Regent's Canal Infrastructure

Why was Regent's Canal built and what was it used for?
I believe that the canal was used to ship goods locally in London. The Regent's Canal was built to link the Grand Junction Canal's Paddington Arm with the Thames at Limehouse. It was opened in two stages, from Paddington to Camden in 1816, and the rest of the canal in 1820. When building the canal, there were two serious setbacks and a shortage of money which delayed the completion of the canal. First there were design failures, then the embezzlement of funds. The canal was also short of water supplies. Due to the water shortage, it was necessary to dam the river Brent to create a reservoir to provide for the canals, and so several basins were built over the years.
The goods carried on the Canal was principally coal and building materials. The main center of trade was the Regent's Canal Dock, this was a point for cargo to be unloaded onto canal boats. Cargo from abroad, was unloaded there and continued its journey on barges. The City Road Basin was the second most important traffic center, handling incoming inland freight. The opening of the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838 actually increased the tonnage of coal carried by the canal. However, with trade lost to the railways, and more deliveries made by road, the canal unfortunately fell into a long decline.
Today, the Canal has become much more public. An increase of cyclists and pedestrians on the canal's towpath has created a different route for commuters.

Information found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent%27s_Canal as well as, http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/history/regents.htm