grantor:
University of TorontoThis thesis explores the meaning and the usefulness of the spatial metaphor 'margin' in urban social geography. I analyze a downtown neighborhood of Toronto in light of the modernist, postmodernist and border interpretations of the margin. My study of the contrasting yet juxtaposed communities of Regent Park (a public housing project) and of Cabbagetown (a gentrified area) leads me to conclude that the margin is a multiple, flexible space where groups with unequal power meet, come into conflict and negotiate. Through this research, I examine the links between power relations, the production of space and the politics of representation. Drawing on government reports, newspaper articles, and personal interviews, I investigate the urban planning policies that have shaped the neighborhood since the late 1940's, the shifts in the media image of each community, and the struggles of their respective populations.M.A
