Regent Park Kevin Micallef Summary

Shawn Micallef in his article “Regent Park” tells the readers a story of a neighbourhood development and its prosperity. The article states that in the middle of the twentieth century Regent Park was in a deplorable condition. There were various defects such as the shortage of roads and isolation from other neighbourhoods. That stimulated city authorities to improve and expand the community. Its plan was based on “Garden City” planning principles. City planners started thinking of the ways to get rid of different shortcomings. People organized meetings for all city residents and both levels of government where they discussed all the problems and tried to come up with their solutions. The narrator also cites Liz Greaves, who points out that
city residents made a great contribution to the rebuilding and flourishing of Regent Park. Inspired residents and their creative ways of communicating, thinking and organizing resulted in the creation of such a beautiful place. Later on, the Social Development Plan was invented, which was focused on the social unity and economic progress. People got more workplaces within their community. The key redevelopment principle was the coverage of return and relocation expenses by city authorities. The author also mentions that a zoning by-law was approved by City Council. In the early 2000s, various political changes have taken place. All of that led to the reintegration of Regent Park and Toronto.

Shawn Micallef demonstrates the process of the growth, development and integration of Regent Park. This piece of writing shows how residents cohesion, their cooperation with the authorities, foundation of a Social Development Plan, zoning by-law and other political reforms contributed to the social unity and economic development of Regent Park.