Why we can't just build more houses
It's more than a supply issue.
Part of the series How to Survive a Housing Crisis.
In 2020, Vancouver’s estimated houseless population is 2,095 according to the annual Homeless Count. In 2020, Vancouver had at least 1,627 properties that were declared, determined and deemed vacant (and subject to the Empty Homes Tax). Assuming 2 people can live in each property, that’s literally 3,254 more people that could be permanently housed.
The reality is that if we as a society truly wanted to house everyone, and at a quality that conformed to the National Occupancy Standards (also controversial and subject to debate), we totally could. There are enough physical spaces in our urban environment to house people adequately.
That’s why the housing crisis is not just a supply issue. It’s an issue about how we are willing to let the idea of meritocracy strip other people of their dignity and humanity: “I worked hard to afford this house, you didn’t, so you deserve what you get.” It’s an issue about how we choose to sacrifice the lives, dignity, and well-being of people in order to defend our socially-constructed concepts of private property and wealth. It’s an issue with how we treat homes for people as investments for companies and shareholders.
I’m not sure increasing “affordable” housing is the silver bullet to the housing crisis. As long as we continue to uphold systems grounded in the accumulation of capital and productivity, instead of life and love, we are going to have social problems. We can try to build as many houses as we want but as long as our systems stay the same, does anything really change?
And if we wanted to house people for a temporary amount of time? In 2018, the City of Vancouver had over 13,000 hotel rooms. That’s a lot of people who we can provide shelter to, and that’s exactly what happened during Covid, when municipalities and the province worked together to convert hotels into shelters. It’s proof that collectively, we can do a lot. We might already have the supply. Do we have the collective will?
