Affordable Housing March
November 12th, 2011
Being at Occupy Vancouver a couple times already, once being overnight, I knew for the most part what to expect. And for the most part, much was unchanged in terms of functionality. The community feel was still withstanding the societal anxiety and tensions caused by poor regional reporters, always keeping in mind the fight was meant to be for the 99%: with those placing blame for the moment being included in this demographic. The fight is in the hearts of those involved and there is no doubt that conviction for change has not changed.
One thing I've noticed about Occupy Vancouver is that every single trip there offers a lesson or educational experience. Personal speeches by locals signify the struggles we collectively recognize, and lectures by intellectuals of local status anecdotally examine and reinforce the values we fight for. What I had not yet experienced was the power of a sentimentally united march. The topic of the day was affordable housing, an issue connected socio-economically with the concept of gentrification.
I had little knowledge about affordable housing conceptually, well, I suppose I still do. I had researched gentrification briefly after hearing the term in an Immortal Technique song entitled "Harlem Streets". The lyrics of note are still stained in my memory:
"And fuck flossin', mothers are trying to feed children
But gentrification is kickin' them outta they building
A generation of babies, born without healthcare
Families homeless, thrown the fuck off the welfare"
I found many resources related to these words, and came to find out that Harlem is a brutally distinguished symbol of gentrification. It is an unsettling reminder that our society is riddled with inequality, with the brute end of that manifesting itself in concentrated levels in particular social niches, such as Harlem, New York. Rich man's attempt to restore neighbourhoods by developing them has rendered many homeless, and many displaced. Economic measures often indicate social progress, but that is measured merely by economic output. Social health indicators such as homeless rates, are often left out giving us a false sense of social cohesion and progressiveness. Low-income individuals get left out of the discussion, as developers take centre stage on the evening news after another "lucrative property acquisition".
I was much less aware of the fact that Vancouver's low-income population has fallen victim to the same type of property manipulation.
During the march we stopped at various locations to carry out planned activities and speeches. We occupied intersections, and at one near the waterfront we heard a speech of support by running mayoral candidate Randy Helten. From there we trekked into the Woodward building, a once occupied site of protest that I had absolutely no knowledge of. Inside we congregated, in circles or in crowds. Several people spoke of their struggle, highlighting their connection or knowledge to the Woodward complex and its less than progressive history. I was touched by the speeches of those who struggled to find affordable housing as Woodward was being sold off to real estate companies, reducing low income dwellings and making them more expensive all at the same time. The words shared represented the negative social consequences of gentrification, a process of destroying opportunistic equality in regards to housing while investors continue to convert living space into luxurious living space; profit being the highest order of concern, obviously.
It has been said that real-estate is Vancouver's own type of Wall Street, where developers are given more than generous opportunity by our elected leaders to take affordable living space and transform it into space reserved for elites. Of course Wall Street uses financial trading as a means of increasing inequality on all levels, but the corporate parallel is what should be noted as a comparative means of observing greed as it continues to degrade social health.
The fact that the condo developments at the Athletes Village are STILL not sold is an indication that we should not be encouraging the continual upgrading of a city to the point where costs begin to rise beyond our means to afford our necessities. We are slowly but surely following the socio-economic trajectory of our neighbours to the south: social stratification through economic inequality. It is true that societies with higher levels of economic inequality also have higher crime rates, lower literacy rates, etc.. the magnitude of the effects caused by inequality are evidentially proven and documented by a vast array of intellectuals and academics. A simple google search would likely render you countless results.
Profit over people is a common thematic vantage point for the "Occupy" movement to criticize. The affordable housing debate is a definite example, and as demonstrated in the housing march in Vancouver it becomes easier to see that the lower income people of Vancouver are in fact at a disadvantage when it comes to housing.
The working poor need a place in the discussion, and one that isn't moderated by business interests. Vancouver's homelessness rate is stubbornly high and it is my contention that this is largely due to the real-estate plunders of short sighted local and provincial governments. Money should be taken out of the equation, with social needs replacing it as a focal point of policy validation.
Kids are taught to help each other, forgive each other. It is a lesson that we seem to fail at withholding as time ticks away, along the way forgetting that humanity comes first. We're stuck in a value system double standard and it needs to be changed.
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