In my neighbourhood in the east end of Toronto, just under half of the homes are single-family dwellings, and 26 per cent are semi-detached homes. Seventy-one per cent of the houses are owned rather than rented, and 64 per cent of the houses are occupied by one family.

My neighbourhood has more senior citizens and fewer children than the Toronto average, but the biggest age group is 35 to 39. Women make up 51.8 per cent of the population. The neighbourhood has a high percentage of university graduates. The largest income group, 16 per cent, make more than $100,000 a year, but about four per cent of the people here make less than $10,000 a year.

Okay, so all that information is readily available from Statistics Canada's census, but I bet you didn't know this: in my neighbourhood, roughly 26 to 31 per cent of the residents are daily or occasional smokers, among the highest smoking rates in the city. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is also high. To get away from the smoke, you'll need to move to Central Toronto or the northwest part of the city.

People in my neighbourhood are average when it comes to drinking too much, and the violent crime rate here is smack in the middle of Toronto's overall average. Much more information about Toronto's neighbourhoods is available at a new website called Toronto Health Profiles, a partnership between the city's public health department, the Toronto District Health Council, two hospitals and a coalition of health and social services organizations. The City of Toronto also has detailed neighbourhood information at its website.

It's tricky to define neighbourhoods because they mean different things to different people -- some are defined by historical boundaries and some are based on electoral districts, which have different boundaries for federal, provincial and municipal districts. The city's 140 neighbourhood profiles were originally based on planning areas and existing Public Health neighbourhood planning areas. Each neighbourhood has a minimum population of 7,000 to 10,000.

On the city site, each community includes three social profiles. The Age and Gender profiles include information about how the neighbourhood compares with the city average, with detailed charts showing the age and gender of who lives there.

The Immigration, Ethnicity and Language section outlines how many immigrants are in the neighbourhood, their country of origin, languages spoken, and visible minority statistics.

The Households and Income section includes information about owners and renters, income and housing types.

The Toronto Health Profiles site offers thematic maps that also delve into demographics and immigration, but there are many other maps relating to the health and welfare of the neighbourhood's residents.

You can find out how many grocery stores or convenience stores are in a neighbourhood, including the time it takes to get to the stores if driving, walking or taking public transit. There are maps that show local schools, parks and recreational facilities, health services, and even how many fast food outlets there are and how long it takes to drive, walk or use public transit to get there.

A section about mothers and babies outlines fertility rates, teen births, low birthrate births and infant mortality.

The healthy living section includes the maps that told me about the smoking and drinking habits of my neighbours. There's a map that charts the rate of physical activity of the residents in the neighbourhood, and another that shows if they are not eating enough fruit and vegetables in a day.

While the information is invaluable for anyone thinking of moving into a neighbourhood, it's also being used to track Toronto's serious and growing poverty problem. A report released by the United Way of Greater Toronto, using much of this information, says that poverty in Toronto neighbourhoods is increasing, especially in the city's inner suburbs of North York and Scarborough.

"The increase in poor neighbourhoods is shocking," says United Way CEO Frances Lankin in a news release. "We know that the consequences of living in a poor neighbourhood are significant -- and long-term -- for children and youth, for newcomers to our country, [and] for the entire community. Poor neighbourhoods can spiral into further poverty, increased crime, and abandonment by both residents and businesses. And shockingly, Toronto is losing ground faster than almost all other urban centres in Canada."

The United Way and the city have launched the Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force, which has funding from the federal and provincial governments to create an action plan to combat neighbourhood poverty.

"We know there have been enormous changes in Toronto neighbourhoods," says Lankin. "Our challenge is to ensure that Toronto's neighbourhoods, particularly in high needs areas, can build upon their strengths to improve the quality of life for residents."

Published: June 2, 2005

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Jim Adair is editor of REM: Canada's Real Estate Magazine, a business publication for real estate agents and brokers. He is also consulting editor of Homes & Cottages, Canada's largest building and renovation magazine. Email jimhc@pathcom.com.