scholarly journals Social (In)justice and Rental Housing Discrimination in Urban Canada: The Case of Ethno-racial Minorities in the Herongate Community in Ottawa

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-101
Author(s):  
Joseph Mensah ◽  
Daniel Tucker-Simmons

In 2015, the predominantly visible minority immigrant community of Herongate, in Ottawa, Ontario, was slated for redevelopment by its landlord, Timbercreek Asset Management. This redevelopment involved mass eviction of the incumbent tenants, demolition of the existing affordable housing and its replacement with luxury rentals, which, by all indications, are beyond the financial reach of the former Herongage tenants. This paper seeks to problematize large-scale residential real estate redevelopment in Canada and examine its impact, using the Herongate situation as a case study. Among other things, it profiles the Herongate community, its history and present redevelopment, and explores the legal framework, and the limits thereof, constraining mass evictions of this type in Ontario. The findings indicate that the selection of Herongate for redevelopment was not fortuitous; generally, racialized and immigrant communities like Herongate are disproportionately likely to be selected for large-scale redevelopment projects, and thus subjected to mass-evictions. Further results suggest that the dissolution of the Herongate community – and the attendant dislocation of its members – has exacted a pronounced social and economic toll and compounded the racial discrimination already experienced by the former Herongate residents, most of whom are visible minorities. The paper concludes with an appeal to imbue the redevelopment process with a greater regard for social justice, and a right to housing as a policy solution to address the injustice caused by real estate redevelopment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3571
Author(s):  
Bogusz Wiśnicki ◽  
Dorota Dybkowska-Stefek ◽  
Justyna Relisko-Rybak ◽  
Łukasz Kolanda

The paper responds to research problems related to the implementation of large-scale investment projects in waterways in Europe. As part of design and construction works, it is necessary to indicate river ports that play a major role within the European transport network as intermodal nodes. This entails a number of challenges, the cardinal one being the optimal selection of port locations, taking into account the new transport, economic, and geopolitical situation that will be brought about by modernized waterways. The aim of the paper was to present an original methodology for determining port locations for modernized waterways based on non-cost criteria, as an extended multicriteria decision-making method (MCDM) and employing GIS (Geographic Information System)-based tools for spatial analysis. The methodology was designed to be applicable to the varying conditions of a river’s hydroengineering structures (free-flowing river, canalized river, and canals) and adjustable to the requirements posed by intermodal supply chains. The method was applied to study the Odra River Waterway, which allowed the formulation of recommendations regarding the application of the method in the case of different river sections at every stage of the research process.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 295
Author(s):  
Yuan Gao ◽  
Anyu Zhang ◽  
Yaojie Yue ◽  
Jing’ai Wang ◽  
Peng Su

Suitable land is an important prerequisite for crop cultivation and, given the prospect of climate change, it is essential to assess such suitability to minimize crop production risks and to ensure food security. Although a variety of methods to assess the suitability are available, a comprehensive, objective, and large-scale screening of environmental variables that influence the results—and therefore their accuracy—of these methods has rarely been explored. An approach to the selection of such variables is proposed and the criteria established for large-scale assessment of land, based on big data, for its suitability to maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation as a case study. The predicted suitability matched the past distribution of maize with an overall accuracy of 79% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.72. The land suitability for maize is likely to decrease markedly at low latitudes and even at mid latitudes. The total area suitable for maize globally and in most major maize-producing countries will decrease, the decrease being particularly steep in those regions optimally suited for maize at present. Compared with earlier research, the method proposed in the present paper is simple yet objective, comprehensive, and reliable for large-scale assessment. The findings of the study highlight the necessity of adopting relevant strategies to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2644 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Lindsey ◽  
Jeffrey S. Wilson ◽  
Jueyu Wang ◽  
Tracy Hadden-Loh

Many municipalities, park districts, and nonprofit organizations have begun monitoring nonmotorized traffic on multiuse trails as the need for information about the use of facilities has grown and relatively low-cost sensors for automated monitoring have become available. As they have gained experience, they have begun to move from site-specific monitoring on individual trails to a more comprehensive monitoring of trail networks. This case study review compares strategies developed by 10 organizations for monitoring traffic on multiuse trails, including local, multicounty, statewide, and multistate trail networks. The focus is on approaches to the design of monitoring networks, particularly the rationales or objectives for monitoring and the selection of monitoring sites. It is shown that jurisdictions are following principles of monitoring established by FHWA and that the design of monitoring networks is evolving to meet new challenges, including monitoring large-scale networks. Relevant outcomes and implications for practice are summarized. The researchers concluded that FHWA guidelines can be adapted to many circumstances and can increase information for decision making. Trail monitoring is informing decisions related to facility planning, investment, and safety.


Author(s):  
Ivalin Petkov ◽  
Christof Knoeri ◽  
Volker H. Hoffmann

Abstract Retrofitting existing buildings is critical for meeting global and institutional net-zero CO₂ emissions goals. Prominent energy and climate policy strategies are aiming to increase notoriously low retrofitting rates by triggering energy efficient and/or decarbonized real estate investments. Although many real estate assets are owned by large-scale investors, the interplay of their retrofit decision-making and policies are under researched. Relying on interviews with four major owner types, industry experts, and policymakers, we unpack the “black box” of retrofit investment and demonstrate how large-scale investors can transform retrofit decision-making processes to meet emissions goals. We show that to accelerate deep retrofits, policymakers should focus on integrated policy mixes, and consider the cross-impacts of policy instruments from various domains on the value-driven retrofitting decision. Instruments indirectly influencing retrofits, such as those targeting affordability or densification, represent a critical avenue for improving the retrofitting policy mix by moving away from single instruments directly targeting energy or emissions aspects. This policy mix should specifically target asset management budgetary decisions, which mainly drive investment planning relevant for deep retrofits.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Kubasova ◽  
Lyudmila Kaverzina ◽  
Galina Makarova

The main provisions of the Strategy for the Development of the Housing Sphere of the Russian Federation until 2025, which radically changed the state's ap-proach to the mechanism of providing the Russian population with affordable housing, are analyzed. It is noted that along with the traditional mechanism of providing the population with affordable housing through the mechanism of mortgage lending, an alternative mechanism is introduced -the provision of rental housing through a commercial and non-commercial format. The analysis of the legal framework of rental relations (employment relations) in the housing sector indicates the absence of a unified approach to the use of basic concepts (rent, hire, commercial rent) in relation to the problem under consideration. The author analyzes the historical and global experience in solving the housing problem for people with low incomes who are unable to improve their living conditions with the help of a loan secured by the acquired property. Based on the analysis of statistical data, the prerequisites for the formation of a civilized rental housing market in Russia and the Irkutsk region are considered and the main development trends are identified.


2021 ◽  
Vol 309 ◽  
pp. 01080
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar ◽  
Vanita Aggarwal ◽  
M. Gupta Surinder

Sustainability is a crucial issue since the last decade as the building sector, directly or indirectly cause a considerable portion of the annual environmental deterioration. Due to increase in houses’ demand, leading to consumption of more resources, energy and raw materials which are directly responsible for the rise in carbon content in air and which are harmful to human health and environment. To overcome these various environmental impacts, we need to build with more sustainable materials which will reduce the impacts on environment. Design of a building is essential and it becomes crucial when we talk about affordable housing. [1] India needs not only affordable housing, but also homes that are energy efficient and designed using sustainable techniques. The green buildings design should thus begin with the use and selection of eco-friendly materials with related or better features than traditional building materials. [2] The paper aims at sustainable development in affordable high-rise buildings with fast track techniques and procedures to reduce overall time and cost of the project.


2021 ◽  
pp. 58-94
Author(s):  
Benjamin Holtzman

After numerous failed state-led initiatives to stem the exodus of middle-income residents in postwar New York, in the late 1960s landlords and major real estate associations proposed their own solution to increase homeownership and retain the middle class: converting rental housing into cooperatives. The middle-income tenants of this housing, however, initially widely rejected apartment ownership, preferring the security of rent-regulated housing. This set off a decade-long battle over the control and nature of moderate- and middle-income housing. This chapter traces how over the 1970s middle-income tenants came to embrace apartment ownership, a shift that pushed the housing stock toward market-rate condominiums and cooperatives and exacerbated the city’s mounting affordable housing crisis.


2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 40-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirmal Puwar ◽  
Sanjay Sharma

Building on the range of methods available to the roaming sociological imagination, curating sociology is concerned with instituting ‘live’ public encounters. Contending that there are practices in the history of sociology that can be considered instances of curating sociology, this article makes a case for harnessing these to inventive research processes today. The discussion in this article draws attention to recent developments in curating before excavating a selection of practices within sociology upon which we can reflexively build live methods with consideration to creative collaborations, publicness and exhibiting as research. Each of these involves a degree of mutation within the craft of sociology. By way of illustration, the final section of the article explores an in-depth case study of curating sociology for the Noise of the Past project, which involved us, as sociologists, collaborating with creative practitioners and ‘curating’ a large-scale public event.


Lingua Sinica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Yipu Wei ◽  
Dirk Speelman ◽  
Jacqueline Evers-Vermeul

Abstract Collocation analysis can be used to extract meaningful linguistic information from large-scale corpus data. This paper reviews the methodological issues one may encounter when performing collocation analysis for discourse studies on Chinese. We propose four crucial aspects to consider in such analyses: (i) the definition of collocates according to various parameters; (ii) the choice of analysis and association measures; (iii) the definition of the search span; and (iv) the selection of corpora for analysis. To illustrate how these aspects can be addressed when applying a Chinese collocation analysis, we conducted a case study of two Chinese causal connectives: yushi ‘that is why’ and yin’er ‘as a result’. The distinctive collocation analysis shows how these two connectives differ in volitionality, an important dimension of discourse relations. The study also demonstrates that collocation analysis, as an explorative approach based on large-scale data, can provide valuable converging evidence for corpus-based studies that have been conducted with laborious manual analysis on limited datasets.


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