Still Renovating : A History of Canadian Social Housing Policy

A necessary look at how public, non-profit, and co-operative housing flourished and faded. A necessary look at how public, non-profit, and co-operative housing flourished and faded. "This book is a policy history of Canadian social housing--subsidized public or non-profit/co-op housing for people with low and moderate incomes. Utilizing archival sources, interviews, and reinterpreted secondary literature, the author tells the story of how and why social housing came to be a policy priority in the postwar years yet crumbled by the end of the twentieth century. This work is unique in that its long perspective addresses all of the major policy shifts which have shaped Canadian social housing into the twenty-first century and delivers an important reassessment of that history. To quote the author: "This book is the first in Canada to cover all six turning points from the early postwar period to the turn of the millennium. It is the first to offer an analysis of all turning points using a consistent analytical framework. It provides the first detailed account of the why-and-how of policy change at the two largest turning points, the mid-1960s and mid-1990s. It is informed by ideas that have evolved greatly in recent years: on welfare state evolution as a matter rooted in broad international forces as well as domestic political ones, and on tensions between institutional continuity and the forces of change at key turning points." The book consists of eight chapter and is organized chronologically beginning with the postwar period and moving through urban development in the 1960s, the role of babyboomers in shaping housing policy and neighbourhood agendas in the 1970s, and cutbacks in the 1980s and subsequent devolution of policy in the 1990s. The manuscript also includes a chapter on attempts to revitalize social housing policy in the 2000s. While using the three major Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) as the primary centres for analysis, the work also showcases the broad implications of the history of housing policy for Canada (though with a much more limited discussion of small urban areas)."-- Provided by publisher "This book is a policy history of Canadian social housing--subsidized public or non-profit/co-op housing for people with low and moderate incomes. Utilizing archival sources, interviews, and reinterpreted secondary literature, the author tells the story of how and why social housing came to be a policy priority in the postwar years yet crumbled by the end of the twentieth century. This work is unique in that its long perspective addresses all of the major policy shifts which have shaped Canadian social housing into the twenty-first century and delivers an important reassessment of that history. To quote the author: "This book is the first in Canada to cover all six turning points from the early postwar period to the turn of the millennium. It is the first to offer an analysis of all turning points using a consistent analytical framework. It provides the first detailed account of the why-and-how of policy change at the two largest turning points, the mid-1960s and mid-1990s. It is informed by ideas that have evolved greatly in recent years: on welfare state evolution as a matter rooted in broad international forces as well as domestic political ones, and on tensions between institutional continuity and the forces of change at key turning points." The book consists of eight chapter and is organized chronologically beginning with the postwar period and moving through urban development in the 1960s, the role of babyboomers in shaping housing policy and neighbourhood agendas in the 1970s, and cutbacks in the 1980s and subsequent devolution of policy in the 1990s. The manuscript also includes a chapter on attempts to revitalize social housing policy in the 2000s. While using the three major Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) as the primary centres for analysis, the work also showcases the broad implications of the history of housing policy for Canada (though with a much more limited discussion of small urban areas)."-- Résumé de l'éditeur Social housing - public, non-profit, or co-operative - was once a part of Canada's urban success story. After years of neglect and many calls for affordable homes and solutions to homelessness, housing is once again an important issue. In Still Renovating, Greg Suttor tells the story of the rise and fall of Canadian social housing policy. Focusing on the main turning points through the past seven decades, and the forces that shaped policy, this volume makes new use of archival sources and interviews, pays particular attention to institutional momentum, and describes key housing programs. The analysis looks at political change, social policy trends, housing market conditions, and game-changing decisions that altered the approaches of Canadian governments, their provincial partners, and the local agencies they supported. Reinterpreting accounts written in the social housing heyday, Suttor argues that the 1970s shift from low-income public housing to community-based non-profits and co-ops was not the most significant change, highlighting instead the tenfold expansion of activity in the 1960s and the collapse of social housing as a policy priority in the 1990s. As housing and neighbourhood issues continue to flare up in municipal, provincial, and national politics, Still Renovating is a valuable resource on Canada's distinctive legacy in affordable housing. Cover STILL RENOVATING Title Copyright Contents Tables and Figures Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 Early Postwar Foundations 3 The 1960s: Urban Development and Social Agendas 4 The 1970s: Baby-Boomers and Neighbourhoods 5 The 1980s: Shifting Down 6 The 1990s: Devolution and Retrenchment 7 The 2000s: Modest Re-engagement 8 Conclusions Appendix A – List of Abbreviations Appendix B – List of Persons Interviewed Notes Bibliography Index