Quote:
Originally Posted by MolteN
What frustrates me constantly is how the local media provides a platform for these NIMBYS who are afraid and reject the idea of change for Halifax. A whopping 23 appeals in a city of 450,000. Wow.
For a long time this was okay because we only really had intra-provincial migration. Over the last five years that trend changed when a steady flow of Canadians from outside Nova Scotia and foreign immigrants began settling here. The lack of any pre-emptive planning to mitigate the housing crisis was never done.
One of the policy changes HRM is requesting to the provincial government is control within their border's for affordable housing. Out of sheer desperation because the province isn't doing the job.
1. We shouldn't expect private developers to include affordable housing.
2. The city needs to streamline application to approval process.
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You've highlighted another lament of mine. It would be wrong to deprive NIMBYs of a voice, but the problem is a lack of diversity in the voices we hear. The Coast and Chronicle Herald seem to think Peggy Cameron and Larry Haiven are the only ones worth hearing from. These two falsely claim to be advocates of affordable housing, public consultation and the environment but are in reality elitists exploiting these concerns to their own benefit, muting those who would actually be impacted.
These two and social media commentators often like to place the blame on new developments for increasing housing prices but the declining affordability, as many here have pointed out, is symptomatic of other often positive changes in the city. For example, without mentioning ongoing demographic changes, adding a bus rapid transit corridor raises land values along the route (Mulley & Tsai, 2016). Get this: even planting TREES has been shown to contribute to gentrification (Haase et al., 2017). So generally speaking, the higher prices could be justified by attractive neighbourhood characteristics that attract talent to the city.
I still believe the city should be careful not to let affordability drive away talent. Our rental and housing prices may be far below those found in Toronto and Vancouver, but we can't forget that the Haligonian median income is lower than the national median ($69,522 v. $70,336). Sure, engineering and computer science graduates may have no problem finding accomodation, but the city needs a foundation of nurses, construction workers and tradesmen to drive the local economy. It's the wellbeing of these latter groups which is increasingly questioned.
I'm worried that any debate about housing would escalate into a battle between Keynesianism and Neoliberlism. I will however say that inclusionary zoning has been falling out of favour among planners in recent years, in favour of other means such as changes to permitted density, unit sizes, land leases as opposed to sale and cash payments where applicable.
Before my statements about transit and trees get called anectdotal, I have come equipped with references:
Haase, D., Kabisch, S., Haase, A., Andersson, E., Banzhaf, E., Baró, F., . . . Wolff, M. (2017). Greening cities – to be socially inclusive? about the alleged paradox of society and ecology in cities. Habitat International, 64, 41-48. doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2017.04.005
Mulley, C., & Tsai, C. -. P. (2016). When and how much does new transport infrastructure add to property values? evidence from the bus rapid transit system in sydney, australia. Transport Policy, 51, 15-23. doi:10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.01.011
https://www.novascotia.ca/finance/st...s.asp?id=13155