So Much Innovation is Happening

The Vancouver Sun just reported on new social housing built in the Downtown Eastside out of shipping containers. And guess what, it is sustainable, it integrates the three imperatives--ecological (the containers contain steel that would normally have been too expensive that are also recycled), economic (hard costs were about $82,000 a unit compared with $220,000 a unit for conventional) and social (provides equitable access to affordable housing for lower incomes and diverse social capital). The Alexander Street development features two different levels of non-market housing — six units at $375 a month, and six whose rents will be determined by annual income. Renters of the income-related units can earn a maximum of $34,000 a year and pay a maximum monthly rental of $850. A three-way win all around.