Free Screening of Archival Docs About Regent Park December 14, 2006

The Regent Park Revitalization Plan: positive solution or potential disaster?

Streets to Screens, the fundraising film series of the Toronto Public Space Committee, is proud to present a free screening of short documentary films on the subject of Regent Park and other planned affordable housing projects. Do they work? What can the city of Toronto learn as it embarks on the extensive revitalization of Canada's oldest publicly-funded housing community? Presented in cooperation with the National Film Board and the Toronto Free Gallery, these archival NFB films will explore the potential pitfalls of planning neighbourhoods, with a specific focus on Regent Park. From a fascinating 1961 promotional film extolling the virtues of Toronto's "slum clearance" plan to the acclaimed 1994 documentary Return to Regent Park, which asks the residents of Regent Park where the city's plan went wrong, the screening will raise tough questions about Toronto's policy on affordable housing. Also screening are "No Fitting Habitat," a thorough exploration of troubled planned neighbourhoods throughout history, and "Little Burgundy," a heart-wrenching tale of Montrealers who were uprooted to make way for a planned neighbourhood and decided to do something about it.

The screening takes place on Thursday, December 14th at 7:30 p.m. at the Toronto Free Gallery, located at 660 Queen Street East . Thanks to the very generous support of the NFB and the TFG, the screenings will be absolutely free, with a suggested donation of $3 to the Toronto Public Space Committee.

Official Website: http://www.streetstoscreens.ca