Abstract
Regent Park, a multi ethnic immigrant community situated in the centre of downtown Toronto, is the poorest neighbourhood in Canada. Using the spatial triadic theory of French Marxist Henri Lefebvre, Vanessa Rosa’s reformulation of his theory and Sherene Razack’s concept of “Place becomes Race”, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that Regent Park has become a racially produced space through spatial practice, representations of space and representational spaces. In addition to Lefebvre, the writings of Frederick Engels, Louis Althusser, Antonio Gramsci and David Harvey will also be examined to put into context the historical significance of the existence of Regent Park in a capitalist society. This paper will analyze why Regent Park was built, who developed it, and who were the original residents. And the conclusion, that Regent Park was produced as a marginalized and racialized space within the periphery of the center, will be discussed.
Highlights
Regent Park is regarded as one of the most documented neighbourhoods in all of Canada
A lot has been written on the geography, economics and politics of Regent Park, little has been documented in regards to the marginalization and racialization of Regent Park from a Marxist perspective
What constitutes a failure can be relative, this paper, through the use of existing literature as well as original research, will demonstrate that Regent Park can be undoubtedly regarded as a failure due to how Regent Park was/is perceived by its residents, conceived by the state and media and through the directly lived space of everyday experience in Regent Park
Summary
Regent Park is regarded as one of the most documented neighbourhoods in all of Canada. A lot has been written on the geography, economics and politics of Regent Park, little has been documented in regards to the marginalization and racialization of Regent Park from a Marxist perspective. With the exception of Vanessa Rosa (2006), little work has been done linking race and the production of space in Regent Park. This is the central theme of this paper. Using the theories of classical as well as contemporary Marxists, this paper will “unmap” Regent Park and reveal its “unnatural” production. Regent Park was not conceived by accident. It was planned, developed, constructed and maintained through a specific design. The aim of this research is to understand why Regent Park was built, who built it and for whom
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
