Fuzzy Boundaries

Who are we, and why are we fuzzy?

We are a small but growing community group hoping to find an official name for our neighbourhood. We call ourselves “fuzzy” because our boundaries are intentionally undefined. We want to be as inclusive as possible, but very roughly we think of our community as stretching from Davenport to the base of Perth Avenue, and filling in the area between the train tracks that run east of Dundas and west of Lansdowne. Our mission to name this orphaned zone has the support of Councillor Adam Giambrone, and our group includes members from Dig IN, the South Junction Triangle Residents Association, the Rankin Crescent Community Garden, Perth Avenue Co-Op, and the Perth Avenue Park Community Festival.

What’s in a name and why does our neighbourhood need one?

We are not out to name the neighbourhood ourselves, but to inspire the community to choose a name, or perhaps to make one of the names already in use official. On the City of Toronto Neighbourhood Map, our area is part of a large section named Dovercourt-Wallace-Emerson-Junction. Some people call our neighbourhood the South Junction Triangle; others lump it in with the Junction itself. More often than not, though, people grasp for an effective way to describe it, and end up saying they live “near the Junction” or “near Roncesvalles.” The Junction and Roncesvalles Village are two great examples of areas that have developed distinct identities that give residents a sense of pride and ownership – but neither of them are “our neighbourhood.” Recently, the Toronto Star website featured its own map of Toronto neighbourhoods, and guess whose community was nameless and didn’t even warrant a colour?

Where do we begin?

By communicating. Talk to your neighbours about the idea, and think about other areas of the city that are instantly recognizable by name: the Beach, Kensington, Little India, Chinatown, the Distillery District, and so on. What are the advantages of naming a community – or what are the pitfalls of remaining nameless? In the search for a name, we hope to involve residents and business owners and kids in the local schools, so that the very process of finding a name for the place we call home strengthens ties among us.