Transit-Oriented Development and Suburban Gentrification: A “Natural Reality” of Refugee Displacement in Metro Vancouver

Craig E. Jones

Housing Policy Debate, 2023, vol. 33, issue 3, 533-552

Abstract: This article examines a highly localized example of marginalized renters in an aging, low- to moderate-density suburban neighborhood facing displacement because of high-density redevelopment in a transit-oriented development (TOD) planning area. In doing so, I offer a case study for those concerned that TOD interventions could result in gentrification and the displacement of low-income groups. In this article I show how TOD policy has come to bear upon residents of a single rental apartment complex in Metro Vancouver’s suburban City of Coquitlam, in British Columbia, Canada. This local case lies at a nexus of international migration, the Syrian refugee crisis, understandings of adequate refugee housing, and imaginaries of sustainable urban renewal. TOD policies are buttressed by arguments for smart growth and environmental sustainability, and in this case those arguments surmount social equity concerns. However, I question the impartiality of TOD logic requiring high-density residential redevelopment around rapid transit stations when residential intensification policies readily target areas of lower income renters, but are slower to affect areas of single-family homes. A mixed-methods research design of Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions reveals a complicated set of circumstances in which TOD planning contributed to the displacement of Syrian refugees.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10511482.2020.1839935 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:houspd:v:33:y:2023:i:3:p:533-552

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RHPD20

DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2020.1839935

Access Statistics for this article

Housing Policy Debate is currently edited by Tom Sanchez, Susanne Viscarra and Derek Hyra

More articles in Housing Policy Debate from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().