vacancy rate in the greater Vancouver
area is at an all time low, homelessness
is at an all time high, and now we’re
starting to see that even professional
people like journalists and teachers
simply cannot afford to live in the
communities where they work. It’s
time for some real and practical housing
solutions.

Anyone who’s ever been to Japan
will see how that country, with
communities of very high density,
have been exceptionally creative in
coming up with ways to economize
on everything from housing, to
garbage collection and recycling, to
water conservation, to transportation.
Basically, everything there is about
half the size of what we here in North
America would consider standard. It
doesn’t matter if it’s an automobile
or a washing machine, they’re built
smaller. The houses there are much
smaller too, situated literally right next
to each other, on streets half the width
of our streets. This may all seem just a
little too claustrophobic for a first time
visitor, but after settling in, one quickly
comes to not only accept the inherent
smallness of Japan, but to appreciate
just how well it serves its citizens.

What is it about our western culture
that makes us think that bigger is
better? These days trucks and SUVs
are bigger than ever, television screens
and computer monitors are growing,
and just last year Airbus launched the
A380, the world’s largest passenger

aircraft. This airplane is as wide as a
soccer field, seats 555 people, and its
tail is seven stories tall. As exciting as
some of these innovations are—and Ill
admit that I’ve got one of those three
foot plasma TV’s on my Christmas
wish list—it’s now time, with our finite
resources, to begin thinking of ways to
truly begin reducing our footprint on
the planet. In the process we just may
recreate a sense of community too.

I listened to an architect in an
interview on the CBC the other day
explain that one
of the reasons that
show homes and
display suites in
North America
are bigger than
the actual units
themselves is so
that the developer
can fit more stuff
inside. Stuff like
big expensive
appliances, home
theatre systems, home libraries, and
fitness equipment. The idea is that the
developer may create a few add-on
sales while prospective home=buyers
are viewing the demo suite. What it
boils down to is a great big marketing
ploy designed to encourage us to buy
more stuff.

One aspect of having a smaller
place is that it would help you to get
organized. The fact that you would
invariably have to have less stuff

“small apartments
can be comfortable
too. You just need
the right furniture.”

means that you would be forced to
either get rid of, or put into storage,
things like your king sized bed, your
foosball table, your ocean kayak,

and your grandmother’s crystal
collection. It means prioritizing your
life and deciding what exactly is truly
meaningful and necessary for your
every day existence. Yes, all you
packrats, I’m talking to you, micro-
apartment living would mean sacrifice.
But just think in Zen terms: an
uncluttered closet equals an uncluttered
mind-or
something like
that. But hey,
a smaller place
would also be
much easier to
keep clean and
it would take
less time to do
so. And small
apartments can
be comfortable
too. You just
need the right furniture. If designed and
decorated well and with skill, making
the most use of space and keeping
functionality as well as aesthetics in
mind, you can create a very livable
arrangement.

So who will pay for the construction
of these micro-apartments? Well, since
there is not much money in rentals
these days, I think we can count the
developers out. However, I have
another idea; how about if the city of

New Westminster were to take out a
development loan for the project? They
could purchase property downtown, say
an old building that’s ready to be torn
down, and then they could make use

of labour from a local trades training
school. The people learning how to be
carpenters and plumbers at various local
vocational institutions need projects to
practice on just like an apprentice hair
stylist needs courageous guinea pigs to
experiment with. The city could recruit
some of these folks at more negotiable
rates. Then, after the apartments are
built and they are being rented out at
fair market prices, the city could begin
to pay off their loan. It’s a long-term
investment for the city and at the same
time Douglas College students—and
hopefully many others—could have
more options for affordable housing.
Once the loan was paid off the city
would even have a source of revenue
which they could put towards other
useful, community-minded projects.

In this regard, the city gains by
creating a source of perpetual revenue,
as well as by adding to the diversity
and vibrancy of their community,
particularly on Columbia Street where
they’ve been struggling to make
improvements for decades. Of course
there is a big issue of conflict of interest
here with this type of scenario, but I’m
sure those details could be worked out.
In the long-term this could be a very
viable project.

 

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