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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