Sex and the Revitalized City: Gender, Condominium Development, and Urban Citizenship

When a recent wave of condominium development overtook Toronto, women emerged as powerful consumers, and reports claimed that home ownership was offering young, single women freedom, financial independence, and personal security. Sex and the Revitalized City examines the truth of these claims by exploring the phenomenon from the perspective of women condo owners and planners and developers. This fresh perspective on urban revitalization reveals that condo ownership is not freeing women from constraints - neoliberal ideologies are remaking women’s relationship with the city in the image of fast capital and consumer citizenship. Women’s emancipation through condominium ownership is a marketing ploy rather than a major shift in gender relations.