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Interesting, is it really that people are being pushed out of downtown due to recent crackdowns, or has the disorder just spread?
There was a recent discussion on Reddit in reference to increased security downtown where people were saying that Barlow and Franklin station have suddenly become a lot worse.
 
If you are still considering this building I would avoid it at all costs. Besides the homeless issue the building constantly has problems. There was a flood in October that affected 53 units and repairs still haven't been completed. They wont be repairing my unit until June and for the repairs to be completed they require tenants to move out for 2 months and take all belongings with them. Luckily my lease ended this month. Management is terrible and there are constant problems with the building (since the major flood there have been 2 minor floods on my floor and the garage door will sometimes break down leaving tenants stranded).
 
This isn't Calgary related, but sort of related to some of the issues we are seeing. Downtowns of other North American cities are experiencing the same issues, and like Calgary, the issues have ramped up noticeably since covid. This article is from SF.

 
This isn't Calgary related, but sort of related to some of the issues we are seeing. Downtowns of other North American cities are experiencing the same issues, and like Calgary, the issues have ramped up noticeably since covid. This article is from SF.

From what I've seen it's the same issue in Edmonton, Vancouver and Ottawa, and from what I've read just about all cities, big and small. Covid made things more visible, but the reason for the higher profile still comes down to drugs. Opioid issues has made drug problems that were bad, even worse.
 
From what I've seen it's the same issue in Edmonton, Vancouver and Ottawa, and from what I've read just about all cities, big and small. Covid made things more visible, but the reason for the higher profile still comes down to drugs. Opioid issues has made drug problems that were bad, even worse.
Yeah. When I see a complaint about that this is the result of a government policy, the counter that it is everywhere. We just hear about it in big cities more because that is where media is based.
 
Yeah. When I see a complaint about that this is the result of a government policy, the counter that it is everywhere. We just hear about it in big cities more because that is where media is based.
Some cities are worse than others due to government policy. I live in Austin, which has a far worse homeless and open drug use problems than do San Antonio or Dallas. Part of that is due to Austin being by far the most expensive city in the southwest, part is the hands off approach of the local government. In Dallas, the police will act on open drug use or if homeless people impede access to businesses or make a mess. I saw Dallas police asking homeless to move away from DART stations and arresting a guy who discarded a needle the other day. In Salt Lake City, the police will politely request anyone pitching a tent to take it down and go somewhere else (presumably they will be asked to move no matter where they go, to encourage them to use shelters). The LDS church also sends crews around to "rescue" homeless people, which is probably another incentive for them to move to SF.

SF is a disaster. The homeless problem has killed the city's tourist industry. It is easy to find cheap hotels in touristy areas of the city because the vacancy rate is so high. The car rental companies discourage their clients from parking anywhere in the city due to rampant break-ins. I saw some guys sitting around a fire in Golden Gate Park roasting what looked like a cat.
 
It is easy to find cheap hotels in touristy areas of the city because the vacancy rate is so high.
As someone who went on a holiday in SF last year I think your impression is grossly misinformed. The Palace and The Fairmont were both full. Standard rooms were going for $1000 USD a night. Every restaurant worth going to had walk up lists and reservations were few and far between.

That being said the Tenderloin was bad. Not as bad as Vancouver’s downtown east side was a year ago, but still pretty bad.
 
As someone who went on a holiday in SF last year I think your impression is grossly misinformed. The Palace and The Fairmont were both full. Standard rooms were going for $1000 USD a night. Every restaurant worth going to had walk up lists and reservations were few and far between.

That being said the Tenderloin was bad. Not as bad as Vancouver’s downtown east side was a year ago, but still pretty bad.
I'm there weekly. I pay less than $150 for rooms that went for $400 in 2019. The Fairmont is a status hotel, so it is immune.
 
As someone who went on a holiday in SF last year I think your impression is grossly misinformed. The Palace and The Fairmont were both full. Standard rooms were going for $1000 USD a night. Every restaurant worth going to had walk up lists and reservations were few and far between.

That being said the Tenderloin was bad. Not as bad as Vancouver’s downtown east side was a year ago, but still pretty bad.
Owner of San Francisco's largest hotels not payin…:
 
Continuing from this thread: https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/f...posals-discussion.27153/page-547#post-2054845

Wait... are you saying that mental health issues have no bearing on homelessness?

I don't think cheaper housing is going to help people suffering from schizophrenia or solve the opioid crisis. The other day I was walking by Dermot road and I saw a shoeless man that was passed out. He had soiled himself and his excrement was trickling down the sidewalk. I don't think cheaper housing is really going to solve the issues he's facing.

I'm saying homelessness is a structural problem. Where there are not enough homes to go around, the most vulnerable of society will find themselves on the outs (poor people, people without family or support networks, people with physical and mental health problems, etc.). There are plenty of people who suffer from mental health issues and addiction in the privacy of their own home. They may have some source of income (a pension, a job, government support, family support, etc.) that allows them to make rent and stay housed. Once rent goes up, they find themselves on the streets and enter a downward spiral where homelessness exacerbates their mental health problems and addiction, making it harder for them to ever exit homelessness. That shoeless, passed out man you described was probably a very different person when he first lost housing, even if he had an addiction or mental health condition at the time.

Listen...you don't have to like me...you don't have to agree with me...but the only thing I ask is that you engage with reality.

P.S. Still waiting to hear a tangible solution to the homelessness crisis that is affecting the major Canadian cities. As an aspiring academic, surely you have the intellectual horsepower to come up with an original idea.

I have no intention of making this personal, despite your sarcastic name-calling. I did provide a solution: affordable housing combined with case workers. This is basically Alberta's policy right now, but they rely on market-rate rentals. As rent goes up, the government budget for housing covers fewer and fewer actual units. Unless real estate prices in Canada unexpectedly crash, there's really no way around the fact that governments are all levels are going to have to start getting back into the home-building business.
 

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