‘It's good, at the same time bad’: Youth voice on a major social housing redevelopment project in Canada

Abstract

Focusing on young people in Regent Park, Canada's first social housing project, this study emerged from a collaboration between university and community partners. It aimed to unpack young people's placemaking, exploring how they define and relate to their neighbourhood amidst the largest urban redevelopment in Canadian history. Following the community engagement in research (CEnR) framework and Freire's critical pedagogy, this study used arts-based methods, including photovoice, photo elicitation, and neighbourhood mapping, with youth in Regent Park. Youth contributed to the study analysis through participating in photovoice activities. Thematic analysis was used to further solidify study findings. Five themes were generated: (1) a community-like home and family, (2) organizations and physical spaces as resources, (3) good memories, (4) everyday life in Regent Park, and (5) redevelopment and neighbourhood safety as challenges. Despite the disruptions caused by the housing redevelopment, youth emphasized their sense of community, belonging, as well as their connections with the community. The findings contribute to placemaking literature in the context of social housing. Youth insight render practical and research implications. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.