Editor, 麻豆传媒映画Courier
Re: "Rize tower will be tallest in Mount Pleasant," April 18, 2012.
As a Vancouverite of some 15 years, I have observed housing density increase by leaps and bounds in this city, with no apparent improvement in affordability. City staff and developers would have us believe that density in the form of secondary suites a.k.a. 'mortage helpers', coach houses or multi-dwellings (a fancy name for condos) helps affordability, when in fact they help subsidise a speculative real-estate market. The construction of actual rental units, what we used to call "apartment buildings" on the other hand would decrease housing costs by effectively devaluing the land base. That could be done by offering tax incentives to builders of such rental units (not condos!). Funny, I was able to figure this out without any particular expertise in urban planning!
Charles Leduc, Vancouver
