App: BIAdvocate T.O.
Hosted in ArcGIS Online:
Mission Statement
Our web app centers a case study of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) implemented throughout the City of Toronto to explore how businesses and neighbourhood residents reciprocally shape each other’s wellbeing. BIAs are created by commercial owners to promote business in a neighbourhood by adding a tax levy that will fund city-led initiatives and programs. Toronto was the first in the world to implement this system in 1970 with the Bloor West Village BIA. Now, over 60,000 of these areas have been created in municipalities across the globe (Charenko, 2015). At its core, the BIA system surrounds businesses supporting businesses, with residential and non-commercial wellbeing of the neighbourhood is an external factor. We focus on a set of socioeconomic indicators to assess the impacts of a designated BIA on the city’s commercial and residential metabolisms. This aims to assess the impacts of BIAs on the neighbourhood at large, interrogating both the efficacy of the BIA to support businesses and whether non-commercial residents are benefitted by these groups. Our app, BIAdvocate: Toronto, encapsulates an interaction with several map layers to explore the creation and spread of the BIA program within Toronto’s CMA while accounting for the socioeconomic impact it has on locals. This application explores the coexistence of private entities and residents within the urban landscape, highlighting the tension in municipal support of commercial and residential livelihoods.
Video Presentation
Documentation
Team Members
Charlotte Kafka-Gibbons: I am currently in my last year of undergrad with majors in Ecology/Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Ethics. I added a GIS minor after taking a spatial analysis course for my EEB major which sparked my interest and got me hooked on maps. Currently, I am a research assistant for the Urban Genome Project, specifically studying how cultural meanings of invasive species are created. I hope to work with GIS in future positions, and continue my education in geospatial systems. Outside of academics, I love working as a barista/line-cook, biking, knitting, and traveling with friends.
Sarah Chen: I am in my fourth year at the University of Toronto with a major in Environmental Geography and minors in GIS and Contemporary Asian Studies. I currently work as a GIS intern at the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) and serve as the Co-President to the Toronto Undergraduate Geography Society (TUGS). I am passionate in applying GIS spatial analysis tools to understand environmental justice issues in an urban context. Outside of school you can find me in dance classes, running, or baking.