The condo boom in downtown Toronto has given rise to a boom of another kind - a baby boom.

A new analysis released by Social Planning Toronto on Thursday reveals that there has been a substantial increase in the population of children under the age of five in a number of downtown neighbourhoods over the last decade as more couples decided to raise their children in high-rise buildings and forgo low-rise neighbourhoods further afield.

In the census area known as Waterfront Communities-The Island, which spans from Bathurst Street to the Don River in the southern end of the city, the population of pre-school-aged children increased by 173.5 per cent between 2006 and 2016. That increase exceeded the 153.9 per cent growth in overall population in the neighbourhood over the same time period.

Further west in the Niagara neighbourhood, which spans from Bathurst to Shaw streets south of Queen and includes parts of Liberty Village, the population of pre-school aged children was up 115.5 per cent, which was roughly in line with the overall population growth in the neighbourhood (116.5 per cent) over the same time period.

Even the city’s financial district wasn’t immune to the phenomenon with the number of children under the age of five in the Bay Street Corridor rising by 87.6 per cent since 2006, compared to an overall population increase of 69.2 per cent over the same time period.

“These condo neighbourhoods are small spaces that were intended to be homes for single millennials and young couples, but are now housing young families,” Executive Director of Social Planning Toronto Sean Meagher said in a press release accompanying the analysis. “Baby stroller traffic jams are not uncommon in these communities, and this is changing the way we think of how families can live and play in our city”.

The analysis by Social Planning Toronto is based on data from the 2016 census.

The data reveals that while many downtown neighbourhoods saw a boom in pre-school aged children over the last decade, the overall population of children under the age of five in the city was only up slightly from 2006 (from 134,980 to 136,000) and was down 3.2 per cent from 2011.

The neighbourhoods to see the biggest decrease were Regent Park (down 36.5 per cent) and Elms-Old Rexdale in north Etobicoke (down 25.2 per cent).

The analysis, however, does point out that the drop in children in Regent Park is likely a result of the large-scale revitalization of the area, which has included the temporary relocation of affordable housing tenants.

In the press release accompanying the analysis, Meagher says the data highlights the need for increased investments in community assets, such as parks and public libraries.

“These young families are going to rely on community services as part of their daily lives,” he said. “When you’re bringing up a child in a small condo, your local park, library, and community centres become your living room or backyard, and we have to invest more to respond to this changing landscape”.

Same increases not seen in older children

While the population of children under five is up substantially in many downtown neighbourhoods, there has not been the same spike in middle-aged children between the ages of 5 and 14, indicating that many families are still moving away from the city’s core when their children get older.

The increase in children between the ages of 5 and 14 in the neighbourhood known as Waterfront Communities-The Island was 40.3 per cent, which paled in comparison to the 153.9 per cent overall bump in population. There was also smaller increases of between 10.1 and 25 per cent in the Niagara and Bay Street Corridor neighbourhoods.