionals.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
Other neighbourhoods in the central city retain an ethnic identity, including two smaller Chinatowns, the [[Greektown, Toronto|Greektown]] area, [[Little Italy, Toronto|Little Italy]], [[Little Portugal, Toronto|Portugal Village]], and [[Gerrard Street (Toronto)|Little India]], among others.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Usmani |first=Zain |date=March 27, 2023 |title=Toronto Neighbourhoods {{!}} Ethnic Enclaves to Discover - Prepare For Canada |url=https://www.prepareforcanada.com/before-you-arrive/settling-in-canada/toronto-neighbourhoods-ethnic-enclaves-to-discover/ |access-date=April 10, 2023 |website=www.prepareforcanada.com |language=en-US |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410051934/https://www.prepareforcanada.com/before-you-arrive/settling-in-canada/toronto-neighbourhoods-ethnic-enclaves-to-discover/ |url-status=live }}</ref><!--There is no need to list every ethnic enclave in Toronto; see [[List of neighbourhoods in Toronto]] instead-->

====Suburbs====
[[File:Crescent Town 2022.jpg|thumb|[[Crescent Town]] and the surrounding area from the air. Crescent Town was a post-World War II suburban neighbourhood developed in [[East York]].]]
The inner suburbs are contained within the former municipalities of York and East York.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Toronto: A Tale Of Three Cities {{!}} Smart Cities Dive|url=https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/toronto-tale-three-cities/1217926/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=www.smartcitiesdive.com|language=en-US|archive-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513024529/https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/toronto-tale-three-cities/1217926/|url-status=live}}</ref> These are mature and traditionally working-class areas, consisting primarily of post–World War I small, single-family homes and small apartment blocks.<ref name=":0" /> Neighbourhoods such as [[Crescent Town]], [[Thorncliffe Park]], [[Flemingdon Park]], Weston, and [[Oakwood Village]] consist mainly of high-rise apartments, which are home to many new immigrant families. During the 2000s, many neighbourhoods became ethnically diverse and underwent [[gentrification]] due to increasing population and a housing boom during the late 1990s and the early 21st century. The first neighbourhoods affected were [[Leaside]] and [[North Toronto]], gradually progressing into the western neighbourhoods in York.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
[[File:York after sunset (2855524410).jpg|thumb|In an attempt to curb [[urban sprawl|suburban sprawl]], many suburban neighbourhoods in Toronto encouraged high-density populations by mixing housing lots with apartment buildings far from the downtown core.]]
The outer suburbs comprising the former municipalities of Etobicoke (west), Scarborough (east) and North York (north) largely retain the grid plan laid before post-war development.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 23, 2013|title=Quick comparisons between Toronto's and Chicago's street grids|url=http://spacing.ca/toronto/2013/10/23/torontos-and-chicagos-street-grids/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=Spacing Toronto|language=en-US|archive-date=May 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508013119/https://spacing.ca/toronto/2013/10/23/torontos-and-chicagos-street-grids/|url-status=live}}</ref> Sections were long established and quickly growing towns before the suburban housing boom began and the emergence of metropolitan government, existing towns or villages such as Mimico, [[Islington-City Centre West|Islington]] and [[New Toronto]] in Etobicoke; [[Willowdale, Toronto|Willowdale]], [[Newtonbrook]] and [[Downsview]] in North York; [[Agincourt, Toronto|Agincourt]], [[Wexford, Toronto|Wexford]] and [[West Hill, Toronto|West Hill]] in Scarborough where suburban development boomed around or between these and other towns beginning in the late 1940s. Upscale neighbourhoods were built, such as the [[Bridle Path, Toronto|Bridle Path]] in North York, the area surrounding the Scarborough Bluffs in [[Guildwood]], and most of central Etobicoke, such as [[Humber Valley Village]], and [[The Kingsway, Toronto|The Kingsway]]. One of the largest and earliest "planned communities" was [[Don Mills]], parts of which were first built in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plan town of 45,000 on Don Mills farms; Will cost 10,000,000 |first=Paul L. |last=Fox |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=March 12, 1953 |page=3}}</ref> Phased development, mixing single-detached housing with higher-density apartment blocks, became more popular as a suburban model of development. Over the late 20th century and early 21st century, [[North York City Centre]], Etobicoke City Centre and [[Scarborough City Centre]] have emerged as secondary business districts outside Downtown Toronto. High-rise development in these areas has given the former municipalities distinguishable skylines of their own, with high-density transit corridors serving them.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

====Industrial====
[[File:Toronto's Distillery District in 2023 (52716109425).jpg|thumb|The [[Distillery District]] holds the most extensive collection of preserved Victorian industrial architecture in North America.]]
In the 1800s, a thriving industrial area developed around Toronto Harbour and the lower Don River mouth, linked by rail and water to Canada and the United States. Examples included the Gooderham and Worts Distillery, Canadian Malting Company, the Toronto Rolling Mills, the Union Stockyards and the [[William Davies Company|Davies pork processing facility]] (the inspiration for the "Hogtown" nickname).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Matthews|first1=Geoffrey J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWkxht1Oa8EC&q=In+the+1800s%2C+a+thriving+industrial+area+developed+around+Toronto+Harbour&pg=PA162|title=Historical Atlas of Canada: The land transformed, 1800–1891|last2=Measner|first2=Don|date=January 1, 1987|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-3447-2|language=en|access-date=April 12, 2021|archive-date=September 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914171830/https://books.google.com/books?id=tWkxht1Oa8EC&q=In+the+1800s%2C+a+thriving+industrial+area+developed+around+Toronto+Harbour&pg=PA162|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=R|first=Thais|title=Why Is Toronto Called Hogtown?|url=https://newcanadianlife.com/why-is-toronto-called-hogtown/|access-date=April 4, 2021|website=New Canadian Life|language=en-US|archive-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513025145/https://newcanadianlife.com/why-is-toronto-called-hogtown/|url-status=live}}</ref> This industrial area expanded west along the harbour and rail lines and was supplemented by the infilling of the marshlands on the east side of the harbour to create the Port Lands. A garment industry developed along lower Spadina Avenue, the "[[Fashion District, Toronto|Fashion District]]". Beginning in the late 19th century, industrial areas were set up on the outskirts, such as [[The Junction|West Toronto / The Junction]], where the Stockyards relocated in 1903.<ref name="stockyards">{{cite web |url=http://torontohistory.net/junction-stockyards.html |title=Junction Stockyards |website=torontohistory.net |publisher=Toronto Historical Association |access-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914035408/http://torontohistory.net/junction-stockyards.html |archive-date=September 14, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Great Fire of 1904 destroyed a large amount of industry in the downtown. Some companies moved west along King Street, and some moved as far west as Dufferin Street, where the large [[Massey-Harris]] farm equipment manufacturing complex was located.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/08/what_king_west_looked_like_in_the_1980s/ |title=What King West looked like in the 1980s |website=blogTO |first=Derek |last=Flack |date=August 24, 2011 |access-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914035602/http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/08/what_king_west_looked_like_in_the_1980s/ |archive-date=September 14, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Over time, pockets of industrial land mostly followed rail lines and later highway corridors as the city grew outwards. This trend continues to this day; the largest factories and distribution warehouses are in the suburban environs of [[Regional Municipality of Peel|Peel]] and [[Regional Municipality of York|York]] Regions, but also within the current city: Etobicoke (concentrated around [[Toronto Pearson International Airport|Pearson Airport]]), North York, and Scarborough.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Skyline,_2013_09_14_(17).JPG|thumb|left|The [[West Don Lands]] is a [[brownfield land|former industrial site]] in downtown Toronto that has undergone redevelopment.]]
Many of Toronto's [[Brownfield land|former industrial sites]] close to (or in) downtown have been redeveloped, including parts of the Toronto waterfront, the rail yards west of downtown, and [[Liberty Village]], the Massey-Harris district and large-scale development is underway in the [[West Don Lands]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
The Gooderham & Worts Distillery produced spirits until 1990 and is preserved today as the "Distillery District", the largest and best-preserved collection of [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] industrial architecture in North America.{{sfn|Gibson|2008}} Some industry remains in the area, including the [[Redpath Sugar Refinery]]. Similar areas that retain their industrial character but are now largely residential are the Fashion District, Corktown, and parts of South Riverdale and Leslieville. Toronto still has some active older industrial areas, such as [[Brockton Village]], Mimico and New Toronto. In the west end of Old Toronto and York, the Weston/[[Mount Dennis]] and The Junction areas still contain factories, meat-packing facilities and rail yards close to medium-density residential. However, the Junction's Union Stockyards moved out of Toronto in 1994.<ref name="stockyards"/>

The brownfield industrial area of the Port Lands, on the east side of the harbour, is one area planned for redevelopment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=6e75397250b16410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=ae9352cc66061410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD|title=Port Lands Acceleration Initiative – City Planning – Your City |publisher=City of Toronto|language=en-CA|access-date=February 4, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205181727/http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=6e75397250b16410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=ae9352cc66061410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD|archive-date=February 5, 2017}}</ref> Formerly a marsh that was filled in to create industrial space, it was never intensely developed — its land unsuitable for large-scale development — because of flooding and unstable soil.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://leslievillehistory.com/timeline-ashbridges-bay/|title=Ashbridge's Bay|date=April 13, 2015|newspaper=Leslieville Historical Society|language=en-US|access-date=February 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205100926/https://leslievillehistory.com/timeline-ashbridges-bay/|archive-date=February 5, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
It still contains numerous industrial uses, such as the [[Portlands Energy Centre]] power plant, port facilities, movie and TV production studios, concrete processing facilities, and low-density industrial facilities. The [[Waterfront Toronto]] agency has developed plans for a naturalized mouth to the Don River and to create a flood barrier around the Don, making more of the land on the harbour suitable for higher-value residential and commercial development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2015/07/city-announces-next-steps-port-lands-revitalization|title=City Announces Next Steps in Port Lands Revitalization {{!}} Urban Toronto|website=urbantoronto.ca|language=en|access-date=February 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205101158/http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2015/07/city-announces-next-steps-port-lands-revitalization|archive-date=February 5, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
A former chemicals plant site along the Don River is slated to become a large commercial complex and transportation hub.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eastharbour.ca/ |title=East Harbour |website=eastharbour.ca |publisher=First Gulf |access-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914035711/http://eastharbour.ca/ |archive-date=September 14, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>