Our Crumbling Foundation: How We Solve Canada's Housing Crisis
by Gregor Craigie
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Description
"Canada is experiencing a housing shortage. Although house prices in major Canadian cities appear to have topped out in early 2023, new housing isn't coming onto the market quickly enough. Rising interest rates have only tightened the pressure on buyers, and renters, too, as rising mortgage rates cost landlords more, which are passed along to tenants in rent increases. Even with the recent federal budget commitment to bring more housing online by 2030, there will still be a shortfall of 3.5 show more million homes by 2030. Gregor Craigie is a CBC journalist in Victoria, one of the highest-priced housing markets in the country. On his daily radio show On the Island he's been talking for over 15 years to local experts and to those across the country about housing. Craigie has travelled to many of the places he profiles in the book, and in his interviews with Canadians he presents the human face of the shortfall as he speaks with renters, owners and homeless people, exploring their varying predicaments and perspectives. He then shows, through comparable profiles of people across the globe, how other North American and international jurisdictions (Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Helsinki, Singapore, Ireland, Mexico, to name a few) are housing their citizens better, faster and with determination--solutions that could be put into practice here. With passion, knowledge and vigour, Craigie explains how Canada reached this critical impasse and will convince those who may not yet recognize how badly our entire country is in need of change. A Crumbling Foundation provides hope for finding our way out of the crisis by recommending a number of approaches at all levels of government. The prescription for how we're going to house ourselves and do so equitably, requires not just a business solution, nor simply a social solution."-- show lessTags
Member Reviews
The author is a journalist who spoke with many different people to learn about the impacts and manifestations of the housing crisis and to find innovative, practical solutions. In this book, he gives us stories of homeowners, tenants and people who are homeless. He also talks to landlords and building and financial experts.
The stories and examples he includes gave me a better understanding of the complex factors creating the housing crisis. It also allowed me to empathise with people who are struggling to find the kind of housing they need where they need it. And I found the discussion of 3-D print3ed houses fascinating.
The book ends with an appendix listing 37 things that need to be done. The author argues that no one action is show more sufficient . Each level of government has a role to play. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, his number one recommendation is to build more housing!
A good read with some inspiring stories of solutions from around the world. show less
The stories and examples he includes gave me a better understanding of the complex factors creating the housing crisis. It also allowed me to empathise with people who are struggling to find the kind of housing they need where they need it. And I found the discussion of 3-D print3ed houses fascinating.
The book ends with an appendix listing 37 things that need to be done. The author argues that no one action is show more sufficient . Each level of government has a role to play. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, his number one recommendation is to build more housing!
A good read with some inspiring stories of solutions from around the world. show less
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Author Information
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Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- This book is dedicated to everyone whose life is on hold because they cannot find a home of their own.
- First words
- Canada is caught in a housing crisis.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)So if this really is the beginning of the housing crisis, not the end, we need to get to work on the repairs. Now.
- Blurbers
- Caesar-Chavanners, Celina; O'Kane, Josh; Hunter, Mitzie; Foch, Daniel; Picard, Andre; Protzer, Eric (show all 9); Crowe, Cathy; Atkey, Jill; Ibarra, Carolina
Classifications
- Genres
- Economics, Politics and Government, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Business
- DDC/MDS
- 363.5561 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Public Safety - Police, Crime Investigation Housing
- LCC
- HD7305 .A3 .C73 — Social sciences Industries. Land use. Labor Industries. Land use. Labor Labor. Work. Working class Industrial hygiene. Industrial welfare
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 9
- Popularity
- 2,308,799
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
