Housing & homelessness

Worried about Infrastructure Costs? Then End the Apartment Ban

Jan 15, 2025
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Takeaways:  Opponents of building more homes in British Columbia, and especially denser, lower-cost options like apartments, often wield the argument that their communities lack the infrastructure—from sewers to schools, power lines to hospitals—to service so many new residents. And while it’s true that decades of infrastructure underinvestment have left a backlog of needed upgrades and… View Article

Writing from our researchers this year

Dec 16, 2024
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Housing—in particular a lack of affordable housing throughout BC—was a major concern for British Columbians this year and no doubt will continue in 2025. Our researchers wrote extensively on this issue. Here are some highlights…. View Article
Building Equity

Building equity: lessons for affordable housing in BC

Sep 18, 2024
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No topic has dominated the headlines in recent years more than housing, or the growing lack of affordable options in Metro Vancouver and other cities in British Columbia. Scarce and expensive housing is eroding the province’s liveability and economy and large price rises have become a source of enormous wealth inequality.   Our new report… View Article

Provincial zoning reform essential to reduce housing exclusion and displacement

Dec 14, 2023
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Sky-high rents, ultra-low vacancy rates and fierce competition for scarce homes have become the grim but familiar picture of housing in BC, driving unaffordability, exclusion and displacement. The BC government has made major housing policy announcements in recent weeks and a key focus has been tackling chronic municipal roadblocks to new housing. For decades, exclusionary… View Article