People living on the street have come to symbolize the global housing crisis but they are only the tip of the iceberg. While the examples of Finland and Houston demonstrate a focussed plan pursued diligently can resolve the housing situation for the chronically homeless, addressing the affordable housing problem is much more complex. Defining Affordability […]
I love to dance. This is not something new for me. I can’t remember when I didn’t like to move to the music. Amongst my memories from my childhood time Cape Breton was watching the adults square dance. And the step dancers who would often accompany themselves on the “bones” or, if like Nathalie MacMaster, […]
Kings Cross, once a thriving industrial and transport centre in London, was effectively closed off to the public by the end of the 20th century. Then in 1996, the decision was made to move the British terminus for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Waterloo to St-Pancras. The landowner saw a re-development opportunity for […]
I have postulated that cities and towns evolve. That towns and villages first grow in areas where the basics to support life were plentiful. Typically, that means good agricultural land and good access to water. Other valuable considerations include safety, and resilience. The bonus – access to trade routes. Walt Disney and the Fully Formed […]
A Visit from Saint Nicholas by Jonathan Potter – Christmas Poem 2022 ‘Twas the first mask-free Christmas, when all through the stores The vaccinated children were spewing their spores;The shoppers were eagerly starting to riotAs the introverts longed for some quarantine quiet. The public healthcare workers were tracing the pathOf the flu and RSV, and […]
Can it be! Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa will be over six days from now! And, in the blink of an eye, the 2023 celebrations will be on the near horizon. Time goes by so quickly as we get older! This year’s seasonal celebrations will be a return to normal after two years of Covid restrictions. […]
I found the last three articles in the “Cities Series” difficult to write because I wanted to get it right. So, I thought I would change it up this week with some blurbs on different kinds of Places to Live. Willowbrook Apartments, Los Angeles Designed by Los Angeles Architect Michael Lehrer, these seven small but […]
A Tale of Two Cities This is a Tale of Two Cities. Houston, Texas is the fourth largest city in the United States. It has a population of about 2.4 million people and Harris County about has about 4.3 million residents. Over the past ten years Houston / Harris has reduced chronic homelessness by 63%. […]
What did Finland do? As already set out in an earlier instalment, Article 19.4 of the Finnish Constitution establishes housing as a basic human right in. Finland bases its resultant strategy on four guiding principles to eliminate homelessness: 1 – Housing enables independent Lives The homeless can go straight to living in a rental apartment […]
Think First of the Homeless When I think about places to live, I think first of the homeless. Imagine standing on a street corner at eight o’clock in the evening with all of your earthly belongings. It is drizzling and cold. You have no where to shelter, call your own, sleep, or feel safe. Maybe […]