Glossary

The City of Ottawa defines affordable housing as housing, whether owned or rented, for which a low- or moderate-income household pays no more than 30 per cent of its gross annual income. (From the Official Plan Glossary.)

Body Mass Index (BMI) - a weight-to-height ratio, calculated by dividing one's weight in kilograms by the square of one's height in meters and used as an indicator of obesity and underweight.

The CPI is an indicator of changes in consumer prices experienced by Canadians. It is obtained by comparing the cost, over time, of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers. The basket contains goods and services of unchanging or equivalent quantity and quality, so the index reflects only pure price change. (Statistics Canada)

Food security is the state of having physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for an active and healthy life.

A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population. It includes growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and the disposal of food.

A measurement of income distribution and a common tool used to measure income inequality. This number, which ranges between 0 and 1, helps define the gap between the rich and the poor, with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality.

Housing starts is an economic indicator of the number of privately owned new housing units for which construction has begun in a given time period.

The City's official plan defines residential intensification to mean a net increase in residential units within a property, building or area. Certain areas are targeted for intensification (e.g., main streets, mixed use areas, adjacent to rapid transit stations). But for purposes of tracking against targets, any development within areas that are already developed (serviced) is considered intensification.

LHIN's (Local Health Integration Networks) are provincial Crown agencies that serve as locally-based authorities for public healthcare in Ontario. They are mandated to plan, integrate and distribute provincial funding for healthcare services within their region, including hospitals, community health centres, long-term care facilities and mental health and addiction services.

LICO is an income threshold below which a family will spend spend 20 percentage points more on the necessities -- food, shelter and clothing -- than the average family.

The minimum wage is the lowest wage rate an employer can pay. In Ontario it is set out under the Employment Standards Act, and  covers most employers and employees in the province. A key purpose of minimum wage legislation is to protect non-unionized workers in unskilled jobs. But it can also influence the level of compensation of other employees.

This survey is undertaken annually by Ottawa Public Health. It follows a provincially-defined standard approach to measure the cost of eating based on current nutrition recommendations and food consumption data. Costs of food items are averaged from a variety of sources.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation whose 35 member countries are characterized as democracies with market economies. Members work together, and also with more than 70 non-member countries, to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development through collaborative assessment, research, and policy development.

ODSP is a government-run program which offers both financial and employment assistance to individuals with disabilities.

Ontario Works is a government-run program which helps people who are in temporary financial need. The program offers both financial as well as employment assistance.

Individuals who usually worked less than 30 hours per week, at their main or only job.

Participation rate is the percentage of working-aged persons who are either employed or are actively looking for work.

The sector of the economy concerned with providing basic government services. This varies from country to country, but usually includes services such as police, military, public transit and public roads.

Rapid transit is the highest order of transit service in terms of frequency and speed, and is targeted to moving large volumes of people in high-demand corridors. The bus rapid transit system (which is set up to shield bus traffic from the impacts of congestion) and the O-train are OC Tranpo's rapid transit infrastructure. This will soon be supplemented by the Confederation light rail line.

RGI is a rent supplement approach mandated by the Province and managed by municipal governments. The tenant pays 30% of their gross household income in rent. The subsidy makes up the difference between that amount, and the market rent.

Shelters are a temporary place to stay for homeless people. In many shelters residents share a room with multiple other people who are not related, and do not have access to the room during the day. Shelters usually also provide food, communal facilities for daytime use, and other forms of support including help finding housing.

Permanent housing with on-site supports, for individuals who need assistance to stay housed. This housing includes communal living arrangements (e.g., group homes and small rooming houses) and clustered self-contained apartments.

Transitional housing is time-limited supportive housing, where people at risk of homelessness prepare for independent living, with a mix of support services. It includes residential treatment programs and halfway houses.

The percentage of the labour force that is unemployed, but is actively seeking for employment.

Utilities paid by the property owner or tenant include water, electricity, and gas and/or oil. If the bills for these utilities are not paid, residents risk having no water, no lights, no ability to use computers and other electronics, no ability to keep food cool or do laundry, and no heating or cooling.

Vacancy rate is the percentage of all available units in a rental property that are unoccupied at a particular time.

Violent crimes (or crimes against the person) are crimes where violence is used or threatened, including homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual assault and robbery. Crimes against property -- such as break and enter, theft and fraud -- do not involve the use or threat of violence against a person.