FAQ/Help

FAQ/Help is a simple, easy, quick way to find answers to the questions below.

What can I do with ONS?

Are you a Funding Decision Maker, a Service Provider Professional, a Government Planner, or an engaged Citizen? See Who can use the ONS. Generally, you can explore neighbourhoods by finding your neighbourhood on a map and reviewing the neighbourhood profile, including a narrative description, images and data tables. For example, you can learn the crime rate, socio-economic status, or the average distance to the nearest family doctor’s office.

What area is included in ONS?

The entire City of Ottawa is covered.

What will I find in a neighbourhood profile?

Each neighbourhood profile has a similar format. The profile begins with a description of the neighbourhood boundaries and key features, and includes a map of the area. Data tables provide detailed information organized by Theme and Indicators (Arts & Culture, Basic Needs & Standard of Living, Community & Belonging, Economy & Employment, Education & Learning, Environment & Sustainability, General Demographics, Health & Wellness, and Food Environment).

How do I find my neighbourhood?

You can find your neighbourhood either by using the interactive map on the ONS Home page (hover the cursor over the map to identify neighbourhoods), or access the map on the Profiles page which shows an alphabetical listing of all Ottawa neighbourhoods.

What information can be shown on the map?

You can use pre-defined filters to change your view of the Ottawa neighbourhoods on the maps page. Each filter category is associated with a list of Themes, Indicators, and Data variables. You will see information about your selected categories when you hover your mouse over a neighbourhood on the map.

How can I compare neighbourhoods?

Go to the Maps page. Now go to the Help tab, located on the right side above the map. Here is a short step-by-step tour of all the features of this page. Interaction with the application is still possible with the tour open, so go ahead and explore!

How does ONS define neighbourhood boundaries?

In many studies, “neighbourhoods” are often described as political, administrative or statistical units that are the result of imposing geographic divisions of convenience on geographic space (consider, for example, census tracts, dissemination polygons, postal codes, municipal wards, etc). ONS uses a different approach to delineate “natural” neighbourhood units that include residents’ perceptions of the communities in which they live, work, play and raise their families. For more information, go to About Neighbourhood Boundaries.

Why is my community shown as being part of that neighbourhood?

Small communities cannot be described separately by the ONS because the population size may be too small to create reliable estimates for many measures. Unfortunately, when small communities are included within larger neighbourhoods their unique character may be lost. This is a shortcoming of studies of this kind. Those who are using the ONS to help inform their planning decisions need to understand that the neighbourhoods described here may hide the unique strengths and challenges of some distinct communities or neighbourhoods within them. The ONS should be regarded as only one source of information; other sources that help identify these variations also need to be considered as part of any decision making process.

Does each neighbourhood profile include the same information?

Yes. ONS describes each neighbourhood using the same Themes, Indicators and Data variables. However, each of Ottawa’s neighbourhoods has its own unique strengths and challenges.

Why isn’t the data from this year available?

ONS data comes for a wide variety of sources. Each source has a different process for data acquisition and release. For example, Statistics Canada reviews and analyses Census data over a number of years and releases detailed information over a four year schedule between censuses. Currently, ONS data comes from the 2016 Canada Census Profile and the National Household Survey, National Capital Commission, City of Ottawa, Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa Police Service, Parent Resource Centre (Early Development Index), geospatial data from DMTI Spatial, Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS), the Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN Information System), hospital discharge abstracts, commercial and public sector directories, satellite and spatial imaging, web research, phone research, walkability studies, and safe cycling research. Regardless of the source, ONS is committed to update the data here as soon as possible.

Providing information

How do I contribute data?

Click Contact ONS under the ONS Info tab. Use the form provided to tell us about the data that you would like to contribute.

How can I submit a correction to a neighbourhood profile?

Click Contact ONS under the ONS Info tab. Use the form provided to tell us about the correction for the neighbourhood.

Can I volunteer to maintain a neighbourhood profile?

Yes, absolutely. Nobody knows a neighbourhood better than someone who lives, works or plays there. We encourage ONS users to help us to better describe the neighbourhoods: the history, outstanding features, points of pride, etc. Click Contact ONS under the ONS Info tab. Use the form provided to tell us that you would like to to maintain a neighbourhood profile.

If the information I want is not available, can I request a new topic?

Click Contact ONS under the ONS Info tab. Use the form provided to tell us about the information that you have been looking for but have been unable to find here. Tell us as much as possible about the topic that you would like ONS to explore. If you know where to acquire the data that you would like to see incorporated here, be sure to include this information in your request.

Who provides the data?

ONS data comes for a wide variety of sources. Currently, ONS data comes from the 2016 Canada Census Profile and the National Household Survey, National Capital Commission, City of Ottawa, Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa Police Service, Parent Resource Centre (Early Development Index), geospatial data from DMTI Spatial, Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS), the Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN Information System), hospital discharge abstracts, commercial and public sector directories, satellite and spatial imaging, web research, phone research, walkability studies, and safe cycling research.

Is this site safe for my kids?

No internet site can ever be guaranteed to be kid-safe but we have tried to ensure that children will not be adversely impacted by the content that we have developed. The information on this site comes from a variety of sources. We recommend exploring the ONS with your child and discussing where someone lives, works and plays can make a difference to one’s health and wellbeing.

Other questions

Who owns ONS?

The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study is based at the the Centre for Research and Education in Community Services (CRECS) at the University of Ottawa. The university joined with community and public sector partners to  set the focus and direction of the research. The work of the ONS team is guided by a Steering Committee with representatives from the University of Ottawa, United Way East Ontario, Ottawa Community Foundation, City of Ottawa, Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa Police Service, Champlain Local Health Integration Network, Parent Resource Centre, the Ottawa Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres, and the Federation of Citizens Associations of Ottawa.

What is ONS?

ONS stands for Ottawa Neighbourhood Study. Our goal is to better understand the neighbourhoods in which we live, work and play in order to offer evidence about the dimensions that are important for community health and well-being. We also provide the City of Ottawa, health service providers, social service agencies, community organizations and residents with information on 111 neighbourhoods in Ottawa in order to help them to identify what is working well, and where community development is needed.

Who are the ONS team?

The ONS team brings together the University of Ottawa, City of Ottawa, Ottawa Public Health, United Way East Ontario, Ottawa Community Foundation, Champlain Local Health Integration Network, Parent Resource Centre, Community Health and Resource Centres, the Federation of Citizens Associations of Ottawa and other community-based partners. The Ottawa Neighbourhood Study is based at the the Centre for Research and Education in Community Services (CRECS) at the University of Ottawa.