First the good news: Toronto ranks among the most livable cities on the planet. Its diversity—cultural, social and economic – makes it one of the most attractive places anywhere.

Now the bad news: The gap between rich and poor is growing exponentially, transit hasn’t kept up with demand and congestion is killing us. We’re also not terribly productive.

These are among the findings of the annual Vital Signs Report. Prepared by the Toronto Community Foundation, the document is intended to be a snapshot of the city at this moment in its history.

Though the findings are not surprising, they remind us that there’s no reason for complacency. Indeed, some of the issues identified by the foundation are worrisome in the extreme. In this report, the organization’s tenth, we see a portrait of a city that remains intact although the cracks are beginning to show.

“The report aims to inspire civic engagement, provide focus for public debate, and guide donors and stakeholders who want to direct their resources to areas of greatest need,” the authors write. “Since Toronto’s first Vital Signs report in 2001, the model has been adopted by 16 communities across Canada.”

In other words, the aim of the Toronto Community Foundation is not to give answers, but to provide information, raw data that can be used as a basis for decision-making.

Given the rhetoric heard during the current mayoral campaign, especially when candidates are playing fast and loose with the facts, the need for objective measures has become clear.

Quoting a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, the report states up front that as recently as this year, Toronto was ranked among the 21 “leading centres of business, finance and culture.” Ranging over ten categories -- “intellectual capital and innovation, economic clout, lifestyle assets and health, safety and security”—Toronto was right up there with New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm, Chicago, Sydney and Singapore “in providing both its businesses and its residents a healthy balance of economic competitiveness and quality of life.”

The dark clouds on the horizon include gridlock, which the report explains, costs the economy of the Toronto Region a staggering $5 billion annually.

“Toronto scored last among 19 major metropolitan regions ranked by the Toronto Board of Trade Scorecard on Prosperity,” we are informed, “with an average commute time of 80 minutes, trailing Montreal (in 18th place at 76 minutes)…. Vancouver was 14th with a 67-minute average commute time, compared with first-place Barcelona at 48.4 minutes.”

These sobering figures are a result of a transit system that has failed to keep up with need: “Demand for transit also vastly exceeded supply between 1986 and 2006,” the report argues. “Transit infrastructure grew by 18%, but demand (measured in passenger-kilometres) increased by 45%.”

Little wonder then that transit comes closest to being the major issue of the current municipal election; Toronto has fallen badly behind cities in Europe and Asia, where public transit is a priority.

But as the authors note, “The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently cited Toronto’s transportation woes (congestion and the need for expanded infrastructure) as the key liability threatening the region’s future prosperity. Canada is currently the only one of the 31 OECD member countries without a long-term federal transit investment policy. The US federal administration, for example, funds about 80% of transit capital projects.”

Even more disturbing are statistics that show the financial hollowing out of the inner-suburban neighbourhoods built during the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. In these areas, located in the northwest and northeast sections of the city, average income has dropped 20 percent or more during the last three decades. These are neighbourhoods intended for middle-class families that are ill-equipped to serve the recently arrived immigrant populations that now inhabit these areas.

On a more positive note, the report recognizes that Toronto’s importance as a cultural centre continues to grow. It also notes the economic impact of the cultural industries, which also continues to grow. According to the report, this city is home to more artists that any other community in the country. About 15 percent of all artists in Canada – roughly 22,300 people – live here.

The figures are impressive: Toronto has more than 750 cultural facilities, 30 percent of them owned by the city. And apparently, we enjoy them: “Attendance at city-funded or programmed cultural events grew by 20% in 2009, to 15.4 million people:

And yet, public funding for culture and the arts falls well below other Ontario cities such as London and Ottawa.

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“Per capita arts and culture spending remains at $18.00,” we read, “still a long way from the $25 per capita that Toronto City Council targeted for 2013 back in 2003.”

Though it would be wrong to oversimplify, the Vital Signs Report paints a portrait of city that has its share of problems but which also has a lot going for it. Growing disparities are cause for deep concern, but the city’s ability to reinvent itself over and over again has so far been nothing short of miraculous.

On the other hand, it would be a mistake to dismiss the warning signs because, somehow, things will just take care of themselves. We know better; one need not travel too far to see what’s left of cities once renowned for their wealth and prosperity. Toronto has not reached that tipping point, and perhaps it never will. But success cannot be taken for granted, here or anywhere.