Defining the focus of the 6th State of the Inner City Report unfolded as it does every year. We began the process by meeting with representatives from various organizations working in the inner city. Some of our partners have participated in the State of the Inner City since we began the process in early 2005. Others have more recently become involved. What has been consistent each and every year is that the individuals and organizations who have contributed are deeply committed to improving the quality of life for individuals and families living and working in the inner city.
Housing and homelessness
In a recent editorial (“Aboriginal HIV Rates Disturbing”) the Winnipeg Free Press expressed concern about the rising incidence of HIV infection in, among other places, Winnipeg’s inner city. There, “social and economic conditions make people easy prey” for HIV infection. The editorial called for a “vigorous response” to these problems.
The Nova Scotia Government’s 2009 Poverty Reduction Strategy1 sets out dual goals of reducing poverty and creating opportunities for prosperity. Inherent in this vision is an understanding that when we help those in need, we make Nova Scotia a better place to live for everyone. As has been so aptly demonstrated by the research of Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in their book The Spirit Level2, money spent on reducing poverty and inequality is an investment in all of our futures.
A few weeks ago an acquaintance of mine received notice that the Osborne Village apartment building where she has lived with her partner and two children for the past 5 years, will be registered under Manitoba’s Condominium Act. If and when they proceed with converting the rental units to condominiums, tenants will be given 5 months notice to find alternative accommodations. She tells me she may as well be given a day’s notice because there are simply no 3 bedroom rental units available at a rate that her family can afford.
The thought of being bitten in the night by tiny, blood-sucking bed bugs is enough to make anyone cringe. But bed bugs are making an international comeback—to the point where a global “bed bug pandemic” is predicted.
(Vancouver) A new report shows that despite some positive recent developments on rental assistance and homelessness, BC’s progress in building new social housing units has been minimal.
Unpacking the Housing Numbers: How Much New Social Housing is BC Building? is being released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Social Planning and Research Council of BC. The authors conducted a detailed examination of BC Housing’s service plans for 2006 to 2011.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a study showing that, for the first time in 30 years, six red-hot real estate markets are in a synchronized housing bubble. The Centre’s Trish Hennessy interviewed the study’s author, CCPA Research Associate David Macdonald, to learn more about the problem.
For the first time in 30 years, six of Canada's hottest real estate markets are in a housing bubble. This study examines trends in house prices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa between 1980 and 2010 and finds price increases in those cities are outside of a historic comfort level.
OTTAWA – For the first time in 30 years, a synchronized housing bubble has spread to six red-hot real estate markets in Canada, says a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
Canada’s Housing Bubble: An Accident Waiting to Happen examines trends in house prices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa between 1980 and 2010 and finds price increases in those cities are outside of a historic comfort level.