North York Centre showcases a number of traits that are uniquely 'Toronto.' From the cultural diversity present in its shops and restaurants to rows of new condo towers built as part of the housing boom, aspects of its urban landscape are emblematic of numerous parts of Toronto’s history and current identity. In terms of the former, however, the area also puts on display an element of Toronto’s urban form that has been in many ways detrimental to the city’s growth — especially in the past couple decades.

When one walks along the Yonge Street corridor from Sheppard to Finch, the density of the residential and commercial high-rises create the feeling of being in a canyon. Yet as quickly as one block off of Yonge, this high-density environment abruptly becomes a sea of detached single-family homes. This phenomenon is one of the best examples of Toronto’s lack of what is known as missing middle housing. Loosely defined as filling the gap between single-family homes and large apartment towers with unit types like townhomes, multiplexes and mid-rise apartment buildings, missing middle housing is a common feature in older North American cities - and is also something that is largely absent from Toronto. This absence has implications not only for the supply of housing, but also for the future of the vibrant commercial streetscapes that are a vital part of the city’s identity.