West Centretown
History and Description
West Centretown is bounded by Albert Street and Scott Street on the north, Carling Avenue on the south, Bronson Avenue to the east, and the O-Train line-Highway 417-Bayswater Avenue to the west. The initial Italians immigrants of Little Italy arrived at the beginning of the twentieth century. Then after the Second World War, another substantial number of Italian immigrants (as well as many Eastern European immigrants) decided to settle in the area. A proud community, Little Italy is host to several annual festivals celebrating Italian culture in Ottawa, such as “Italian Week Settimana Italiana” and “La Vendammia”. [ click to view the area map - PDF format 1325 KB ]
The People
As of the 2006 census, West Centretown had 11947 residents. The age structure of Little Italy is shown below; Little Italy is a area of the young and older people.
The mother tongue for a large proportion of Little Italy’s residents is neither English nor French. In 2001, forty-three percent of the residents were immigrants; while 11% were recent immigrants (i.e. came to Canada within the last 5 years). In 2001, the average income in West Centretown was $24,360, which is well below the Ottawa average. Unemployment was at 9.5% and the proportion of people below the Low Income cut-offs was 38.9%. Also, 7.1% of the population belonged to lone parent families. Twenty-three percent of the area’s residents have completed bachelor’s degrees and 71% have completed high school. Overall, the area was in the fifth of 5 socio-economic levels, with 1 representing the most advantaged area and 5 the least advantaged area.
Housing
CDF - NCLB progress at Little-Italy
Click to ViewUpdated community profile Inventory of Assets and Resources Community Assessment Survey Community Action Plans Evaluation Matrix Minutes of Little Italy Steering Committee Progress Reviews/reports In 2001, West Centretown had 6354 dwellings. A minority (23%) of the area’s residents owned their homes, while 77% rented. Housing is unaffordable for many residents in this area: 37% spend more than 30% of their income on shelter. Eleven percent of the dwellings were reported to be in need of major repairs (higher than city average). The number of persons per room (.46), a measure of crowding, was also higher than the city average.
Civic Engagement and Responsibility
West Centretown residents are not very engaged in the political process. Only 38.3% of eligible voters participated in the last municipal election (Fall 2006); this is lower than the city average of 46.7%. The area is also mobile, with 22.3% of residents moving within the last year; this is higher than the city average of 15 percent. A large proportion of residents (58.9% ± 14.8%) felt a sense of belonging to the area; this is similar to the city average (59.3%) and the average for the fifth socio-economic quintile (55.2%). In 2005, the property crime rate of 76.8 per thousand was higher than the city average of 57 per thousand. Personal crimes rates were higher than the city average of 24 per thousand, at 46.7 per thousand.
West Centretown is served by the Centertown Citizen’s Community Association (http://www.centretowncitizens.org/). This area has 1.4 religious organizations per thousand people.
Area Resources for Health (note that all of these are up to date as of September 2007)
Food. West Centretown has good access to specialty stores, but poor access to grocery stores. It also has high access to unhealthier food outlets (fast food outlets, convenience stores). Both the “Healthy Food Access Index” (grocery stores, specialty stores) score (53) and the “Unhealthier Food Access Index” (fast food outlets, convenience stores) score (55) are above average for areas across Ottawa.
In terms of healthier food, this area has no grocery stores and 30 specialty food stores (2.51 per thousand people). The closest four grocery stores and specialty stores are 2069 meters and 245.5 meters from the population weighted center.
In terms of opportunities to purchase unhealthier food, this area has 9 convenience stores (.75 per thousand people) and 27 fast food outlets, or 2.26 for every thousand people. The closest four convenience stores are 365.6 meters away from the population center and the closest four fast food outlets are 393.8 meters. All of West Centretown’s 4 schools are within 500 meters (or easy walking distance) of a fast food outlet.
West Centretown also has fifty-nine sit-down restaurants, or 4.94 per thousand people, and the average distance to the four closest restaurants is 157.4 meters from the population center.
Greenspace. This area has very little greenspace, with .13 kilometers of greenspace available, or .01 kilometers of greenspace per thousand people; this is below the city average.
Parks and Recreation. West Centretown has limited opportunities for recreation. It has two sites for winter recreation (.16 for every 1000 people), 30 sites for summer recreation (2.35 for every 1000 people), and two indoor recreation facilities (.16 for every 1000 people). It also has .44 meters of bike/walking paths for every resident. The average recreation index score (which combines indoor, outdoor summer and winter, and paths) is similar to the city average. The area has a below average amount of parks within its borders; with 2.09 meters of park space for every resident.
Education and Culture. West Centretown-Little Italy has four schools. The closest City of Ottawa library branch is located 1697.6 meters from the population center; this is slightly lower than the city average.
Financial services. This area has four banks, with a ratio of .33 banks per thousand people. This is average for the Ottawa area. It has one ‘less healthy financial outlet’ (check cashing, pawn shop, or payday loan outlet), or .08 per thousand d people. This is close to the city average.
Health services. Compared to other areas in Ottawa, West Centretown is well served by pharmacies, or .55 pharmacies per thousand people. The average distance to the four closest physicians from the population center is 396.9 meters; this is less than average for the Ottawa area. A high proportion of residents reported having a regular medical doctor (88.6% ± 8.7%). This is higher, though not statistically different, than the average of the 5th SES quintile and similar to the Ottawa average of 88.7% (± 1.0%). The proportion of residents who visited a dentist in the past year (55.5% ± 13.2%) was significantly lower than the Ottawa average of 70.9% (± 1.6%).
Area Strengths and Needs
Little Italy’s strengths include ethnic and linguistic diversity and a wide array of specialty shops and sit down restaurants. However, the very high proportion of residents below the LICO is cause for concern, as is the high proportion of residents who pay more than 30% of their income on shelter. Voting rates are low, but the proportion of people who feel a strong sense of belonging is near average. Residents also lack a grocery store and need more opportunities for recreation, particularly for outdoor winter recreation. The health of its residents is mixed, but more attention needs to be paid to reproductive health and to oral health. On the positive side, an overwhelming majority of residents report that they have moderate to high physical activity levels.
For detailed community profile go to this link.
© 2008-09 City of Ottawa and Partner Agencies
Collaboration, Coordination, Community Participation and Leveraging of Resources
