Public project, private developer: Understanding the impact of local policy frameworks on the public-private housing redevelopment of Regent Park in Toronto, Ontari

This thesis examines Regent Park, a public housing community in Toronto, Ontario undergoing mixed-income revitalization through a public-private partnership (3P) since 2006. Much of the existing literature has studied the Regent Park revitalization from the perspective of public housing tenants, conceptualizing the project as a continuation of redevelopment efforts in the United States. However, this approach neglects the unique Canadian policy context and the point-of-view of industry professionals involved in the development process. Using Toronto as the primary lens of geographic analysis to study the revitalization, a qualitative, mixed-methods approach was employed in this thesis to focus on the local policy context and perspective of individuals involved in the Regent Park redevelopment process. Data was gathered, primarily, through interviews with 25 public and private sector professionals. Subsequent analysis generated several findings and recommendations for application at Regent Park and 3P redevelopment efforts in Toronto and other cities. Where many recent studies depict the Regent Park revitalization as having an overall negative outcome for public housing tenants and other public shareholders, this thesis, in contrast, found that the project is delivering notable social benefits to Regent Park and surrounding communities, while avoiding the displacement of low-income residents characteristic of public housing redevelopment in the US. Western governments have increasingly partnered with the private sector to deliver services and infrastructure over the last 30 years. It is therefore imperative to explore a diversity of perspectives to improve the outcomes of 3P social service delivery in the future, as this thesis does by understanding the viewpoints of development industry professionals in Toronto.