The Collision of Faith and Economic Development in Toronto’s Inner Suburban Industrial Districts

Abstract

New places of worship have grown dramatically within former industrial areas in recent decades in Toronto. Many have located within areas that are officially protected against the incursion of nonindustrial land users. The protection of these zones, known as “employment districts,” from noncommercial users has become a centerpiece of Toronto’s economic development strategy. This strategy and the massive expansion of places of worship attempting to locate there have created a great deal of legal and political tension. This article explores this story and attempts to relate it to the larger tension between the project of economic development and the forces of religiosity at the urban scale.