The World Urban Pavilion
in Regent Park Powered by Daniels
Announcement
November 12, 2020
Toronto, Canada, November 2020 – Urban Economy Forum, alongside its global and local partners, UN-Habitat, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – Government of Canada, City of Toronto, Regent Park community and the Daniels Corporation announced the Regent Park World Urban Pavilion (The Pavilion). The international announcement was heralded as the next chapter for transformation toward sustainable urbanization, as the Pavilion partners expressed their excitement for this global collaboration.
Marci Ien, the newly elected MP of Toronto Centre, emceed the event and welcomed speakers to share their hopes and vision for The Pavilion.
The Pavilion will be a global knowledge exchange hub focusing on best practices in inclusive urban development. It will share science, research and innovation, supporting cities and countries around the world to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 by 2030.
The Pavilion will exist virtually and physically. It will be an excellent addition to Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood and highlight the world-renowned revitalization as an example of how a challenged neighbourhood can be re-imagined and transformed.
Ibrahim Afrah, a representative of the Regent Park community also shared his hopes for The Pavilion and what it means “in helping to shape the story of [Regent Park] community”. Afrah welcomed The Pavilion as a new neighbour to the community and encouraged everyone to come down and experience it for themselves.
For the Pavilion’s success, the Regent Park community will play an integral role. The Pavilion will show how important it is to learn from and work with the local community to understand and build bottom up approaches to urban regeneration.
Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and a previous resident of Regent Park neighbourhood shared his personal connection to the community and how it “gave [him] a sense of belonging”. The Minister emphasized how important it was that Regent Park’s revitalization was not just about the buildings, but also “empowering and involving the residents” in the process.
The Minister also stated that The Pavilion will highlight the importance of housing in reaching the UN's Sustainable Development Goals that Canada has committed to. The Government of Canada will contribute $1 Million to develop The Pavilion and $1.25 Million for programming.
Mayor John Tory opened his remarks by echoing Mr. Afrah’s invitation to visit Regent Park to experience the remarkable change that has happened over the last 10-15 years. “Regent Park is now a vibrant mix of communities, townhouses, condos, and rental housing” he said, “and is supported by a commitment of employers”. Moreover, “the development of Regent Park has become a stable in the city and a global example of good city planning and development”.
“Bringing the World Urban Pavilion to Toronto is a demonstration of the city’s leadership and how you can get things done when we all work together”, said Mayor Tory, who was excited for the opportunities that The Pavilion will bring. The mayor closed by saying, “we are going to host the world [in Toronto] to talk about urban innovation”.
Eduardo Lopez Moreno, Director of Knowledge and Innovation, UN-Habitat, took the floor to share his vision for the extraordinary announcement of Regent Park World Urban Pavilion. Moreno stated, “this partnership will set the City of Toronto as a global hub for social change, institutional change and urban transformation. A place to rethink about the importance of urban value and for the realization of Sustainable Development Goals in cities”.
Moreno, alongside other speakers, reminded everyone about the long history between UN-Habitat and Canada, which began over 44 years ago in Vancouver, British Columbia where UN-Habitat was born. Moreno, while looking forward to this new collaboration with Canadian Government, also welcomed Canadian municipalities to become part of The Pavilion’s global network to learn and share with each other.
Reza Pourvaziry, Chair of Urban Economy Forum, shared what The Pavilion means to him and for the world. Pourvaziry reminded participants about current challenges the urban world is facing as our contemporary lifestyles push the planet’s natural limits. He said, “as a global community we need to change the paradigm of urbanism, focusing on public engagement, global movements and social transformation through international collaboration”. The Pavilion will be at the forefront of this endeavour.
Pourvaziry further expressed his gratitude to each of The Pavilion partners as it could not have been realized without their continuous support and encouragement. “There is a role for everyone in this journey.”
The Press Release for this announcement can be downloaded and distributed by clicking
here.
“Today’s announcement is a step forward for housing. The world will be coming to Regent Park through this partnership with UN-Habitat and the Urban Economy Forum. There is so much we can learn from each other in terms of urban development, and the World Urban Pavilion will be an opportunity to showcase our own practices while learning from others around the globe.”
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
“I am proud that Toronto will be the new home of the World Urban Pavillion so that we can lead on a global stage when comes to urban development. I am pleased that the site will be in the heart of Regent Park which has been a development that has demonstrated Toronto’s excellence when it comes to city and urban planning. I look forward to seeing the new ideas and solutions that will come out of this space and the collaborative work that will occur with other leaders and countries from around the world.”
– John Tory, Mayor, City of Toronto
"The Sustainable Development Goals Cities Pavilion in Regent Park will provide sustainable and innovative urban solutions and capacity development to strengthen cities and countries to respond effectively to the challenges of urbanization, opportunities of urbanization and equitable and inclusive access to achieve shared prosperity for all."
- Eduardo Moreno, Head of Knowledge and Innovation, Director of Mexico and Cuba Region, UN-Habitat
“Together, with CMHC and UN-Habitat, we have, for the past year, nurtured the idea to establish the World Urban Pavilion in Toronto’s Regent Park based on the resolution of UEFs annual forum. With today’s announcement, we are taking a great leap forward in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11. The Pavilion will engage with cities, civil society, UN agencies and international organizations to drive transformation toward sustainable urban paradigms and lifestyles. Regent Park will be home to the Pavilion, where we will be able to highlight the lessons learned from the neighourbhood’s revitalization and share them with cities around the world to pioneer global campaigns and pilot projects to test new and innovative ideas in urban development.”
- Reza Pourvaziry Chair, Urban Economy Forum
“The Daniels Corporation is thrilled to welcome the World Urban Pavilion by UN-Habitat to Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood. We commend Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, UN-Habitat and the Urban Economy Forum for creating a knowledge exchange hub which will project best practices in sustainable, inclusive urban development around the world.”
– Heela Omarkhail, Vice President Social Impact, The Daniels Corporation