Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin May
Name 3 or more failed proposals for affordable housing on the peninsula. And define 'affordability'.
Singles in Charlottetown being forced out of rentals circa $800 a month. My guess is that the ever increasing number of foreign students,funded by their government or rich parents, in university towns and cities are impacting the rental market to the detriment of indigenous residents.
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Off the top of my head Bloomfield, Spirit Place and now this one. Add in all the floors lopped off of each proposal that would have allowed for more affordable units and increased overall supply and you see what I'm talking about. There's definitely a dysfunction in our attempts at affordable housing here in NS. The existing stock is in disrepair, having friends that lived in around the city and a summer job as a repo man gave me a up close and personal view of the units through the years. They're in really bad shape but most of the residents make due with whats there. With families occupying the same unit for decades and only minor repairs done. A change in approach is needed because the current system obviously is broken. We could be building new stock and retire some of the older ones. Looking into a basic minimum income is a more long term approach especially in areas that have international students skewing the rental market. The funny thing is this type of bottom up approach would provide a stimulus for the local economies as poor people spend money locally compared to higher up the socio-economic scale.
I agree completely with your take on affordability in Charlottetown and it's felt in many of the other smaller markets in Atlantic Canada as well.
They are more susceptible to even moderate shocks like the growth we've seen in NS recently. The decline in overall units available coupled with an aversion to change has made life harder than it has to be. There isn't a huge difference in the rents to justify the lack of services and opportunity in rural towns. No wonder people have to leave the towns and move to the city. They migrate to the urban centers for lack of a better option. Most of these towns have ample brownfield sites to fix this problem but progressive ideas seem in short supply these days when talking about housing.
