in downtown eastside.

Not for the fainthearted: a short photo documentary on Vancouver’s drug-laden East Side.

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And more,

The face of the Downtown Eastside is, disproportionately, the face of aboriginal Canada. One-seventh of the area’s population is aboriginal, seven times higher than for Vancouver as a whole. The discrepancy widens into a gulf if just registered Indians are counted. For Vancouver, status Indians account for just 1 per cent of the population; for B.C., 3 per cent; and for Canada, 2 per cent. But in the DTES, status Indians are 9 per cent of the population. “In some people’s minds, it’s the largest reserve in Canada,” says John, O’Neil, dean of faculty health sciences at Simon Fraser University and a specialist in aboriginal health care.

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This development expert seems convinced that we can turn the Downtown East Side (DTES) into a viable tourist-attraction with rich-condominium dwellers. While there is a quota for cheap housing, I highly doubt it will ever meet the needs of these residents, many who are too strung out to be of assistance in this re-modeling plan. However, I appreciate the new insight.

An inner-city redevelopment program should be formulated for DTES. Such a program should include: ( a) A mix of housing that includes high-end condos, medium-priced units and at least 30 per cent of social housing; (b) A heritage conservation program that will renovate and preserve properties that will maintain the cultural features of the community; (c) Employment opportunities in the area focused on the service, entertainment and tourism industries; (d) Upgrading of the physical infrastructure, amenities and urban services in the area; and (e) Repopulating the DTES area with a more balanced mix of residents . . .