User:EmilyOverholt/sandbox

Public housing in Canada is a relevant policy issue, given its impacts on the social and economic dimensions of society. The aggregate supply and geographic distribution of public housing can impact the general housing market, as well as city landscapes. The construction and renovation of public housing can contribute to government deficits, which could impact inflation rates. Furthermore, the allocation of funding from other sectors to public housing may have indirect impacts on job availability and social security. Alternatively, public housing may decrease the government deficit, by mitigating the financial burden of social service sectors such as healthcare and law enforcement. The Chez Soi/At Home study was a federally-funded $110 million dollar program which sought to demonstrate a correlation between investment in public housing and expenditure on police services, incarceration costs, community providers, and hospital stays (psychiatric and medical). The study was based within five major Canadian cities, and concluded in 2014, at which time Mental Health Commission of Canada stated that for every $10 invested, there was a public return of $21.72 (Evans, Collins, & Anderson, 2016).

Public housing provides shelter for those with chronic mental and physical ailments, which prevent them for working; as well as those whose income is too low to provide for both market-priced housing and other basic necessities, which can occur as a result of lacking credentials (work experience or education). Public housing also provides for the needs of single parents, who struggle to balance the costs of childcare and housing. Public housing projects can incorporate services such as addictions treatment and community activities into their design, in order to mitigate some of the problems pervasive among the lower class of society. Public housing complexes can aggravate or create social problems among residents including substance abuse, exposure to crime (property or violent), lack of educational attainment, and health problems. One study juxtaposes children raised in Winnipeg public housing with the wider population of children, and provides empirical evidence for shortcomings within the former including lower access to immunizations, lesser achievement in education, and higher adolescent pregnancy (Martens et al., 2014). A different study found that the mortality rate within one Vancouver public housing complex surpassed the provincial average by five times, citing extremely high incidences of HIV/Hepatitis as a contributing factor (Cross, 2013). Public housing in Canada is a relevant issue to all citizens, given its potential impacts on the economy, as well the social hierarchies within society.

The lead section of the Wikipedia page should contain some notable events within the Canadian public housing sector, in order to provide readers with the most important information first. The history section discusses historical legislation such as the National Housing Act and Social Safety net, but fails to detail its significance. The history section begins by listing Canada-wide legislation, but narrows its focus to Ontario without detailing the events which caused the public housing sector to change jurisdictions. Furthermore, the focus on Ontario homogenizes the Canadian housing experience, which varies between provinces and localities; for example, public housing activists in Montreal have had more success in winning corporate concessions for social housing than in Toronto. The article fails to discuss specific policies and the ways in which they have impacted public housing availability and quality. The article doesn't include vital subtopics such as crime incidence, substance abuse, and health outcomes. There are no in-text citations which undermines the credibility of the entire article. Similarly, the over-reliance on a single resource could mean that the article is biased; especially considering that it is a government website, rather than a peer-reviewed journal.

My Wikipedia page discuss the subtopics mentioned featuring balanced coverage of different viewpoints. Further research will focus on case studies from a range of geographic locations, taking into account the causes and consequences of different policies. I would also like to examine the transfer of public housing responsibility from the federal to provincial and local jurisdictions.

References:

Cross, C. (2013). Health problems abundant in marginalized housing. Canadian Medical Association, 185  (16).

DeKeserdy, W. S., Schwartz, M. D., Alvi, S., & Tomaszewski, E. A. (2003). Crime victimization,   alcohol consumption, and drug use in Canadian public housing. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 383 – 396. doi:10.1016/S0047-2352(03)00031-X

Evans, J., Collins, D., & Anderson, J. (2016). Homelessness, bedspace, and the case for housing first in Canada. Social Science and Medicine, 168, 249 – 256. DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.06.049

Goldberg, M. A. & Mark, J. H. (1985). The roles of government in housing policy: A Canadian perspective and overview. Journal of the American Planning Association, 51 (1), 34 – 42. DOI: 10.1080/01944368508976798

Mah, J., & Hackworth, J. (2011). Local politics and inclusionary housing in three large Canadian cities. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, Winnipeg, 20 (1), 57-80.

Martens, P. J., Chateau, D. G., Burland, E. M. J., Finlayson, G. S., Smith, M. J., Taylor, C. R., … PATHS Equity Team. (2014). The effects of neighborhood socioeconomic status on education and health outcomes for children living in social housing. American Journal of Public Health, 104 (11), 2103 – 2113.

Vakili-Zad, C. (1996). Privatizing public housing in Canada, a public policy concern. Housing and the Built Environment, 11, (1), 47 – 68.