Black Creek
Black Creek is a subwatershed of the Humber River with a drainage area of 66 km². The area has been almost entirely developed, resulting in a large extent of impervious cover, low tree canopy, and flooding concerns in areas where development has encroached on the watercourse’s floodplain.
Overall Subwatershed
The following maps and diagrams explore greenspace, canopy cover, topography, and demographics at the subwatershed level.
Toronto Tree Cover by Subwatershed
Black Creek is one ofthe three subwatersheds in Toronto with the lowest tree cover in the city (less than 20%). Between 2008 and 2018, tree cover in the Black Creek Subwatershed decreased by 5% (from 24% to 19%).
Subwatershed Canopy Coverage
Between 2008 and 2018, tree cover decreased in three-quarters of Black Creek neighbourhoods between 2 and 10%. Tree cover is particularly low in neighbourhoods in the northeastern part of the subwatershed. All neighbourhoods have between 10 and 40% of previous possible planting area, suggesting an opportunity to significantly increase canopy cover in this area.
Top 10 Species by Population (2018) are Acer platanoides, Ostrya virginiana, Acer saccharum, Thuja occidentalis, Pinus strobus, Rhus typhina, Rhamnus cathartica, Acer negundo, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Fraxinus americana.
Parks of the Subwatershed
Demographics of the Subwatershed
The majority of Black Creek neighbourhoods have a lower than average median household income (Toronto average = $65,829). Lower income neighbourhoods tend to have more apartment tower clusters than higher income neighbourhoods. Lower income neighbourhoods have a higher proportion of children than high income neighbourhoods.