Regent Park

Regent Park, built in the late 1940's as Canada's first public housing project, is currently in phase 3 of a 5 phase, $1 billion revitalization project that began in 2005.
 
With its proximity to the downtown core, and extensive redesign, Regent Park is blossoming into perhaps Toronto's most improved neighbourhood. 
 
In the early 1900's, this area was home to many new Canadians, largely from Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe. Concern over crime and social problems in the area, as well as substandard housing, led to plans for affordable housing, which began in the late 1940's and continued into the 1950's and 60's. 
 
Changes to the Canadian immigration system in the 1960s led to an influx of new Canadians from the Caribbean, China and Southeast Asia.
 
By the mid 1960's, the affordable housing projects of the late 1940's had come under disrepair, and social problems reemerged.
 
In the early 2000s, a new redevelopment plan for Regent Park was implemented.
 
The new Regent Park Community Centre, featured in this design, is the hub of this community. In addition to recreational facilities this centre includes an employment centre, a teaching kitchen, community hall, meeting rooms, a rooftop garden, and is attached to the Nelson Mandela Park Public School and the Nelson Mandela Child Care Centre.