3 ms·

While I think this is wonderful, it is surreal that a province more than three times the size of Texas, with a smaller population than metro Houston could have

While I think this is wonderful, it is surreal that a province more than three times the size of Texas, with a smaller population than metro Houston could have a “housing crisis”.

jrgaston 3y ago
You might want to check your units. BC is a bit bigger than Texas, but not 3x.
- wesleyd 3y ago
  So it isn’t! TY! It’s not even one and a half times the size! Nonetheless, my point stands. Bigger than Texas, a sixth the population, yet a housing crisis. I’m sure there are good reasons - like the Rockies - and managing not to sprawl is commendable, but still: surreal.
  - cf100clunk 3y ago
    The Rockies, yes, but also the Selkirks, Purcells, heck, the entire Pacific Coast Range. Seriously, there is little comparison in the topographies. The amount of B.C. land suited to urban populations is miniscule compared to the over all size of the land mass. The climate is almost diametrically different between Texas and B.C., so there's that too. Entire mountain passes are blocked by snow on a regular basis in winter and require enormous effort to clear. Look for the TV show about the B.C. highway towing truckers and you'll get a feel for what is faced. Building urban centres in such places is impossible. Therefore, your point was, to use your own term, ''surreal'', so my opinion is that for obvious geographical reasons it does not stand.
nucleardog 3y ago
“Housing crisis” is not a function of density, but a function of how much demand outstrips supply. The real question to be asking is why the two have been so far apart for so long as to allow us to get to this point.
- wesapien 3y ago
  There is a hidden function, a plausibly deniable function of increasing house prices to benefit a few. A housing crisis is predictable slow moving problem that is ignored.
seized 3y ago
A comparison of the landscape of BC vs Texas would probably clear that up.

While I think this is wonderful, it is surreal that a province more than three times the size of Texas, with a smaller population than metro Houston could have a “housing crisis”.

jrgaston 3y ago

You might want to check your units. BC is a bit bigger than Texas, but not 3x.

wesleyd 3y ago
So it isn’t! TY! It’s not even one and a half times the size! Nonetheless, my point stands. Bigger than Texas, a sixth the population, yet a housing crisis. I’m sure there are good reasons - like the Rockies - and managing not to sprawl is commendable, but still: surreal.
- cf100clunk 3y ago
  The Rockies, yes, but also the Selkirks, Purcells, heck, the entire Pacific Coast Range. Seriously, there is little comparison in the topographies. The amount of B.C. land suited to urban populations is miniscule compared to the over all size of the land mass. The climate is almost diametrically different between Texas and B.C., so there's that too. Entire mountain passes are blocked by snow on a regular basis in winter and require enormous effort to clear. Look for the TV show about the B.C. highway towing truckers and you'll get a feel for what is faced. Building urban centres in such places is impossible. Therefore, your point was, to use your own term, ''surreal'', so my opinion is that for obvious geographical reasons it does not stand.

nucleardog 3y ago

“Housing crisis” is not a function of density, but a function of how much demand outstrips supply. The real question to be asking is why the two have been so far apart for so long as to allow us to get to this point.

wesapien 3y ago
There is a hidden function, a plausibly deniable function of increasing house prices to benefit a few. A housing crisis is predictable slow moving problem that is ignored.

seized 3y ago

A comparison of the landscape of BC vs Texas would probably clear that up.