Housing and affordability
More housing choices, lasting affordable homes and protection against displacement. Growth should help people at different stages of life remain part of the neighbourhood.
Our work
Projects rooted in Leslieville.
A closer look at what we are working on, where things stand and how neighbours can contribute.
Our priorities
Growth that improves everyday life.
Our projects and advocacy connect around a shared purpose: a more affordable, connected and resilient Leslieville. These priorities guide how we review proposals, identify local improvements and work with others.
Local businesses and cultural life
Viable space for everyday services, independent businesses, employment, arts and community activities. The cost, design and operation of space shape who can use it.
Connected streets and public spaces
Safe walking and cycling routes, accessible crossings, school journeys, parks and neighbourhood connections. Each improvement should make the whole journey easier.
Infrastructure that keeps pace
Transit, utilities, schools, childcare and community facilities coordinated with growth. Planning should address what people can actually use as each phase opens.
Climate resilience
Building retrofits, tree canopy, shade, stormwater management and community preparedness. Priorities should reflect local risks and the people with the fewest resources to respond.
Public accountability
Clear commitments, responsibilities and reporting. We aim to identify next steps, potential partners and resource needs for our initiatives, and report progress as work advances. Residents should be able to distinguish proposed benefits from secured commitments.
The work below shows how these priorities come together—from neighbourhood mapping and laneway improvements to climate planning and conversations about major development.
Projects and initiatives
Explore the work.
Start with a project summary, then open its page for the full story, maps and supporting material.
Greener, more welcoming laneways
Leslieville Laneway Project
Status: In development · November 2026
Working with The Laneway Project, the Leslieville BIA, the Bruce Public School community and adjoining neighbours to explore greening, placemaking and pedestrian safety south of Queen Street East.
Explore the project →A neighbourhood plan put to work
Leslieville Public Realm and Open Space Master Plan
Status: In use · November 2026
The LRA’s detailed master plan and seven coordinated maps have supported Bike Share expansion, cycling priorities and BIA streetscape planning, following an initial TMU student framework.
Explore the project →Building on the master plan
Leslieville Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy
Status: In development · November 2026
A collaboration with TMU’s School of Urban and Regional Planning to update local evidence and develop practical priorities for emissions reduction, adaptation and community preparedness.
Explore the project →Homes, employment and cultural life
Ontario Line station neighbourhoods
Through advisory engagement on Gerrard–Carlaw South and Eastern Avenue, the LRA has advocated for affordable employment space, heritage retention, arts and cultural uses, and lasting housing affordability.
Explore the project →Planning and development
Contributing to neighbourhood decisions
Housing, development and public investment shape Leslieville over time. We review development applications, comment on proposals and participate in public consultations. Our work brings neighbourhood knowledge together with planning and urban design experience.
Our interest is in how change works on the ground: the homes it provides, its relationship to the street, the quality of shared spaces and its contribution to neighbourhood life. We also consider how redevelopment can maintain access to the grocers, shops, services and cultural spaces that existing residents depend on.
If there is an application or consultation you think we should look at, send us its address and the specific questions you would like considered.
Flag a planning issue →Local issues and public investment
Working together on local issues
The LRA works with the ward councillor's office on neighbourhood issues, including public spaces, street safety, development and local services. We bring residents' questions and project ideas into these conversations and seek support for practical improvements.
We also work with other community organizations, resident groups, schools and local businesses where we have shared priorities. These connections help bring different perspectives and skills to neighbourhood projects, coordinate efforts and identify opportunities to act together.
Our role is to bring local knowledge into these conversations and help connect community priorities with people and organizations that can move them forward.
Raise a neighbourhood issue →Queen Street and the public realm
Working with the Leslieville BIA
Members of the LRA team participate in the Leslieville BIA Development Committee and Streetscape Master Plan Committee. This involvement connects our community work with discussions about development, the pedestrian environment and the future of local commercial streets. The streetscape process is also advancing opportunities identified in the LRA’s Public Realm and Open Space Master Plan, including new parkettes and enhanced laneways.
These conversations bring residents' day-to-day experience into contact with the needs of local businesses and the opportunities for better streets and public spaces.
Community collaborations
Community collaborations
Different projects bring different people and organizations together. These connections help link local knowledge with research, design, community activity and implementation.
Ward Councillor’s Office
Working together on neighbourhood issues, including public spaces, street safety, development and local services, and helping advance community priorities and project ideas.
Leslieville BIA
Collaboration on the Leslieville Laneway Project, alongside LRA team members’ participation in the BIA’s Development Committee and Streetscape Master Plan Committee. This work connects neighbourhood priorities with local businesses, development and improvements to streets and public spaces.
Visit the Leslieville BIA →The Laneway Project
Collaboration on the Leslieville Laneway Project, bringing experience in community-led laneway improvements, greening and placemaking to the development of local ideas.
Visit The Laneway Project →Toronto Metropolitan University
Planning-studio collaboration on the framework that informed the LRA master plan, and on neighbourhood climate resilience.
Explore TMU planning →South Riverdale Community Health Centre
Collaboration to explore alternative locations and mobile options for supervised consumption services, supported by real estate and market analysis, land use planning and geospatial analysis.
Visit South Riverdale Community Health Centre →Bruce Public School community
Connections with the school community and parent council around neighbourhood greening, walking routes and the laneway south of Queen.
Visit Bruce Public School →