Like many, I took the time to attend the Southlands “Bike - In” a couple of Saturdays ago. Although I am familiar with the lay of the land and the design concepts involved in the planning, it was nice to stroll to the Market Square along the mostly completed access to the Southlands from the newly opened 4th Ave. entrance.
It was a very pleasant half hour walk from Winskill Park and I was happy to see many friends along the path to the square and in the square itself. I find the Scandinavian style architecture stunning and the community amenities impressive thus far.
I know of several people who were against the development who now call it home.
Housing and community building is tricky business. The minefield of design issues, zoning, public opinion and other hurdles is certainly daunting for developers and stressful for community members on either side of any development proposal.
It is undeniable that we are in the midst of a housing crisis. The federal election is just days away and all parties have made housing a top election issue. At this stage it would seem that all have a series of ideas, but no concrete plans in place, at least not yet.
The common thread seems to be supply, supply, supply, and although that is certainly a factor, considerations such as public space, access to transportation and community services remain in the forefront as does the idea of appropriate land use.
The federal parties are obviously looking for votes and they understand that the “GEN Z” and “Millennial” demographics are now ahead of Baby Boomers in terms of the current voting population. It won’t be long before the younger demographics will command the voting base and politicians will need to appeal to their concerns to get elected.
Guess what…housing, affordability, and climate change will remain top issues for quite some time and governments will have to develop real policy to appease the new majority electorate.
In Delta, efforts have been made to address housing and affordability issues through the Mayors Housing Task Force, the Ladner Village Renewal Project and other initiatives. We are also lucky enough to have two members of our current council who represent the surging young demographic.
Our council recently gave preliminary approval for two purpose built below-market rental buildings which would provide approximately 350 new housing choices. Although the road is still a long one, the process will afford all of our citizens, young and old, the opportunity to engage and contribute toward finding solutions for housing and affordability.
If you are interested in participating in a discussion about local housing and community building there are several choices online. One is Deltans for People Oriented Places at: delpop.ca. They are developing a discussion around housing choice.
