A CHANGING PARKDALE
"A Vanishing Parkdale"
In a recent Toronto Star article Katherine Porter observed that in Parkdale, "the trendy coffee shops and deluxe baby strollers have started to move in, and rooming houses are being converted into $1-million single-family homes.”
The neighbourhood is changing. Signs of gentrification are everywhere: rising property values, new high-priced boutiques and upscale restaurants. Many long-term residents of the area are experiencing these changes as fierce pressures that may force them to surrender their homes and communities.
This photo-essay strives to capture the people and places threatened by economic and cultural redevelopment. By combining pictures with the voices of local residents it aims to tell the story of Parkdale’s changing spaces and social relationships. Working in collaboration with the Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust, Andrew Winchur and Lauren Kolyn will interview and photograph the lives of local stakeholders and residents to tell the personal side of urban transformation.
The Project
The Collaborators
Lauren Kolyn is a photographer based in Toronto, Canada. Her work is influenced by natural and human landscapes and focuses on the relationship between people and place. Slightly voyeuristic in her approach, Lauren’s photographs demonstrate her fascination with the intersection of human behaviour and [physical] space and explores the intimate connections between them.
Andrew Winchur's writing has appeared in journals such as CineAction and Red Pepper, as well as Pique, an online arts project spearheaded by local videographer Imad Elsheikh. He completed a Masters in Environmental Studies at York University in 2016.