Regent Park’s Social Development Plan (SDP) - What is it?

The Regent Park Social development plan is a plan that ensures that old and new residents alike would be engaged and feel part of the community.

As anyone who has been living in and frequenting downtown Toronto over the past 15 to 20 years, you may have noticed that Regent Park has been going through a significant large-scale revitalization. Once entirely made up of social housing managed by Toronto Community Housing, the neighbourhood is now entering the final 4th and 5th phases of physical revitalization. The physical development plan seeks to transform Regent Park into a new, integrated and thriving mixed-income community boasting new Toronto Community Housing (TCH) buildings, multiple new market rent condos, state of the art sports and recreational facilities as well as new businesses and streets.

The Regent Park Revitalization process is unmatched not only due to its large-scale build over multiple decades but also for its support for a social development plan that accompanies the physical development plan. This need derived from observing the failure of other large-scale urban development projects in United States and elsewhere in the world, in which

neighbourhoods were gentrified often at the expense of exclusion and displacement of former low-income residents. The Regent Park Social Development Plan would ensure that old and new residents alike would be engaged and feel part of the community in its new reiteration.

Thus, the Regent Park Revitalization was envisioned as a two-tier process, encompassing a physical development process governing the physical construction of buildings and facilities, as well as, a social development process governing social activities related to fostering social cohesion and social inclusion.

This social aspect of the revitalization is known as the Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP). The Regent Park Social Development Plan was initially formed at the start of revitalization in back in 2007, through a community led process involving residents and agencies. Unfortunately, while everyone was in support of the SDP, the financial resources needed to implement the plan, was never received. That is until recently in 2019, when Toronto City Council approved the funding of a revamped plan submitted by the community. The approval of five years of funding from the City along with commitments of additional funding from TCH development partners, was the result of persistent and organized community advocacy.

Today, fully supported by the City and TCH, the refreshed SDP looks to thoroughly include the participation of residents, community leaders and other stakeholders in collectively defining the areas of social development that need addressing in the community.

The Four Pillars and working committees of the SDP:

The SDP structure was imagined through a process of community consultation pertaining to four of the most pressing issues in the neighbourhood (Community Building, Safety, Communication and Employment & Economic Development). Four main working groups were formed to address these issues. Each group is composed of stakeholders of the revitalization process (residents - market and TCH, community and grassroots organizations and businesses). Anyone who lives or is part of the community is welcome to participate in any of these groups. Here are the goals of each of the working groups.

Community Building Working Group

Goal: “Create and organize equitable spaces, events and groups that bring residents together and build bridges, particularly between market and TCH residents.

“Create welcoming spaces for residents of all backgrounds and income levels to come together by removing social and physical barriers.”

Economic Development and Employment Working Group

Goal: “Increase employment rates and entrepreneurial opportunities for local residents”

Safety Working Group

Goal: “Create the reality and the perception that Regent Park is a safe space for everybody.”

Communications Working Group

Goal: “Make information easily accessible for everyone in the community.”

The SDP Planning Committee:

To support the four working groups and to assist in the coordination of activities there is a SDP Planning Committee. The SDP Planning committee is comprised of the chairs and co-chairs of each of the working groups and representatives from the City of Toronto and TCH. In addition, any member of the SDP stakeholders table (see below) can participate on the SDP Planning Committee.

The SDP Stakeholder’s Table:

The Stakeholder’s Table is part of the SDPs governance structure and it is the body which connects all the members of the SDP Working Groups (or 4 pillars) including the SDP Planning Committee and other stakeholders like the City of Toronto, TCH and the development partners. The SDP Stakeholder’s includes participation from individual market and TCH residents, grassroots groups, organizations and local businesses. The table is also the place where big decisions regarding the SDP and its process are made and updated information is shared. The SDP Stakeholders Table is tasked with identifying SDP priorities and working with funders to allocate financial resources that are committed to the SDP.

SDP Funding Commitments:

Below are the funding commitments made to the SDP to date.

$2.5 million dollars were approved for programming and capacity building initiatives over a 5-year span to initiatives addressing SDP areas related to employment, community building, communication and safety.

$250 thousand dollars private donation from Chris Brillinger, a former Toronto executive director of social development, finance and administration

$50 thousand dollar SDP operation funds relate to coordination

26.75 million dollars of funding was also secured at the end of 2020 through the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association Community Benefits Coalition from Tridell Builders Inc. who was chosen as TCH developer partner and construction manager for Phases 4 and 5 of the Regent Park revitalization

United Way Social Impact funds towards SDP.

Get Involved:

To get involved or to find out more about the Regent Park SDP contact RPNA or

Lindsay Jackson
Pronouns: She/Her
Community Development Worker
Social Development, Finance & Administration, City of Toronto
Community Development Unit
Email: Lindsay.Jackson@toronto.ca

Written by
Ana Higuera

Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre