Mount Pleasant Lifestyle & Demographics

Urban Spice
Young multi-ethnic lower-middle-class singles

A collection of immigrant gateway communities, Urban Spice is the urban home for a mixed populace of blacks, Arabs and immigrants from Asia, Europe and Latin America. With nearly half of the singles and foreign born, this cluster is a mecca for educated, first-generation Canadians striving for middle-class status in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Many of the residents of Urban Spice live in older, garden-style apartments - half of all dwellings were built before 1960 - along streets lined with mom-and-pop shops, fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. The typically close quarters encourages residents to gather instead at health clubs, art galleries, basketball courts, soccer fields and music clubs. And they take an active interest in community, ranking highest among all clusters in working for a political party or candidate.

Lower-Middle $44,248
Young
Ethnic Presence: High (Mixed)

With a relatively high education profile- -a quarter hold university degrees- -the residents of Urban Spice have varied media tastes. They watch a lot of TV shows featuring music fashion and sports, and they read hundreds of magazines at above-average rates, including locally-based titles like NOW and Vancouver Magazine. There's hardly a kind of cuisine that doesn't have an audience in this cultural stew, be it health foods, gourmet ethnic cuisine or junk food. Although their incomes are relatively modest, these young strivers still like to be early adopters of fashion and technology. More residents in Urban Spice take public transportation than drive a car, but owning a European luxury car is a coveted symbol of status.

How they think
Urban Spice is a diverse cluster, but its values are remarkably coherent in their flexible, postmodern flavor and their idealistic outlook. These Canadians register a great Openness Toward Others, perhaps in part because they believe strongly in Introspection and Empathy. While it is not uncommon for new immigrants to wish to display success in their new country ostentatiously (for a generation or two), these young Canadians are more interested in achieving Fulfillment Through Work. Although they are weak on Adaptability to Complexity, they are already handling plenty of complexity and showing values that betray little fear or hostility. Strong on Flexible Definition of Family, Equality of the Sexes and Primacy of Environmental Protection, Urban Spice residents celebrate equality and autonomy, and even have attention to spare for the planet. Finally, this cluster scores high on Belonging to the Global Village; this trend may represent an attachment to a nation of origin, but given the broad-minded values of this cluster, it is as likely to signify an openness to and interest in the whole world-not just the parts most familiar to these thoughtful young Canadians.

Attitudes
"Other cultures have a lot to teach us"
"I tend to be the first to own new electronic products"
"It is very important for me to feel creative"
"I enjoy entertaining"
"The use of marijuana should be legalized in Canada"

Grads & Pads
Young midscale urban singles

A collection of young, ethnically-diverse city dwellers living near universities, Grads & Pads represents the nation's most liberal lifestyle. Its residents are a progressive mix of well-educated singles, students and recent grads, service workers and professionals - all living in apartments within mid-sized cities and the satellite centres of major metros. Their incomes aren't high, but these young adults just entering the workforce enjoy the freedom of spending their first paycheques. With three-quarters of the adults unattached, Grads & Pads residents are night owls who frequent health clubs, rock concerts, art galleries and ballet performances. They like to drink: beer, tequila, rum, gin - you name it. They're also political activists who work for social causes, write to public officials and volunteer for political parties and politicians who typically support their liberal views.

Middle $42,289
Young
Ethnic Presence: Some (Mixed)

Grads and pads is home to young and footloose men and women: many have moved into their current apartments within the past year, typically looking for more convenient access to nearby jobs. They're also frequent travelers who are willing to spend a lot of money--$ 1,000-$2,000 on their last trip-to destinations in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Back in their apartments, they enjoy surfing the Internet (for research and entertainment), cooking gourmet meals and listening to music, especially jazz and alternative rock. When they turn on the TV, it's typically to watch programs with a satiric edge-favorites include "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" and "Malcolm in the Middle"-and Grads and pads residents get all the pop culture references.

How they think
Grads and pads is in many ways the opposite of the stereotype of lazy, disaffected youth. Busy, thoughtful, and happy, these young Canadians are among the most dedicated to Community Involvement, register strong engagement with social and environmental issues (Global Ecological Consciousness, Ethical Consumerism), and are passionate about finding ways to express their Personal Creativity. The Equality of the Sexes goes without saying for this progressive cluster. Residents here see themselves as Belonging to the Global Village not only because their families have in cases arrived in Canada from elsewhere, but because for these wired Canadians, the idea of the world being shrunk by technology is a self-evident truth experienced daily. Residents of this diverse cluster live together happily, eschewing all Ethnic Intolerance and strongly rejecting the Importance of National Superiority.

Attitudes
"Premarital sex improves the later success of a marriage"
"I really pity people who consider their work the be-all and end-all of life"
"The use of marijuana should be legalized in Canada"
"I've been active in a social issue"
"drinking is a part of my lifestyle"

Electric Avenues
Young upper-middle-class urban singles

Urban lifestyles typically attract young singles and couples, and Electric Avenues is no exception. These neighbourhoods - concentrated in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa-Hull and Montreal - are known as havens for university graduates who rent apartments (in low- and high-rise buildings), have white collar jobs and pursue yuppie lifestyles. While residents here have average household incomes, their spending power appears greater because so many are childless households. Like their younger cousins in Grads & Pads, they spend freely on entertainment, designer clothes and cultural events. But being more established, they devote more time to tracking their investments and less time patronizing the local nightclub. While no one would consider Electric Avenues residents conservative, they are less liberal in their outlook than Grads & Pads.

Upper-Middle $62,094
Young
Ethnic Presence: Low

Electric Avenues bring together a diverse mix of cultures in a vibrant city setting: apartment-dwelling singles from a dozen Asian and European countries all united by a youthful, educated sensibility. As Consumers, they're big on travel, books, health foods and yoga. And though supermarket surveys would seem to indicate they are starving-spending less than $50 weekly on groceries-they frequent all types of restaurants. Electric Avenues residents like nothing more than to meet friends at coffee bars, making it the top-ranked cluster for drinking cappuccino.

How they think
Electric Avenues is a cluster of autonomous, flexible and engaged Canadian youth. Electric Avenue residents' flexibility and openness to change is evident particularly in their orientation to matters of gender, sexuality, and family: this cluster is among the strongest on Flexible Definition of the Family, Gender Equality, and Sexual Permissiveness. Electric avenues residents question rules and received wisdom. They want the freedom to make their own decisions without deferring to the wishes of a boss, father, religious leader, or other authority figure: this cluster is strong on Control of Destiny and Adaptability to Complexity in Life. There is a dash of youthful thrill-seeking here, evident in the cluster's high scores on Penchant for Risk-Taking and Importance of Spontaneity in Daily Life. But these young Canadians find no thrill in showing others they're richer or better off; this cluster is among the weakest on the trends Ostentatious Consumption and Concern for Appearance.

Attitudes
"I am willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products"
"I am more independent than most people"
"I am interested in discovering more ways to improve my intuition"
"The use of marijuana should be legalized in Canada"

Condo conversation pushes renters out door

Despite complaints of mice, bad plumbing, a faulty electrical system and old appliances, many of the residents of a building on Sophia Street and East 14th Avenue are reluctant to leave their apartments that have recently become condos. (read more)

Urban farmers stake claim on parkade rooftop

The city's first rooftop urban farm atop a parkade on East Georgia Street could become a model for similar projects across Vancouver, says Seann Dory, manager of sustainability for United We Can. (read more)

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