Local Governance & Neighbourhood Associations

What stuck out to me during this week’s class on the Civil Society Outlook was the idea of local governance done through consultation, through groups such as neighbourhood associaions. This got me thinking about whether or not I live in an area that has any neighbourhood associations, and if so, who are they? What is my neighbourhood association? What do they do for me?

Looking at the Toronto Atlas of Neighbourhood Groups and Organizations, also known as TANGO, it appears that there are two neighbourhood associations that overlap for my area: the Avenue Road–Eglinton Community Association (ARECA) and the Eglinton Park Residents’ Association (ERPA).

ERPA states the goal on their website is to “represent everybody here, whether homeowners or renters, whether high-rise or in houses on the ground.” Great, as a renter in a high-rise, it seems I am included. However, despite being included in this group, their association was founded as a result of “local activists responding to the new, big towers that started to encroach on our part of town.” Hmm. Okay. Well, I live in one of these big towers. They aim to “establish and maintain a safe, healthy, ecologically sound community, with good facilities, and a strong sense of neighbourly support. We want good governance, and lively participation, healthy democracy at the local level.” These seem like aims I can get behind. My next question is, well, how do they accomplish these goals and aims? EPRA has stated clearly that that through three avenues, communicating, taking action, and going to court, they support the community. The ARECA website does not provide any information about the associations goals, aims, or how they help to serve the community.

What is most interesting to me about these associations is that I don’t think most people know about them. They appear to be silently working in the background for the community, with the majority people being unaware of their day-to-day operations, whether that be communicating with councillors, petitioning matters of public concern, or going to the LPAT tribunal. This reminded me of my first blog post regarding the snow event in Toronto, where people often take municipal services for granted until there is a delay or disruption to these day-to-day services. I love living in my neighbourhood. I wonder how many of the things I love about my neighbourhood are a result of the work done by these neighbourhood organizations. 🤷‍♀️.