Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple
It's the unfortunate reality. It is no one's right to get to live in the city centre of the third largest city in province, as so many housing advocates seem to believe. You want to live in the city centre with all the amenities, shops, parks, restaurants and bars, then you have to pay a premium for that. It's market driven. The going rate for rent is directly decided by the market demand. If someone is willing to pay 2000 dollars per month for a one bedroom downtown, then that is what a one bedroom downtown is worth.
I also don't think less fortunate people getting pushed out is necessarily a bad thing either. They will move to places where rent is more affordable for them, and in a way revitalize that area too.
The fact is this city is seeing massive changes, and a massive influx of new residents to the core. This is an amazing thing that hasn't happened here in literally decades.
|
The counterpoint, though, is that wealthier residents are able to be more mobile than lower income ones. They can afford to own a car (be it electric or not) and get to their destinations anywhere in the city in 30 minutes or so, while low income transit dependent folks forced into the suburbs then have to contest with two to three buses and hour long commutes to get around.
Luckily, the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Ottawa’s downtown has both high end new condos and affordable housing co-ops. Once you add enough of the former a lot of the problems of the latter get diluted, and instead you end up with a thriving diverse and mixed-income area.