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St. James Town (sometimes misspelled St. Jamestown) is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies in the northeast corner of the downtown area. The neighbourhood covers the area bounded by Sherbourne Street to the west, Bloor Street East to the north, Parliament Street to the east, and Wellesley Street East to the south. St. James Town is the largest high-rise community in Canada. It has been identified as one of 13 economically deprived neighborhoods within the city. It consists of 19 high-rise buildings (14 to 32 stories). These massive residential towers were built in the 1960s. Officially, approximately 17,000 people live in the neighbourhood's 19 apartment towers and 4 low rise buildings; but the number is thought by residents to be 25,000, making it Canada's most densely populated community,〔(City of Toronto: St. James Town neighbourhood profile )〕 and one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods anywhere in North America. ==History== St. James Town began to grow in the 19th century when it became a semi-suburban area home to the city's middle class. The area was rezoned in the 1950s, and the nineteenth century homes were leveled, and apartment towers — inspired by Le Corbusier's ''Towers in the Park'' concept — were erected. Each tower, which were named after major Canadian cities, accommodated thousands of residents surrounded by green space, but with few amenities. The 14 story Quebec was completed in 1959, the 18 story Victoria in 1965, and The Toronto's 24 floors in 1967. In the same census time period (1961 - 1971) St. Jamestown's population explodes to 11,462 from only 862.〔("Statistics Canada." ) ''Government of Canada, Statistics Canada''. Web. Accessed 31 Mar. 2014.〕 In the late 1960s, the developers attempted to acquire land south of Wellesley, as far as Carlton Street, to expand the St. James Town development. Many residents of the area resisted, with the support of civic activist and future Mayor of Toronto John Sewell. The St. James Town expansion was cancelled, and the homes that had been demolished were replaced with several housing cooperatives. St. James Town's highrises were originally designed after the Second World War to house young "swinging single" middle class residents. This plan was spurred forward by the federal government, that saw city building as a key to post-depression, post-war, nation's recovery.〔Caulfield, Jon. ''City form and everyday life: Toronto's gentrification and critical social practice.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994〕 The apartments lacked appeal though, poorly constructed, and with a lack of amenities to support the density spike;〔 many prospective tenants instead moved to suburban houses in the developing areas of Scarborough, Etobicoke and North York. The area quickly became much poorer. Four buildings were later built by the province to provide public housing. Today, the towers are mostly home to newly arrived immigrant families, with only 33% being born in Canada, according to the 2011 Census. In 2001, the City of Toronto launched a major initiative to improve the area, including the construction of a new Toronto Public Library branch and community centre, which opened in 2004 at the corner of Sherbourne and Wellesley. Lanterra Developments has also proposed plans to replace some of the remaining Victorian homes in St. Jamestown with several more towers.〔Landau, Jack. (Lanterra's North St James Town Proposal Resurfaces ) Urban Toronto. 28 February 2013〕 On September 24, 2010, a fire broke out on the 24th floor of 200 Wellesley St East (the white building behind the library and community centre). Fourteen people were taken to hospital due to injuries, including three firefighters and two children; three of the injuries were classed as serious. The cause of the fire was determined to be a cigarette thrown from a balcony above. In 2013, St. James Town became the host of the World's Tallest Mural, pending approval by Guinness.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-teens-and-artists-create-what-could-be-world-s-tallest-mural-1.1872226 )〕 Census tract 0065.00 of the 2006 Canadian census covers St. James Town. According to that census, the neighbourhood has 14,666 residents. Average income is $22,341, one of the lowest in Toronto. Due to its cultural and minority demographics, St. James Town is often thought as "the world within a block". It is mostly a so-called minority community, largely filled with immigrants — especially those who arrived in the 1990s. The ten most common languages in the neighbourhood, after English, are: #Tagalog - 8.1% #Tamil - 5.5% #Unspecified Chinese - 2.5% #Mandarin - 2.5% #Korean - 1.9% #Spanish - 1.8% #Russian - 1.8% #Serbian - 1.4% #Bengali - 1.4% #Urdu - 1.4% 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. James Town」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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