There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By kevlahan (registered) | Posted February 05, 2008 at 22:19:47
I’m sympathetic to Ryan’s (and Tom Cooper’s) distaste for some of the crude prescriptions in the Downtown Safety report. However, the suggestion to reduce the number of half-way houses, addiction treatment centres and lodging and other services for the poor, mentally ill and homeless in the core merits deeper examination.
Currently, 50 of these facilities are concentrated in the downtown core, partly because the need is there, partly because real estate is cheap and partly because there is a tendency to concentration in all ‘businesses’. The result is that instead of being integrated into the broader community, vulnerable people are being ghettoized and (many) people choose to avoid the core.
RTH argues forcefully for a diversity of residents and a diversity of leisure, education, shopping and business opportunities in each neighbourhood. This is the essence of a healthy urban environment. Our aim should be to ensure a broad diversity of residents, and this usually requires some planning. For example, in Vancouver 10-20% of units in new condominium buildings must be reserved for low-income residents. Conversely, US cities like Providence RI have had to enforce a moratorium on social service providers in their downtown core to stop them turning into ghettos for the poor and mentally ill.
People may avoid downtown because they are prejudiced against the mentally ill and the poor, or (more likely) they simply dislike being hassled for change and feel uncomfortable when too many people mutter and act strangely. It’s sometimes necessary to enforce minimum behaviour standards on the street (e.g. prohibit aggressive panhandling). Otherwise, we risk abandoning the public realm to those who have no other choice. Those who do have a choice will choose the private (and tightly controlled) realm of suburban shopping malls and big box stores. Is that really what we want?
Permalink | Context