Rhythms of Change by Viktoria Skaper

Rhythms of Change

In the early 2000s, a remarkable renewal of Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood began. Designed as a “garden city” in the 1940s, the area gained a reputation over the decades as a “no go” zone. In 2005, Toronto’s City Council approved a revitalization that would effectively turn Regent Park into one of the city’s “go to” neighbourhoods. Through captivating narrative that transcends urban planning, architecture, community development, and business, Rhythms of Change explores the revitalization journey through the eyes of Mitchell Cohen—a social activist, a musician, and the visionary CEO of The Daniels Corporation. The Regent Park revitalization is now the gold standard for reimagining and transforming stigmatized neighbourhoods. Cohen’s firsthand account unveils key elements underlying an extraordinary metamorphosis into a healthy, resilient, and inclusive community. Rhythms of Change brings you into the heart of strategic decision-making. It explores possibility, is a testament to the resilience of local residents facing upheaval, and offers a roadmap for those eager for positive changes within their communities. Regent Park’s success is a world-renowned phenomenon. This extraordinary neighbourhood has become home to the World Urban Pavilion—a global Knowledge Exchange Hub established by UN Habitat, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Urban Economy Forum, sharing transformative city-building practices internationally. Rhythms of Change is a must-read for anyone eager to be inspired, enlightened, and engaged in the change they wish to see in our cities.

Reviews

Cohen chronicles the revitalization of Toronto’s Regent Park in this inspiring debut, as he walks readers through his team’s efforts to redevelop a neighborhood that had become “isolated and deeply stigmatized throughout the city.” The revitalization takes place in three phases, as Cohen lays out the groundwork of a community effort—including residents, housing committees, and city officials—to transform a “challenged inner-city” while ensuring minimal disruption to the area’s residents. Throughout, Cohen poses the question: "Is revitalization a genuine attempt at redevelopment that respects the people and history of a community . . . or is it simply gentrification in disguise?"

In addition to details on the housing project, Cohen shares his upbringing, love for music, and memorable behind-the-scenes footage that spotlights gentrification’s impact, the crucial need for affordable housing, and how to obtain government assistance for areas suffering from "deteriorating living conditions." During Regent Park’s revitalization process, the original residents were factored into the discussion and given a voice in their neighborhood’s renovations, a point Cohen lovingly emphasizes—alongside the insider’s glimpse he gives readers of the day-to-day procedures that come with rebuilding a neighborhood: obtaining permits, gaining (and losing) funding, and adjusting construction timelines. "Although not everyone was happy with the choices, the key was that they had choice, rather than an ultimatum,” Cohen writes.

Regent Park is now “the gold standard” for revitalizing neighborhoods according to Cohen, and, as he shares the project’s wins and setbacks, he also details its inspiration for his songwriting—and eventual musical production, in The Journey Musical. Cohen’s revitalization blueprint unfolds through the project photographs he includes as much as it does through the text, and, though Regent Park is not yet fully completed, his vision surpasses just one neighborhood, bounding onto an international stage where “strong, inclusive communities… [in which] everyone has an opportunity to learn, grow, work, and prosper” steal the spotlight.

Takeaway: Powerful testimony of revitalization done in partnership with impacted residents.

Comparable Titles: Ronald R. Sundstrom's Just Shelter, Willow S. Lung-Amam's The Right to Suburbia.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

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