Bloor Improvement Group is a dynamic volunteer coalition in Toronto, advancing the economic, physical, cultural and social life of the targeted local Bloor Street by creating opportunities and events that improve and celebrate the area.

BIG News

BIG: Bloor Improvement Group has set a course for renewal and while returning to our founding mandate to be a BIG umbrella where groups and individuals find support for initiatives and projects that contribute to vital Bloor Street neighbourhoods.

BIG is now is planning for the 2011 BIG on Bloor Festival in July. We are delighted to announce a number of new and tried ideas and we invite you to participate: A Red Carpet Awards Program, to honor exceptional effort, talent and goodwill

A call to musician for new music that include lyrics mentioning Bloor Street, Bloordale, Bloorcourt or Toronto or Canada

A large-scale, multi-day, cultural-participation, event mess at the Kent Playground
And back again - 300 individual table rentals available to book beginning March 15th.

More information and opportunities to join a BIG committee, contribute an event, or to volunteer, participate, donate and sponsor will be posted on the BIG website.

Community Safety Initiative

In 2008/2009 BIG received a Community Safety Investment grant from the City of Toronto to undertake a community safety initiative. The goal of this work was to explore the issue of community safety with multiple stakeholders in the area and to collaboratively generate a strategic plan for community safety.

As a first step, BIG worked with the graduate Planning Program at the University of Toronto to develop a workshop project for graduate students. In Fall 2008 a group of four students developed an economic revitalization plan for Bloor Street between Landsdowne and Christie. The students were charged with the task of developing this plan in a way that tries to retain the current socioeconomic composition of the neighborhood and does not contribute to a process of displacing local residents or businesses.

Their excellent report can be viewed in three sections as follows:
Neighborhood review and economic revitalization plan
Appendices with data from the research
A primer on 'gentrification'

Following on this, BIG hired Katie Mazer to draft a Community Development Strategy Report, which report both identifies challenges and makes concrete recommendations to the BIG organization to further our goal of building collective community spirit and safety for all our diverse stakeholders.
Community Development Strategy Report

In addition, Katie has developed an exciting neighbourhood asset map, which identifies, catalogues, and maps the fantastic economic organizations and social resources we already have in our neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood Asset Map