INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF “NEIGHBOURHOOD REVITALIZATION” ON RESIDENTS’ DESTIGMATIZATION PRACTICES, HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN TORONTO’S REGENT PARK COMMUNITY

Abstract

<p>Social housing residents’ lived experiences and understandings of their neighbourhood and home are key factors influencing their health and wellbeing, but remain under-examined in the urban redevelopment literature. This thesis investigates the ways in which people living in Toronto’s Regent Park, Canada’s oldest and largest social housing development undergoing “neighbourhood revitalization,” experience their community and respond to neighbourhood stigma. Drawing on Lamont’s (2009) destigmatization practices concept, the aim of this study was to understand “neighbourhood revitalization” as a place destigmatization strategy that may influence the ways in which residents engage in personal destigmatization practices as well as affect their perceived health and wellbeing. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 Regent Park residents and NVivo 9 software was used for data analysis. Findings show that participants utilize various counter-narratives as destigmatization practices that challenge dominant narratives and stereotypical representations of their neighbourhood. However, since re-housing in revitalized buildings, participants’ narratives describing their neighbourhood have changed and may further stigmatize some Regent Park residents. Counter-narratives may be implicitly linked to resiliency and wellbeing, while place destigmatization through revitalization was strongly associated to residents’ perceived improvements in health and wellbeing. The findings of this thesis may contribute to the developing literature on the impacts of urban redevelopment on residents’ health and wellbeing.</p>