The numbers tell a story:

In Regemt Park, Canada's oldest housing project between 68 – 76 percent of residents survive on a low income. This is in stark contrast to the city low income average of 20 percent. This means that close to 5000 children are living below the poverty line.

Within difficult conditions, including a lack of high school in the neighbourhood, community organizations managed to decrease the high school drop out rate by more than 40% in just six years: from 2001 to 2007.

Immigrants make up 80 pecent of the residents and less than half use English as their first language.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE STATS INCLUDING A MAP OF REGENT PARK.

 

 

Home Is Where The Park Is

(Play to hear audio introduction)

Home is Where the Park is:
Global 360 investigates changes in Canada's oldest housing project

November 29, 2007

Regent Park is undergoing historic changes.

In a matter of 10-15 years, Canada's oldest social housing project will be completely "revitalized," short-hand for torn down and built up again.

This multimedia gateway offers a snapshot of Regent Park in the Fall of 2007, shortly before the completion of revitalization's Phase One. The faces, voices and stories you will find here depict Toronto's most diverse community as few in the general public have seen it: in turn empowered and disenfranchised, vibrant and gray, dynamic and downtrodden.

Burdened with associations of crime and poverty, many Regent Park residents are suspicious of the media, with their tendency to exploit the neighbourhood for sensational coverage of the city's poor. 

Global360 reporters descended on Regent Park with notepads, cameras and camcorders and, over the course of 12 weeks, built a profile of the community.

As members of Ryerson University's online reporting class, they worked in concert to create an accurate and informative portrayal of Regent Park and its residents.

Please enjoy, and give us your feedback.

Stories in this series:

Bulldozer Blues
10,000 Regent Partk residents will experience "relocation." Who's losing out?
By Drew Halfnight

Regent Park Refocused
How youth empowerment and the media can change a community.
By Elizabeth Haggarty

The Mural Project
Toronto's Mural Project beings art to the streets.
By Maria Nguyen

Regent Park Fashion
Discover what fashion means to a community that is considered one of the poorest in country.
By Emily Barker

Skipping Schools
Find out what the revitalization is bringing to Regent Park, and what it's leaving out.
By Lianna Shen

The Regent Park Stereotype
The role of the media in the redevelopment of Regent Park
By Lori Harito

Feeding Regent Park
Food is a necessity, but how can it be used to bring a diverse community together?
by Martha Jack

Regent Park v. Youth Crime
Youth in Regent Park are considered to be "at-risk" of committing crime, but there are groups stepping up to help them.
By Kristina Jarvis

2007 Ryerson University. All rights reserved. Privacy, Terms & Conditions.