Displacement, Gentrification and the Downtown Eastside
For the purposes of this assignment, I intend to highlight how the affordability crisis, in tandem with the commodification and gentrification of low-income areas in Vancouver, contributes to the displacement and erasure of entire communities. Focusing primarily on the DTES, my ‘jam’ interrogates the hypocritical ways in which marketers and developers attempt to mitigate the inherently political and problematic nature of buying and selling a luxury condo in the middle of the DTES, and how the provincial and municipal governments choose to ignore the growing need for accessible and affordable housing in the city.
Over the last 15 years, the DTES has undergone significant changes. As investors, developers and politicians continue to move into the area under the guise of ‘urban renewal’, the homes and communities of many are being threatened or destroyed. The increased development of the DTES, and growing number of renovictions and demovictions, are symptomatic of it’s changing landscape. Notably, this (very intentional) process of displacement disproportionately affects women, especially indigenous women and women of colour, and families that have been living in the community for decades (Benoit, 2003).
The advertisement shown here is for a newly developed condo built just two blocks away from the corner of Main and Hastings, in the heart of Chinatown. The luxury condo’s are described as being an oasis in an urban setting, located in the centre of a neighbourhood that is rich in culture and heritage. Importantly, the culture and heritage that this condo is selling, is the same heritage it is working to erase.
Prior to the development of this building, the block between Keefer and Main was marked by local businesses and low-income apartments. Now, the ominous new structure is largely unattainable to the majority of former residents who, on average, make $18,000 a year (City of Vancouver, 2013). Further, the influx of high-income residents has worked to increase the average cost of rent in the area, drive out businesses, and alienate community members who have lived their for decades.
The advertisement’s use of words like ‘vibrant’ and ‘urban’ to describe the building’s location, softens, and ultimately undercuts, the significant impact the emergence of these kinds of developments will have on the neighbourhood, and works to commodify the poverty, stigma, and racism that has been directed towards the DTES for years.
To me, this image is representative of the ways that developers reinvent low-income spaces (like the DTES) for their own profit. Importantly, this process contributes to the gentrification of cities and the displacement of entire communities.
As the DTES continues to be demolished for the benefit of wealthy Vancouverites, the history, community, and general regard for the area’s inhabitants is quickly disappearing, while the cost of living is skyrocketing.
References
Benoit, C. (2003). In Search of a Healing Place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Social Sciences and Medicine (56), 4, pp. 821-833
City of Vancouver (2013). Downtown Eastside Local Area Report 2013. Retrieved from: http:// vancouver.ca/files/cov/profile-dtes-local-area-2013.pdf