In its efforts to build a more environmentally sustainable region by prioritizing transit and transit-oriented development, cities in the Vancouver region also create displacement risks for people who already use and depend on transit.
Christopher Cheung reports on the tradeoffs included in the Vancouver region's ongoing development of new housing along transit routes: the demolition and replacement of old rental buildings "home to vulnerable communities who depend on transit for work."
The question pondered in the article: Do trains really need to cause pain for renters?
According to Cheung, some of the municipalities in the region have responded to the threat of displacement by updating policies to help renters, with "a mix of everything from requiring landlords to offer cash compensation to offering renters a unit in the redeveloped building."
Advocates, however, are pushing for more, suggesting that the province of British Columbia should tweak its Residential Tenancy Act. One potential change that could alleviate the threat of displacement, according to the article would be "to require landlords to allow tenants to return to a comparable unit in the redeveloped building, at the same or similar rent they were paying before," writes Cheung.
More data on the housing market of the region, and the existing demographics of housing along transit routes, are included in the article. The article chooses the city of Burnaby as its primary case study, with the experience of one renter in particular providing a human-interest angle for the story.
FULL STORY: Transit Gain Doesn’t Have to Equal Renter Pain
Property Tax Could Fund $7 Billion Transit Plan in Austin, Displacement Mitigation Included
A $7 billion transit investment plan for Austin would include $300 million toward preventing displacement of communities in neighborhoods located near planned transit investments.
Are Chicago's Transit Oriented Developments Generating Enough Affordable Housing?
Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood is the scene for a very contemporary land use policy debate: how much affordable housing can cultivated from the development opportunities in proximity to transit lines?
Coalition Fights Displacement Along Purple Line
Community advocates are warning that Maryland’s new light rail line could cause displacement without concerted efforts to preserve affordable housing and legacy businesses.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
