A True Urban Centre: Collaborative Community Problem-Solving and the Dufferin Mall

The third story in this community stories series was written by David Hall, Manager of Operations and Development of the Dufferin Mall in Toronto.  This paper describes how the management of Dufferin Mall engaged the entire community, including mall merchants, school boards and more than a dozen social service agencies, to address a difficult problem.  The mall had been a meeting place for youth and had become increasingly a centre for crime and violence.  David Hall describes how the collaboration with various community partners not only addressed the problems of crime and delinquency, but also turned the mall into an urban centre with a wide range of training programs and services for youth.  The resulting town centre provides both social and commercial benefits.

ISBN – 1-895796-79-2