Downtown Update

[Corktowner]

Originally Posted by drpgq

I'm curious what happens with ward 2's population.

To get ward-level numbers you'd have to look up the individual census tracts and tally them up yourself. But the population of downtown Hamilton as defined by Stats Can grew almost 10 per cent, from 48,510 to 53,236. This article is an interesting overview of the population growth trends in Canadian cities.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by catcher_of_cats

This is sloppy reporting by someone who obviously has never been here. Virtually everything in Hamilton is 20 minutes from the core...
from anywhere in Waterdown, Ancaster, the entire old city, all the way to the Grimsby border. The only place that it doesn't include is the expansion of Binbrook.

Even at 10 minutes you get Westdale to Red Hill Parkway from the Bay to possibly Mohawk.

The key here is that our city has grown by quite a lot and there is huge growth in our core. I'd love to see the ward breakdown.

Seriously. I live downtown and Ancaster Lowes is a 16 minute drive from my house. Eastgate is also 16.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by catcher_of_cats

This is sloppy reporting by someone who obviously has never been here. Virtually everything in Hamilton is 20 minutes from the core...
from anywhere in Waterdown, Ancaster, the entire old city, all the way to the Grimsby border. The only place that it doesn't include is the expansion of Binbrook.

Even at 10 minutes you get Westdale to Red Hill Parkway from the Bay to possibly Mohawk.

The key here is that our city has grown by quite a lot and there is huge growth in our core. I'd love to see the ward breakdown.

Is it minutes to drive or minutes to walk that they’re using? I remember skimming the ‘downtown’ definition and mostly saw walk times being mentioned in that part, so I figured this was also about walking distances.

[Innsertnamehere]

driving is Census Canada's definition, so yea, it would cover most of the city.

If you want a way to visualize the census results a bit, you can use census mapper

https://censusmapper.ca/maps/3054#10/43.3806/-79.7621

You can really see the population loss in the lower city reverse itself.

2011-2016:



2016-2021:

[HamiltonBoyInToronto]

I wish I could find my comments about the population increasing in downtown and being told on this forum that it was not and that it was actually decreasing ....

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by HamiltonBoyInToronto

I wish I could find my comments about the population increasing in downtown and being told on this forum that it was not and that it was actually decreasing ....

For a long time it was declining though.

I would guess that in the last several years we're probably seeing a lot of the new owners of older homes starting families, or more families moving back into central Hamilton, and perhaps some dwellings have been converted to include rental units. It will be interesting to see the breakdown of housing, household and family stats at local levels when they're available.

There must be some growth from the new developments, though as of spring 2021 there were still relatively few of those. The next Census will be more reflective of that change as more condos/apartments will be built and lived in.

[TheHonestMaple]

It will be crazy to see the 2022-2025 map with all of these condo buildings going up.

[TheRitsman]

I live downtown and even over the last 3 years of living here it's been very clear downtown is growing. Businesses and streets are much more lively with people, and while some of that is people making the trip from the burbs for the fun stuff downtown, there are a lot regulars roaming the streets.

[catcher_of_cats]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

If you want a way to visualize the census results a bit, you can use census mapper

Thanks for posting this.

It is good to see the city's population stabilize in most of its established neighbourhoods compared to the last census which showed significant declines being masked by growth along the edges.

[Innsertnamehere]

For comparison, the Hamilton Centre federal riding had 100,103 people in the 2016 census, and 106,439 in 2021, an increase of 6.3%. This is pretty much the same as the city-wide growth rate of 6%.

That riding is pretty reflective of what I would call "the city" for Hamilton, including everything between Kenilworth, the lake, the 403, and the mountain.

Downtown Hamilton (see map here, pdf) grew from 48,510 to 53,236, a growth rate of 9.7%. This is above the city-wide average.

[Beedok]

It’s also interesting how even the mid-ring suburbs are intensifying.

[matt602]

Really encouraging to see the growth stats for the "old" city of Hamilton in the last half decade. I'm sure that trend will really explode over the next period.

[Berklon]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Is it minutes to drive or minutes to walk that they’re using? I remember skimming the ‘downtown’ definition and mostly saw walk times being mentioned in that part, so I figured this was also about walking distances.

Yeah, it would have to be a 20 minute walk. Otherwise, by saying they're a 20 minute drive from the core is basically saying 70% of new residents of Hamilton live in Hamilton (along with the other 30%).

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

For a long time it was declining though.

By way of an illustration, between the 2001 and 2016 censuses, the tracts between Queen, Sherman, the escarpment and the harbour shed 6.8% of their population. The new numbers might bring them back to '80s-era levels.

[TheRitsman]

Got confirmation that there was no Feb 10 meeting of the DRP.

[TheRitsman]

On my walk today, saw something some people here may be interested to see at the Bella Towers.

Paper over this window and the mailbox are new as of today. Anyone want to take guesses?



Not sure if this is related or not, but I also saw this with the door ajar, anyone know what that machine is for?

[SteelTown]

I think that's a heater. Maybe they are painting the walls or installing new flooring.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

I think that's a heater. Maybe they are painting the walls or installing new flooring.

Could be it. Interesting that it's being done from the next door unit

[interr0bangr]

Scaffolding is down on the old "Greek Palace" building on John. Replaced all the bricks with concrete blocks.

[urban_planner]

Originally Posted by interr0bangr

Scaffolding is down on the old "Greek Palace" building on John. Replaced all the bricks with concrete blocks.

Yikes, hopefully that's not the finished product?