Downtown London recovering better than other Canadian cities, according to study
Downtown London, Ont. is bouncing back from the pandemic better than all other medium and large sized cities in Canada.
That’s according to a new study by the University of Toronto School of Cities.
According to the study, activity in downtown London has reached 79 per cent of pre-pandemic levels — that’s the highest for Canadian cities in the study.
“London popped up and I’m like, ‘What’s going on in London,” said lead author Karen Chapple.
She explained, “And my gosh, there’s so many buildings in the pipeline, there’s a bunch under construction right now. There’s still an influx from Toronto just because that housing crisis in Toronto just gets worse and worse. So I would be optimistic, I think London will see, it might even get back up to 100 per cent because it’s going to feed on residential, and then they drum up more retail services.”
The study looked at cell phone data, determining not just how many people were in the downtown at a given time, but whether they were staying for significant periods of time, and frequenting various points of interest, like restaurants or shows.
Barb Maly, the executive director of Downtown London, finds the study encouraging, and said it’s all too easy to take downtown’s offerings for granted.
“When you’re in the midst of it, trying to support our members through the various challenges that they’re facing day in and day out I think you forget, you know there are some gold nuggets, a number of gold nuggets that our downtown has, and we have to remember that,” she said.
But not all is on the upswing, from a growing homeless crisis, to downtown office vacancies.
“I don’t think it’s back to pre-pandemic levels,” said one downtown worker CTV News London spoke with. “No, I don’t know if it will ever be. A lot of people don’t want to come back.”
Her friend agreed and said, “I think now we work hybrid, so we are not here as often, and I think that’s the case for most of the office.”
While downtown London ranks number one for Canadian cities, it ranks number 13 of the 62 cities in North America in the study.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.