Vancouver homelessness research essay

According to a recent Economist “Livability Ranking and Overview, August, 2012” study, the city of Vancouver is ranked third most livable city in the world. However, what the report fails to mention is the 33 years of homelessness on Vancouver’s streets. Unfortunately, it has taken 29 years to stabilize and reduce Vancouver’s homeless problem. According to, Mayor Gregor Robertson, “We’ve seen a big drop in street homelessness in Vancouver over the past four years, with a 62 percent decrease since 2008”. To understand Vancouver’s success in reducing homelessness, one must look back at its history and solutions over the years. After 3 decades, the city of Vancouver is at last seeing positive results with its latest solutions to combat homelessness.
To comprehend the city of Vancouver’s success in reducing its homelessness problem, one must learn how, why, and when the problem began. The history behind Vancouver’s homelessness goes back to the 1980s and the Downtown Eastside (DTES). The Downtown eastside was once the city’s hub of commercial and transit rail activities. Many historical sites were built in the DTES such as the first City Hall, public library, and department store. The first department store and major retail store, Woodward’s was a primary source of retail business and jobs. People from all over the city came to the DTES to shop from many of its retail businesses. The two major transit centers were also situated in the DTES. The BC Electric Interurban Station and North Shore Ferries terminal were a great source of daily commuters. Due to the explosion of growth in the DTES, many hotels were built to accommodate tourists and business travelers. Many of the hotels were later converted to housing units. The decline for the Downtown Eastside began in 1958. As transit services stopped operating, the blood line of the city thicken and slowed down dramatically. With the decline of travelers, many businesses struggle to keep their doors open. Another major