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Prior to the construction of the Regent Park, Canada's first and largest social housing community, the area bounded by Parliament St. (West), Shuter St. (South), River St. (East), and Gerrard St. (North) was considered by city officials to be a slum. The Housing Authority of Toronto was inspired by Ebenezer Howard's Garden City movement in the UK and produced a plan to build a modern, pleasant, car-free neighbourhood that would replace the existing row houses. With little financial support from the government, the 10-year project began in 1947, funded primarily through City tax revenues. Architect J.E Hoare designed the new neighbourhood as a series of three- and six-story walk-ups and townhouses clustered around small parkettes. The first residents consisted of "working poor" and were those displaced by the initial construction. The housing south of Dundas (Regent Park South) was completed in 1959 but tenant selection here focused more on income level than it did in the northern end. Regent Park's design isolated it from the city - with inner streets that did not connect to main thoroughfares, making it hard for emergency services and visitors to gain easy access. In 2005, the city developed a plan to rebuild Regent Park, restoring former street patterns and including housing better reflecting the neighbourhood. The goal of the revitalization is to modernize Regent Park, with both mixed-income and rent-geared-to-income housing co-existing to foster a healthier community.