Village Ghetto Land

Myth, Social Conditions, and Housing Policy in Parkdale, Toronto, 1879–2000

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6404471
AutoresCarolyn Whitzman (0000-0001-8544-0328, The University of Melbourne), Tom Slater (0000-0003-3840-2454, University of Bristol)
Año2006
Volumen41
Número5
Páginas673-696
Fecha de publicación2006-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaUrban Affairs Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1078-0874 • E-ISSN: 1552-8332
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1078087405284673
OpenAlexW2047464209
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas16
Referencias citadas34

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how historical narratives such as wealthy “suburb,” declining “slum,” and resurgent “village” can have little basis in the social conditions of the time they purport to represent, yet be used to justify urban policy and planning decisions. In a case study of Parkdale, Toronto, we show how a history of the neighborhood was constructed in the 1970s by using a selective reading of the historic record, and then show how this mythical narrative has recently been used to legitimize the gentrification of the neighborhood. We also construct an alternative narrative of persistent housing diversity in the face of opposition over 125 years, which might justify a different set of local government policies that recognizes the continuity of inexpensive rental housing options and seeks to preserve and enhance these options

Diversity (politics · Economic growth · Economics · Face (sociological concept · Gentrification · Narrative · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public housing · Renting · Slum · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Urban Planning and Governance · Urbanization and City Planning