Europe has a reputation as a place that is generally ahead of the curve on things like social housing. So it might surprise some Canadians to learn that much of the EU is well into the throes of a full-blown housing affordability crisis — and the general patterns bear a striking resemblance to our own. Senior Politico reporter Aitor Hernandez-Morales explains just how bad things are getting, and what we might learn from how it’s unfolding.
Several things stand out:
- Canada is the second worst country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in terms of housing affordability (measured at house prices compared to incomes). Portugal is worst. The OECD is most of Europe plus Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Korea, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica.
- The common factor that drove the diverse housing crises: the exit of the national governments from direct involvement in creation of housing for average and low-income people.
- The intelligensia, including health care professionals, in some cities, took the bull by the horns and reversed the crisis by decisive action to create a large amount of high quality non-market rental housing, and have done so ever since. That ensured the issue of funding for non-market is no longer a political football. This enabled certain cities to avoid joining the ranks of Canada and various European countries in which people can’t afford to keep a roof over their heads any more.
- It’s important that the housing being created was not intended to be primarily just for “the poor.” A broad enough spectrum of people qualify for it, and now live in it, so that it’s not seen as a bone thrown to the desperate.
- The segment notes the ways in which the far-right is making use of the widespread anger among average income people over extremely high housing costs and their lack of access to decent housing. It’s a wake-up call for Canadians. We probably shouldn’t assume that telling average Canadians that Conservative Pierre Poilievre can’t be counted on to protect LGBTQ rights or reproductive choice will somehow dampen down the public’s desperation to have a federal government that at least acknowledges the nightmare of housing affordability for the majority of people living in large urban centres.
Listen or read a transcript here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/lessons-for-canada-from-europe-s-housing-fails-transcript-1.7209699
Joan MacNeil, Affordable Housing Team