Gentrification of Vancouver
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The gentrification of Vancouver, Canada, has been the subject of debate between those who wish to promote gentrification and those who do not.
Gentrification in Vancouver has taken place in the context of a strong environmental movement, high land prices, real estate development, and the development of former industrial sites owned by the City of Vancouver or whose redevelopment was influenced by city zoning regulation.[1] Historically, Vancouver's geographic location has made it the transportation hub connecting Western Canada to Asia. This enriched the area with raw materials and led to a booming manufacturing industry centered on the Canadian Pacific Railway networks. Numerous warehouses, timber mills, rail yard facilities and wartime industries were constructed in easy-to-access areas like Coal Harbour and False Creek. Working-class neighbourhoods were established in surrounding areas like Kitsilano, Strathcona and Grandview–Woodland. However, in the 1950s the area entered a period of decline, caused largely by the growing prominence of freight trucking and new industrial complexes such as Annacis Island being built on relatively cheap suburban land close to the freeways. This created rent-gap theory conditions and eventual gentrification in several inner-city Vancouver neighbourhoods.
Early gentrification
Gentrification in
Production-side gentrification
Other areas of Vancouver, such as the north and south shores of
Zoning regulation
Zoning policy has set the conditions for gentrification in Vancouver.[5] From 2014, the City of Vancouver introduced new Local Area Plans in Marpole, Grandview–Woodland, Downtown Eastside, Mount Pleasant and the West End that re-zone many existing buildings to allow for a larger buildings (up-zoning).[6] Up-zoning can stifle small local area businesses since British Columbia's property tax policy allows an up-zoned building to be taxed based on its potential size instead of its actual size,[7][8] which may contribute to the introduction of higher-cost goods and services characteristic of retail gentrification.[9] The Grandview–Woodland Local Area plan also encouraged a "Food and Arts District" to develop in the industrial area to include "food and beverage products", "tasting rooms" and "studio art".[10] Such industrial integration can indirectly encourage gentrification.[11]
The British Columbia Residential Tenancy Act slows gentrification by limiting rent increases to levels below what the market will bear in a gentrifying area. However, a component of the act allows an owner to have a tenant vacate their unit if the landlord has a permit to make renovations to the unit. This is allowing "renoviction" (eviction under the auspices of renovations needing to be made) and gentrification, particularly in the Downtown Eastside, Strathcona, and Grandview–Woodland local areas.[12][13]
Specific neighbourhoods
Downtown Eastside and Chinatown
The Downtown Eastside and Chinatown, the "Inner City", has been an area of focus in recent decades. With Gastown having nearly completely transformed through the influx of capital, the edges of the DTES and southern edge of Chinatown have seen significant recent developments. Restaurateurs have set up a number of new businesses, gentrifying the area.[14]
Grandview–Woodland
Grandview–Woodland experienced little gentrification between 1971 and 2008 as a result of impediments including high levels of crime, a significant amount of social housing, and the presence of active industrial manufacturing.[15] However, the area began to show signs of gentrification in 2008, including retail gentrification, an upwards shift in income, demographic changes, and the loss of affordable housing. Retail spaces along Hastings Street and Commercial Drive have been transitioning from businesses serving low-income residents to upscale food, drink, and specialty stores.[16]
Resistance to development
Just as some neighbourhoods have been passionate supporters of gentrification, others have been equally opposed to it. Most notably, the
References
- ^ Quastel, N. (2009). Political ecologies of gentrification. Urban Geography, 30(7), 694-725
- doi:10.1177/0042098008097103. Available at http://usj.sagepub.com/content/45/12/2471
- ^ Vancouver is the world's most livable city for a fifth straight year: survey | National Post. News.nationalpost.com (2011-02-22). Retrieved on 2014-04-12.
- doi:10.2747/0272-3638.30.7.694. Available at http://bellwether.metapress.com/content/qh852243n8285351/ Archived 2012-07-09 at archive.today
- ^ Kasman, Paul. (2015) "Public policy and gentrification in the Grandview Woodland neighbourhood of Vancouver, B.C." University of Victoria. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/1828/6924
- ^ "Downtown Eastside Plan".
- ^ Kunin, R. (2013, Oct 23). Vancouver's tax system scares off potential businesses. The Vancouver Sun. Available from http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Vancouver+system+scares+potential+businesses/9074017/story.html
- ^ "Real Estate appraisal and property assessment".
- ^ Zukin, S., Trujillo, V., Frase, P., Jackson, D., Recuber, T., & Walker, A. (2009). New retail capital and neighbourhood change: Boutiques and gentrification in New York City. City & Community, 8(1), 47-64.
- ^ https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/grandview-woodland-community-plan.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Kasman, Paul. (2015) "Public policy and gentrification in the Grandview Woodland neighbourhood of Vancouver, B.C." University of Victoria. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/1828/6924
- ^ McLachlan, D. (2013, May 23). Grandview-Woodland: Grandview Heritage Group wins advocacy award. Vancouver Courier. Retrieved September 3, 2014 from http://www.vancourier.com/vancouver-special/grandview-woodland/grandview-woodland-grandview-heritage-group-wins-advocacy-award-1.377084
- ^ Mackin, B. (2015, Feb 19). Grandview-Woodland tenants sound alarm over 'renoviction'. Vancouver Courier. Retrieved May 3, 2015 from http://www.vancourier.com/news/grandview-woodland-tenants-sound-alarm-over-renoviction-1.1768923
- ^ Walia, Harsha, and Dave Diewert. "Moving on Up: Gentrification in Vancouver's Downtown East side." News for the Rest of Us. N.p., 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. <http://rabble.ca/news/2012/02/moving-gentrification-vancouvers-downtown-eastside>.
- ^ Ley, 2008, p. 2488, 2490, 2493-2494
- ^ Kasman, Paul. (2015) "Public policy and gentrification in the Grandview Woodland neighbourhood of Vancouver, B.C." University of Victoria. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/1828/6924
- ^ Ley, page 2481
- ^ Drury, Ivan. "Low-income Chinatown Residents Unite Against the Towers." Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council. DNC, 14 Mar. 2011. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. <https://sites.google.com/site/fightfor10sites/res1>.
- ^ Cole, Yolande. "Condos Proposed for Pantages Theater Site Draw Opposition in Downtown East side." Straight.com. Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp., 21 July 2011. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. <https://www.straight.com/article-405617/vancouver/condos-proposed-pantages-theatre-site-draw-opposition-downtown-eastside>.
- ^ "30 Professors against DTES Gentrification Speak out against Pantages/Sequel 138." Carnegie Community Action Project. CCAP, 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2012. <http://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/30-professors-against-dtes-gentrification-speak-out-against-pantagessequel-138/>.