I concur with Doug Lee’s comments regarding affordable housing in the city.
Victoria is now an exclusive enclave and playground of the wealthy. The affluent members of society are the only ones who can afford to live in this former colonial fortress.
It’s not surprising they want to convert all the public space around them into their own private “living room” – full of toys and trinkets, entertainment galore, all status symbols of the ‘good life’ to which they feel entitled.
As for more “icing” (beautiful decoration) on their “Paradise Cake” paid for by taxpayers, will that change the fact that Victoria is still a fortress of high-priced condo towers and heritage homes or 21st century mansions owned by investors, used by well-heeled tourists as short-term vacation rentals, or owner-occupiers who reside here a few months a year, while those who need decent affordable places to live are being run out of town?
Isn’t it enough that many of these multi-million dollar strata properties like the refurbished Customs House on the waterfront already received ten-year tax-free subsidies paid for by all Victoria residents?
Now the real estate and development lobby together with their affluent clients demand taxpayers shell out millions more on downtown ‘beautification’ projects. Why? To sell more high-priced homes in this pristine paradise, while removing the ‘blight’ – the sight of the unhoused and long-time tenants who make this city their home?
The “Come and Play!” slogan is at best just marketing hype from those who see profit and privileges that can be realized by promoting Disneyland dreams and fanciful fairytales.
At worst, this slogan represents a harmful diversion to avoid looking reality in the eye, and accepting the urgent necessity to take concrete measures that will resolve the complex yet fundamental contradictions that lie at the heart this “Dysfunctional City by the Sea.”
There are no safe havens and Shangri-las on the Westshore, or anywhere else, that will guarantee a bright future or a place that is risk-free without natural calamities, climate catastrophes, economic downturns, and social unrest.
There are no populist slogans that will make problems disappear with a magic wand, a magic bullet, or a ride on a magic carpet.
“Come and Play!” disguises the fact that the province’s capital city serves the needs of the top one per cent of society, not those of the 99 per cent who need decent jobs and incomes, secure and affordable housing, and adequate support to sustain their health and well-being.
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Come and Play! Breathing life into downtown Victoria
in Development and architecture
Posted · Edited by Victoria Adams
I concur with Doug Lee’s comments regarding affordable housing in the city.
Victoria is now an exclusive enclave and playground of the wealthy. The affluent members of society are the only ones who can afford to live in this former colonial fortress.
It’s not surprising they want to convert all the public space around them into their own private “living room” – full of toys and trinkets, entertainment galore, all status symbols of the ‘good life’ to which they feel entitled.
As for more “icing” (beautiful decoration) on their “Paradise Cake” paid for by taxpayers, will that change the fact that Victoria is still a fortress of high-priced condo towers and heritage homes or 21st century mansions owned by investors, used by well-heeled tourists as short-term vacation rentals, or owner-occupiers who reside here a few months a year, while those who need decent affordable places to live are being run out of town?
Isn’t it enough that many of these multi-million dollar strata properties like the refurbished Customs House on the waterfront already received ten-year tax-free subsidies paid for by all Victoria residents?
Now the real estate and development lobby together with their affluent clients demand taxpayers shell out millions more on downtown ‘beautification’ projects. Why? To sell more high-priced homes in this pristine paradise, while removing the ‘blight’ – the sight of the unhoused and long-time tenants who make this city their home?
The “Come and Play!” slogan is at best just marketing hype from those who see profit and privileges that can be realized by promoting Disneyland dreams and fanciful fairytales.
At worst, this slogan represents a harmful diversion to avoid looking reality in the eye, and accepting the urgent necessity to take concrete measures that will resolve the complex yet fundamental contradictions that lie at the heart this “Dysfunctional City by the Sea.”
There are no safe havens and Shangri-las on the Westshore, or anywhere else, that will guarantee a bright future or a place that is risk-free without natural calamities, climate catastrophes, economic downturns, and social unrest.
There are no populist slogans that will make problems disappear with a magic wand, a magic bullet, or a ride on a magic carpet.
“Come and Play!” disguises the fact that the province’s capital city serves the needs of the top one per cent of society, not those of the 99 per cent who need decent jobs and incomes, secure and affordable housing, and adequate support to sustain their health and well-being.