1990s-On

Since the 1980s, Kensington Market has maintained its status as a high-traffic tourist destination and Toronto’s only outdoor market with an interior shopping district on Kensington Avenue, through Baldwin Street and along Augusta Avenue.[1] The market currently features a distinct combination of residential and commercial buildings, including specialty, vintage and ethnic stores and cultural institutions and has been aptly described as Toronto’s Vienna within Los Angeles.[2] To draw city residents and tourists to the neighbourhood, Kensington Market businesses and residents collaborated in creating family friendly pedestrian Sunday events, which are now coordinated by the BIA.[3] During this period, the City of Toronto continued to work with community organizations such as the Kensington Market Action Committee to beautify the neighborhood while retaining its authenticity, as demonstrated with the renewed Kensington Market entrance.[4] Interestingly, the Kensington-Chinatown neighhourhood has about half the percentage of children up to age 14 and over double the percentage of youth between the ages of 15-24 living in the area in comparison to the rest of the city.[5] From the 1990s onward, Kensington Market has preserved its status as a vibrant and distinctive multicultural community within Toronto’s downtown core.