Putting in Condos Without Kicking Out Renters in Vancouver

Transit oriented development doesn’t have to mean evictions and demolitions for existing renters, but often it does.

1 minute read

March 5, 2019, 11:00 AM PST

By Casey Brazeal @northandclark


Baltimore Demolition

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New condominium developments in Vancouver are forcing unnecessary displacement, Christopher Cheung argues in a piece for Tyee. He contends that there is room in the city for more density and new condos, if developers are encouraged to target less dense areas. "Data analyst Jens von Bergmann and transportation planner Denis Agar created visualizations of census data and found that many residential areas already served by frequent transit could handle more density with less displacement," Cheung reports.

Dense areas in Vancouver have been sites of more affordable communities, "But when the market tipped into favouring condos, Shakel was demovicted. The newcomers who bought in the condo building that replaced her home included company presidents and business managers," Cheung writes. If instead of targeting rental properties, developers looked to build up owner occupied housing, they would be dealing on more even footing with a community less vulnerable to displacement.

Monday, February 25, 2019 in The Tyee

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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