Rebekah Nolan reports from Bloor West Village, a small community of shops on the west end of Toronto. Initially home to the heart of the city’s Ukrainian community, Bloor West Village is now a multicultural hub. This enclave of mom and pop shops has existed since the 1920s and has a definite small town feel to it.
Despite being located in one of North America’s largest cities Bloor West Village retains a small town charm and character that distinguishes it from the surrounding neighborhoods.
The tight-knit Bloor West Village community was also the birthplace of the Business Improvement Area model (BIA), which is now used to revitalize and sustain business districts all over the world.
To learn more about the creation of the BIA, and how it affected Bloor West Village, Rebekah Nolan visits with Mr. Alex Ling, gift shop owner and cofounder of the world’s first BIA.
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