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Gentrification in Regent Park

Overall, I consider Regent Park to be an open space. The neighborhood is very supportive and inclusive toward newcomers, while being very accepting of newcomers. Regent Park has many public parks. Over the couple of years, Regent Park has seen many changes.

Re-development and gentrification became the two main issues many long-time residents face today. The re-vitalization project has five phrases. First phase occurred around Parliament and Gerrand. Personally, we are part of the fifth phrase. Part of the re-development meant to tear down old housing infrastructure and replacing the old houses with new condos.  

The former residents were given a list of hosing addresses if they choose to leave. The residents were given a notice to move to place, whether they like to or not. They had no choice in moving as they had to leave as they live or lived in a Toronto Housing address. The residents were given a choice. If they would like to, they can move back to Regent Park in one of the new condo apartments. Or they can continue to stay in their new homes. Based on what I heard, for those moved back to Regent Park and in the new condo apartments, they were very dissatisfied with the internal structure of the apartment because things started to fall apart. This is very unfortunate because these people felt even if they lost their former home space, they can now live in a new environment. But the new environment did not measure to their standards, as a result, they felt disappointed. I’ve been told by the people that the construction materials used are most likely cheap materials. Many of the former residents were used to living in the core of Downtown Toronto. But now they were asked to West end and Scarborough.

These options were challenging for the people to move around because now they had re-learn how to move around in their new neighborhood. The people who now live in new locations, some of them are not pleased with house because of small room size, lack of backyard space, lack of basement, and etc. In my opinion, I feel that the collective former neighborhood identity is destroyed. As many of the former Regent Park residents had to move out, part of the neighborhood left.

We initially thought the process gentrification or what they call revitalization would take 5 years. But the process is taking too long, as one or two phrases are still on-going. The process is taking too long. The total uproot has upset many of the former residents.

Don’t get me wrong but for some people, they are happy with the move. But for others, they are not happy with the move. 

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Neighborhood Move

I currently live in Woodbridge. When I first moved to Woodbridge, it was like more of a countryside than what it has become today. At that time, we were the only Black family living in my neighbourhood. My family and I moved to Woodbridge when I was 10 years old. Before, we moved to Woodbridge, we used to live in Jane & Finch. The lack of diversity in Woodbridge was very visible, as the Woodbridge residents were mostly Italians and East Europeans. Whereas, in Jane & Finch, Italian, Chinese, Somalis & Cambodians were prominent. So moving from a cultural diverse neighborhood to Woodbridge was a different experience for me.   

Back then, I felt Jane & Finch were relatively safe before violence started. It was the primary reason my family and I moved out to Woodbridge. To this day I miss it as it was a big part of me growing up. I made so many childhood friends and loved my old neighborhood because of the familiarity. 

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Changing Jane & Finch

I grew up in the Jane and Finch neighborhood. Majority of the people living in my neighborhood are immigrants from different countries. During the past few years I have noticed a major drop in the crime rate. The residents in my area are hard workers and dedicated to being successful. They motivate me to become a better person.

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Coming to Canada

I like my neighbourhood. We have many different services including 24-hour Rabba, 24-hour Shopper’s Drug Mart and the St. James Community Corner is open 7 days a week. When I came to Canada, I took English classes, studied both at George Brown and CDI colleges. I used worked at Arab community centre. I made a lot of friends within my Sudanese community. I assessed my situation and wanted to start at a good point. Learning English and I started to study precommunity service at George Brown College. While I was a student at George Brown College, I sprained my ankle during winter. I couldn’t go back to school because of my ankle injury. As a result, I had dropped out. Then in CDI College, I studied addiction and community service because in my educational background was psychology. My interest was working with people living HIV/AIDS. I wanted to provide my expertise to people who couldn’t speak in English.

So I want to volunteer, to find a job, to establish trust relationship with newcomers in my community and I felt it was my responsibility from a newcomer to another newcomer. In East Sudan, I used work as United Nation Development program as a HIV social worker. When I came to Canada, my first job was at the Arab Community. While I was working in Arab Communtiy, I got shingle. As a result, I was fired because of my disease. I was given a hard time and I’m currently fighting for my rights. So I always sure to consult with the newcomers to know about their rights and fight for it.

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I thought to myself what I can I share about my experience in Albion for the past 17 years? Well there's a lot to share! Without having to bore anyone I'll keep my response short and sweet. I recently went on travels and away for nearly seven months and I realized how much I missed my neighbourhood, my neighbours and the beautiful lush and green trees I could see outside my bedroom window. Often, when calling my family from overseas I would ask, "so how's Albion? And would continue to ask about xyz neighbour. My sister being so annoyed with me would say, "I'm starting to think you miss the neighbours more than us," LOL. Albion will always hold a special place in my heart, after all, it's all I've ever known. I moved to Albion the spring of 2001 at the age of nine. I met some amazing people in this area, went to school less then 10 minutes away by drive. I graduated grade eight, grade 12, university, and post-graduate certificate whilst living in Albion.  The neighbourhood is comprised of 4 high rise buildings mostly owned or rented by families. The apartments consist of 2 or 3 bedrooms, including 1 or 2 bathrooms, laundry, and dishwasher. There is a laundry room in the basement, a gym, sauna, a swimming pool behind each building, and each apartment is entitled to one free parking space. The property owners and managers continue to work on ensuring the safety and security of the residents. The three buildings are encircled with gates and there is a security base located at the entrance of the neighbourhood monitoring who enters and exists the area. Another great thing about living in Albion is there is easy access to grocery stores, banks, fast food restaurants such as McDonald's and Tim Horton's near cross-roads on Weston Rd not to mention 401 east and 401 West highways are less then five minutes away! If you are interested in raising a family in comfort and convenience, Albion is for you! 

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Having moved to Toronto back in the summer of 2010, I called the area of Dixon and Islington home. I have to admit that at first I was very nervous and scared, why were there so many locks and security codes in the building that I had just moved in to? Well it was because though my building was predominantly safe, it was surrounded by public housing. It didn’t take long for me to realize that just up the road in what is known as the Dixon houses, gang culture ran rampant. Over the years, you grew accustomed to hearing police, ambulance and firefighter sirens.

It was only within the last couple of years that the area started seeing a change in demographics. More Asians started moving in and a plaza containing a Tim Horton’s and a grocery store opened up and even a walk-in clinic with test labs. An area that was predominantly made up of Jamaicans and Somali’s starting seeing an array of different cultures. 

As the years go by the changes have increased in such a drastic speed. For example, within the last 8 months’ large immigrant communities have moved in. Signs are placed everywhere now with rooms for rent and jobs on offer. More ESL locations have popped up too offering classes to new comers. I can’t really say how welcoming the average person is since apart from the occasional smile, everybody keeps to themselves.

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My family and I have been living in area of Weston and Lawrence for the past 20 years. The main reason we move to this area was due large Somali community. Our community mainly consist of Somalians and Afro-Caribbean. However, over the past few years I notice i growth of immigrants from Syria, Philippines, and Honduras. However, Somalians are still the majority In the community. The area has become a second home to many Somalians over past few years. Many of them own shops, business and mosques in this area. Due to this many new immigrants from Somalia of also moved to this area. The area is a place of comfort for many of these immigrants.

It’s an area where they can speak their language tongue yet still own a successful business. It’s an area where they can practice their religion freely without me being judged. However, over the past few years the community has been struggle with issue of mental illness. There has been a rise of suicide and attempted suicide. Sadly our community has failed to help these individual. Mental illness is seen as a taboo topic in our community. Individual who suffer often self-medicate. This is an issue our community needs to address. All in all I love where I live as we have many green spaces, and wonderful supportive community, although safety has been an issue crime has decreased over the past few years.

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For the last 9 years, I have lived in Toronto’s infamous Jane and Finch community. At first, I was a bit apprehensive about moving there. What would people think? What would they say? Would they suddenly see me differently? But with the rising cost of living, finding affordable housing superseded my concerns. And these concerns were legitimate. The city of Toronto labelled Jane and Finch a “priority neighbourhood”, and it has been synonymous with violence, illicit drug activity and poverty for years. And frankly speaking, I was ashamed to tell people I lived there.

It took me a long time to fully appreciate the richness of my community. When I took the time to look past the negative stereotypes of the place I now call home, I discovered a close network of individuals from all walks of life. A true representation of the diversity and tolerance of Canada. Everyone is warm and welcoming. The community is made up of hardworking individuals, striving to carve out a better life for themselves and their families. What I value most about my neighbourhood is that I don’t feel, and I’ve never felt, alienated from the wider community. Being a visible minority, sometimes it is hard to fit in. So now when people ask me where I’m from. I look them in the eye and with a smile on my face, I proudly say Jane and Finch.  

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Judy:

My family and I live in the High Park area, more specifically, the Junction.  We moved here around twelve years ago, however this area had always been familiar to me as this is where my grandparents had always lived.  We decided to move here because my parents wanted a change from the very rural Mississauga that we had resided in, and wanted my sister and I to experience a different life than that.  At first, I was so upset to make this change, but it ended up being a change that I am so thankful for today.

A lot has changed since we moved here. Having lived in the Junction for so many years and having worked in the neighbourhood for five years, I have seen the neighbourhood undergo tremendous changes.  There has been a growth in the number of independently owned shops and restaurants, drawing large crowds to get a taste and look at the changing neighbourhood.  Despite the changes, the neighbourhood has still remained a strong and supportive unit, and continues to support the residents and businesses that reside here. The neighbourhood is quite diverse in its culture and in its social class, however there is still a sense of unity despite these differences.  

My favourite part of living in this neighbourhood is getting the chance to support independently owned businesses. It’s getting to walk into the local coffee shop or the local pho restaurant, and actually knowing the people who are providing you with great service. It’s getting the chance to rave to your friends about the chorizo nachos from your favourite Mexican restaurant, and later bringing them to that restaurant to experience them. It is getting to try a new restaurant and new food, and knowing that it’s often just a ten minute walk from your house.  

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Not a question but suggestion. It would be interesting if you developed a clickable map of the wards to see stories from and see what neighbourhood hasn't been done yet. Btw I love the initiative :)

That's a wonderful suggestion, thank you! We'll definitely try to develop something like that in the future. And thanks so much for checking us out! :)

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Polina: 

My family and I live in Palmerston-Little Italy. When we first moved here from Russia, my parents knew they wanted to buy a house, but weren't set on any specific neighbourhood. The only thing they were certain about was that it had to be downtown Toronto. We never owned a car and none of us like spending hours on public transit. However, finding something affordable was hard and took a little while, but it was absolutely worth it. 

The area is quite diverse, being represented by a middle class spectrum. The best thing is that we have everything we need within walking distance: schools, grocery stores, medical clinics, gyms, a variety of bars and restaurants, and even a small cinema. And if we need to travel somewhere around town, the TTC is no farther than 10 minutes away. Also, having our house a little north from the main road intersection makes it easy to enjoy the quietness of a safe residential street.

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Elliott: I live in Toronto's Church-Wellesley Village, and have lived here with my partner for the past 5 years, which is also as long as I've lived in this city). I moved here from Sudbury, Ontario and I was drawn to the Village because of the LGBTQ+ inclusivity and safe spaces. I adore living here; I feel safe, I feel welcomed and I always feel at home. Although it is inclusive and diverse, I believe the Village should work harder to have more spaces oriented directly to all members of the queer community, not only cisgender gay men. I would like to see more actively engaging trans, queer, and lesbian spaces. However, there are already some, and there are amazing organizations, such as OurSpace, which constantly strive to create such spaces.

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Jonathan: I currently live in the Annex with my girlfriend. We were looking or a decent quality neighbourhood that was reasonably-priced and still within Toronto's downtown. We've only recently settled here, but there is a lot of development nearby. Old buildings are being renovated and repurposed and new infrastructure is getting developed. I think all neighbourhoods have their unsavoury bits, but the Annex has grown and improved greatly in recent years, and we feel very safe here. The Annex is alive with youth and young adults, doing everything from starting up their own businesses to continuing their education at nearby UofT. As such, there is a multitude of ethnicities and groups here. I think that reimagining the usefulness of a dying or unwanted part of the city, like the proposed hybridization of the Gardiner Expressway into usable park space, or the redeveloped waterfront, are examples that we can learn from about improving the city. I love the green space and the urban life right at my doorstep here. Anything I want is within walking distance for me and my girlfriend, and much more variety via transit. Malls, shops, grocery stores, and doctors are all so close. It's like a microcosm of a big city! Still being new here, I haven't been exposed to a lot of negativity about the area. Right next door though, there are two abandoned buildings that are covered in graffiti, with boarded up windows. It's quite an eyesore. but all the apartment buildings in the area are being renovated or repaired in some way, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time until even those dwellings are demolished to make room for something new.

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Ashley: I live in Bloordale, which is in the west end near Bloor and Landsdowne. This is our first apartment in Toronto after moving here from Hamilton. I was accepted at UofT and my partner was already working here, so it made sense to find a place in the city. In the five years we've lived here, Bloordale has had a shifting face: restaurants and stores would close, be reopened under a slightly different name, and close again. We saw a fast food chicken shop go through four name iterations. There's never been a chain thought. We have yet to see a Starbucks make it onto the Bloor strip. While our neighbourhood had a rough exterior, we joke that it's a good thing for us because it keeps the rent prices down. We don't feel unsafe either; as soon as you leave Bloor for any of the residential streets, it's all seniors who have been there forever or younger families. There's such a mix of people here. You have sports bars aimed at the same older crowd they've had for years across the street from a bar specializing in oysters, Greek-inspired foods, and $15 cocktails. There are thrift stores within walking distance of artisanal boutiques, strip clubs a block away from a vegan coffee shop, and a restaurant that regularly does kids' dance parties and film screenings of Disney movies. Torontonians are not well liked outside of Toronto. We're seen as pretentious, aloof, and self-absorbed by many in the rest of Canada. Toronto could learn something from Bloordale: it's unassuming, honest, and real. If you're in the neighbourhood, go to Stella's Cafe for a beer and curry (it's the only thing on the menu). While you're there, say hi to the owner and cook Ronti for us!

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Anonymous:

I’ve lived in Etobicoke for about five years, and recently it’s begun to become gentrified. A lot of the old shops and restaurants went out of business and have been replaced by newer, hipper things. The casual family restaurant I used to work at is now an upscale steak house, far out of my price range, and probably not half as delicious. The area was pretty dead before, so maybe this will bring some new opportunities, but the area might lose its calm, charming vibe.

I think that it’s definitely not as diverse as some parts of the city. Compared to the downtown core, there aren’t a lot of newcomers to the area, so you don’t get the same mixing of cultures. It’s a typical suburb.

Despite being part-suburb, part-college town, there’s definitely a seedy underbelly to the area. It’s not uncommon to see girls working the streets, or pimps out on street corners. While I’m busy bussing tables or serving middle aged white ladies wine with their lunch, they’d be looking out the window discussing how the girl on the street corner was definitely a prostitute. It was just so matter of fact, something everyone in the area knew and talked about like it was nothing. And for the most part the area doesn’t feel unsafe, even though you know about all these things; it’s a weird dichotomy.

My favourite part of the neighbourhood is definitely the parks, and never being more than five minutes away from the lake. I enjoy just spending time alone exploring the area, more here than anywhere else. You can ride your bike along the trails all the way to Mississauga, or all the way downtown if you wanted to. There’s not much to do in the area except for explore the parks, but it’s definitely worth it.

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Haley: 

I grew up in Whitby, and I currently still live there. But I want to move to Downtown Toronto. It's where I work and it's so much more convenient. 

Whitby isn't very diverse; it's mostly just your typical suburbs. But it is becoming more diverse than it used to be, and that's nice to see.

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Amanda: I live in the Woodbine and Coxwell area of East York, and I love it. It's mostly young people around my own age who are just starting their own families, and I've made some great friends there. I also like that it's middle-of-the-road; not wealthy, but not poverty-stricken. It's a rather diverse area, but last year we dealt with those white supremacist posters going up in the area. My community really came together to strand against it. We all started putting up these lawn signs that say "You Belong Here" in seven different languages, and that was incredible. So many people also pitched in to fundraise for these signs. They started as just a grassroots initiative, but the community really made this operation grow to make sure people knew they are welcome here.