Housing Affordability

This lab assess housing affordability in Vancouver and Ottawa and then compares the two as normalised by the median income in each city.

Quantitative Data Classification

There are many different methods to classify quantitative data. Depending on the purpose of the map, the author may choose a different type of classification to make a particular point. As seen in the map to the right, the same data can be displayed very differently.

In the role of a journalist, I would choose Natural Breaks for the purpose of putting together maps of housing cost in Vancouver given that it has the greatest impact. For this data set, the map for Natural Breaks shows the greatest variation in shelter costs across the city thus would be the most successful at attracting readers.

For the estate agent scenario, I would choose Equal Intervals as this method classifies the UBC area to be in the lowest bracket for cost whereas in the Natural Breaks classification it falls in one of the highest brackets. Presenting the UBC area in the lowest cost range means people would be more interested in considering property in this area. There is certainly an issue of ethics in this matter given that it is extremely misleading. One map may present areas to be in the cheapest category whereas another may exaggerate the variation.

Comparison of Housing Affordability in Vancouver and Ottawa

The following map compares the relative affordability of housing in Vancouver and
Ottawa. Affordability is a measure of dwelling costs, relative to the income in each city. This  measure is better measure that housing cost alone as it normalises property prices by income and thus can be used to compare cities of different economic profiles.

Affordability is rated into the following categories:

1. Severely unaffordable
2. Seriously unaffordable
3. Moderately unaffordable
4. Affordable

These categories are set by the Demographic International Housing Affordability Survey and determine each category by the the median multiple method which is a house price to income ratio. This is a widely used method and has been recommended by the United Nations and World Bank, suggesting it is very reliable.

However, the housing affordability is rated for 378 markets in only nine countries: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Careful consideration should be taken as these are all very developed countries, thus may not be relevant to countries of different development stages.

Affordability is often considered to not be a sufficient enough to determine a location as “livable”. The Economist Intelligence Unit (2015) does not even recognise affordability as a contributing factor and instead weights their rankings based on infrastructure, stability, education, cultural facilities and healthcare. Vancouver is a perfect example as the housing is very expensive however the remaining indicators that have been outlined place it as the 3rd most livable city in the world.

Accomplishment Statement 

Is now able to download tabular census data from governmental geodatabses and use this data as the fundamental feature in GIS analysis. Is also able to normalise two variables from distinct sources which have been recognised to interact.  Can recognise the influence that different classification methods have on the final product and the associated ethics.