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rent is lower. All this high
volume traffic causes wear
on major roadways, releases
pollutants into the air, and
generally lowers the quality
of life, including the quality
of life of the well-off

people who

own

many of these rental
properties and control the
costs attached to them.

In the long run, it’s not

inconceivable to

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imagine that Vancouver
will see this doughnut
effect happening in the
near future, if it’s not
already starting to take
place. The result would
be a weakened local
economy (which
doesn’t
help
with
the

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problem of low paying
jobs) and a slow increase
in both rental costs and

the population in the
surrounding suburbs. This,
in turn, will cause people
to gradually move even
further away from their
workplaces.

Think I’m being an
alarmist? It’s already slowly
taking place in several U.S.
cities, including St. Louis
and Detroit.

Cities within the Lower
Mainland and the province
need to form tighter
restrictions on the renting
market, so that Vancouver
and its surrounding areas

can again

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livable. While the solution
to the housing issue is
obviously not simple,
perhaps bylaws could be
used to control a number
of properties a person may
own. After all, does one
person really need to have
three houses or five condos?
Or maybe similar laws
could be set in place to stop
owners from renting out
their properties for more
than a certain percentage
of the rental space’s value
per month, or for charging
more than a certain dollar
amount for square foot?

In any case, the issue of
skyrocketing housing rental
costs needs to be fixed
somehow—because I’m
not sure how much longer

Vancouver can house the
problem of unaffordable
living.

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