TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rhythms of Change, the new book by Mitchell Cohen – social activist, musician and president and CEO of The Daniels Corporation (Daniels) – draws from Cohen’s personal reflections on the 18-year transformation of Toronto’s Regent Park, in partnership with Toronto Community Housing (TCHC). Gaining international acclaim as a groundbreaking blueprint for community-led urban transformation, Rhythms of Change offers insights for cities around the world. Recognized by UN-Habitat at the 12th annual World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt on November 5th, Rhythms of Change also recently achieved bestseller status on Amazon, underscoring its influence and relevance.
At the book’s recent launch event, Mitchell Cohen reflected on the importance of Regent Park’s unique transformation: “For most of us, the concept of urban renewal is certainly nothing new,” he shared with the audience. “Over the years, we’ve all seen or read about urban renewal projects that reflect a heavy-handed, top-down process. The Regent Park revitalization turned that practice on its head, putting local voices and aspirations at the top of the agenda.”
The book chronicles the remarkable journey of Regent Park, Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project, originally designed in the 1940s under a “garden city” model. However, this planning approach ultimately isolated the neighbourhood, leaving it stigmatized and disconnected from surrounding areas. Through Rhythms of Change, Mitchell shares how the revitalization reversed these issues by focusing on resident rights, specifically with principles like the “right of return,” which ensured that displaced residents would have the opportunity to come back to a newly built home in their community.
“Rhythms of Change tells both a business and a political story,” Cohen explained, “but most importantly, the book tells a community story. It is about how local residents came together in the mid-1990s to envision a better future—a better quality of life for themselves, their families and their neighborhood.”
In addition to exploring the human impact of Regent Park’s revitalization, the book also details the public-private partnerships between Daniels and TCHC that powered this massive transformation. Cohen emphasizes the collaborative approach taken with residents, stakeholders and city officials to create a “complete community” with a mix of tenures, incomes and uses. These features have helped Regent Park become a thriving, inclusive community where diversity and quality of life are celebrated.
“Regent Park is a real-time demonstration of how a stigmatized urban neighbourhood can be reimagined and transformed, setting a new global gold standard for inclusive urban revitalization. It is also a place where everyone is welcome, and where quality of life rivals that of any neighborhood in the world,” Cohen added.
Reflecting on the profound lessons learned through the process, Cohen hopes that readers of Rhythms of Change will be inspired to become agents of positive change within their own communities. “I hope that people reading this book will recognize their unique potential to become an agent of change and, like the residents of Regent Park, harness that potential to build healthy and sustainable neighbourhoods in which everyone is welcome, and everyone belongs.”
Rhythms of Change, Reflections on the Regent Park Revitalization is essential reading for anyone looking to be inspired, informed and actively engaged in shaping the future of their communities.
Rhythms of Change is now available at Amazon, Indigo and local book stores.
Praise for Rhythms of Change: Reflections on the Regent Park Revitalization:
“Rhythms of Change is a magnificent tour de force, reflecting personal experiences and those of so many comrades who brought the world’s largest mixed-income social housing transformation to life.”
– Mark L. Joseph, PhD, Founding Director, National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities, Leona Bevis and Marguerite Haynam Professor of Community Development, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University
"This book is a revolutionary ray of sunshine. Mitchell Cohen’s herculean story of the revitalization of Regent Park provides an antidote to a world weighed down by seemingly insurmountable social problems. Read it and reignite your idealism."
– Denise Donlon, CM, music and media executive
"Rhythms of Change chronicles the Regent Park revitalization story, but also the personal journey of a true champion of progressive urban change. This gem of a book is essential reading for anyone interested in building strong, resilient communities."
– Meric Gertler, president, University of Toronto
"Mitchell Cohen’s insights remind us of the need for both long-term vision and short-term pragmatism. His confidence in humanity, his dedication and persistence in building trust are needed now as never before."
– Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, 2014–2023
About the Author:
Mitchell Cohen, CM, is president and CEO of The Daniels Corporation, steering the organization’s strategic and long-term vision since 1984. Under his leadership, Daniels has become known for building residential offerings for people at all stages of life, and for its commitment to building a healthy social infrastructure within each new community. Over the past four decades the company has also created innovative affordable rental programs as well as programs that help tenants become first-time homeowners.
Cohen has a Masters in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from McGill University. In 2019, Cohen was appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of his "contributions to urban development and for his commitment to community building.”
In 2013, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition, Cohen has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and an Award of Merit from the St. George’s Society.
A songwriter and musician as well as a socially conscious real estate developer, Cohen seamlessly bridges the intersection of business and the arts.
About The Daniels Corporation:
The Daniels Corporation is one of Canada’s pre-eminent builders/developers, building nearly 40,000 new homes across the Greater Toronto Area for over 40 years. Daniels is the developer of TIFF Lightbox in Toronto’s Entertainment District and the City of the Arts community on Toronto’s East Bayfront. Among its many initiatives, Daniels partnered with Toronto Community Housing to revitalize 53 of the 69-acre Regent Park community in Toronto. Regent Park is home to the World Urban Pavilion, a collaboration between the Urban Economy Forum, UN Habitat, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Daniels. Understanding that quality of life is created by much more than physical buildings, Daniels goes above and beyond to integrate building excellence with opportunities for social, cultural, and economic well-being.
