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
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.