Housing

Picture of a woman standing on the balcony of social housing in Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Order

Exploring the Carceral Continuum in Downtown Eastside Social Housing

The term “carceral continuum” brings to mind an array of institutions—prisons, hospitals, mental health facilities, and low-income housing—that function to surveil, control, and manage ...
Community

Advocate for DTES Housing Wins 2024 SFU Urban Studies Alumni Award

Amid Vancouver’s ongoing housing crisis, Alie Lynch, a master’s student in Simon Fraser University’s Urban Studies Program, has emerged as a powerful advocate for ...
Community

WISH Drop-In Centre for Sex Workers Closes Temporarily Amid Funding Issues

The WISH Drop-In Centre Society in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has been a critical support hub for sex workers since its opening in 2020. Offering ...
Image of an artistic render of the upcoming First United redevelopment in Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Housing

First United Redevelopment Brings Housing and Hope to Downtown Eastside

The transformative First United redevelopment project at 320 East Hastings Street is nearing completion, promising to address urgent housing needs and offer revitalized community ...
An image of highly dense downtown core with different types of housing and public art
Housing

Canada Faces Tough Questions on National Housing Day

As Canada observes National Housing Day 2024, a day dedicated to awareness about housing and homelessness, the stark reality is that housing insecurity is ...
Image capturing a street in Eastside Downtown Vancouver housing many of the city's SRO hotels
Housing

Vancouver Landlords Fight Back Against Vacancy Control

Thirteen single-room occupancy landlords in Vancouver have launched a class-action lawsuit against the City of Vancouver, alleging that its vacancy control policy amounts to ...
Image on active construction site in Downtown Eastside Vancouver against the backdrop of Burrard Inlet and North Shore Mountains
Housing

Housing First Struggles to Deliver for Vancouver’s Most Vulnerable

In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the Housing First model once offered hope for a path out of homelessness. Yet, cracks are beginning to show as ...
An image of demolition of what left from the Winters SRO Hotel in Downtown Eastside Vancouver after a deadly fire
Community

Class Action Seeks Accountability in Deadly Downtown Eastside Fire

In the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, tragedy struck when the Winters Hotel—a 100-year-old, single-room occupancy building—caught fire on April 11, 2022. The blaze ...
Photo of a man using the City of Vancouver's misting station installed in the Downtown Eastside are during the heat wave
Community

The Struggle for Air Conditioning in Vancouver’s SROs

With rising global temperatures, the urgency of providing air conditioning for low-income and vulnerable residents has become a pressing issue, particularly in Vancouver’s Downtown ...
Image of people in need welcomed in winter shelter space located in Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Community

2024-2025 Winter Shelter Spaces Across British Columbia

As temperatures begin to drop across British Columbia, thousands of people experiencing homelessness will have access to safe, heated spaces this winter. Through BC ...
A picture of the poor state of SROs located along East Hastings Street in Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Housing

Vancouver’s SROs: Shelter or Hidden Risk?

In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Single Room Occupancy buildings serve as a last-ditch option for thousands of low-income residents facing housing instability. These aged, small ...
Photo capturing construction in progress at one of Vancouver Downtown Eastside's affordable housing projects
Housing

Vancouver’s Social Housing Initiative Driving Affordable Inclusive Communities

As Vancouver continues to face one of the most severe housing crises in Canada, the city has responded with the Vancouver Social Housing Initiative, ...
Vancouver Police Department captured clearing out Cram Park homeless encampment based on 2020 court order
Policy

Who is Responsible for Canada’s Homeless Encampments?

In recent years, Canadian cities have grappled with a rise in homeless encampments, bringing public safety concerns and legal challenges into the spotlight. The ...
People are captured on a sidewalk in front of the Hotel Canada SRO in Downtown Vancouver
Housing

The Fight to Save Vancouver’s SROs

Single Room Occupancies (SROs) have long served as the last stop before homelessness. However, the 2023 Low-Income Housing Survey highlights a sobering reality: SROs, ...
Vancouver residents captured at Affordable Housing Protest holding posters calling for more affordable housing
Housing

Canada’s Housing Crisis Worsens as National Strategy Fails to Deliver

Despite minor shifts in the housing market, prices remain too high for both buyers and renters, pushing families into instability and homelessness. The National ...
The East Village render shows two towering rental buildings, standing at 38 and 39 storeys, alongside a 19-storey social housing building. Set along a three-block area of East Hastings Street between Raymur Avenue and Vernon Drive.
Housing

East Village Towers Poised to Transform and Challenge DTES

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) is facing another wave of redevelopment as a trio of developers—Westbank, Promerita Group, and BC Housing—propose a project along East ...
Image showing dense construction in Vancouver's Downtown
Housing

How Vancouver’s Exclusionary Zoning is Fanning the Flames of Housing Crisis

In a city where the housing crisis has reached catastrophic levels, Vancouver remains gripped by a decades-old zoning regime that is preventing much-needed solutions. ...
Landscape photo capturing densely populated Metro Vancouver area that struggles to overcome the housing crisis
Housing

Housing Crisis Takes Center Stage in BC Election

As British Columbia heads into a crucial provincial election, one issue stands out above all others: housing. With affordability in a state of crisis, ...
Picture of Smith-Yuen Apartments in Downtown Eastside Vancouver as a symbol of hope and sustainable future for many.
Voices

Amy Romer: How One Building in DTES Helps Finding Comfort

The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is often portrayed as a place of despair, with stories of poverty, addiction, and homelessness dominating the narrative. But what ...