Introducing Urban Renewal - the Board Game

Since it was so much fun when it occurred half a century ago, artist Flavio Trevisan has decided to create a way for you to play Moses (Robert, that is) with the fate of Toronto’s Regent Park neighborhood, in the comfort of your home.

1 minute read

August 16, 2012, 1:00 PM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


AJ Artemel dishes on Toronto-based artist Flavio Trevisan's art piece/board game The Game of Urban Renewal, which allows participants to play with the fate of Regent Park, "an intense locus of the city's urban renewal efforts since 1947."

"In the game, players can assume one of the following roles: City
Councilor, Developer, Community Activist, City Planning Employee,
Man-On-The-Street, Academic Urban Theorist, Resident of Existing
Development to be Demolished, Mayor, Random Federal Politician,
Skyscraper Enthusiast, or Garbage Man," explains Artemel. "They take turns spinning the
‘Decision Engine Wheel' which gives them license to place various types
of development (condominium, office, commercial, park, etc.) on the
board. Sometimes, players are given the option to bulldoze development,
in which case they can use the ‘Tabula Rasa Rake' to sweep any amount of
placed development from the board. As all of this happens, the city
evolves."

Wednesday, August 15, 2012 in Architizer

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