The Poverty Beneath the Rings

Posted by: Nate Berg

8 February 2010 - 5:00am

Vancouver is playing host to the Winter Olympics beginning later this week. It's a city admired across North America. But it's also home to a pocket of severe poverty and homelessness.

The New York Times explores life in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, where drugs and homelessness are pervasive. The area is just a short walk from the site of the Games' opening ceremonies and has been a challenge for local officials as they prepare to host the international event.

"By bidding for the Olympics, Vancouver invited the world to visit. Now city officials are trying to redirect the international news media spotlight from this blighted neighborhood in the shadows of the picturesque North Shore Mountains."

Full Story: In the Shadow of the Olympics

Source: The New York Times, February 4, 2010