president's p on d e r ing s
Julia Salvini, P.Eng.
Canadian District President president@cite7.org
This edition of Transportation Talk brings you updates from across the country, information about what’s coming up, and some insight into the work that our members are doing. We also have a couple of articles focusing on affordable housing from the perspective of two planners who spend their time bringing affordable housing to communities across Ontario and from CTS who provide transportation services to clients wanting to develop affordable housing projects in BC.
There is an affordable housing crisis happening across our country. Every day, more individuals and families with severely limited incomes are in search of housing that meets their needs; in almost every community, there are not enough housing options for these people. Federal, provincial, and municipal governments are creating policies and funding to help support and accelerate affordable housing development and we as transportation professionals have an important role to play as well. Projects geared towards people whose income does not allow them to buy or rent housing at average market rates have a wide variety of needs from a transportation perspective. Some of these projects serve families where disability constrains how and when they travel. Some are geared toward people of a defined age such as teens who need support outside of their family home or seniors whose travel patterns are different than typical working families. Still others are geared to different income levels, some at the lowest level where the people living in these buildings cannot own a car. Understanding who these projects serve and how our transportation networks serve them is an important way that we can contribute to the success of affordable housing in our communities. The articles in this edition provide good information about what affordable housing means in Canada, how it is implemented, and some of the challenges and opportunities that these projects—and our work as transportation professionals—present. I encourage you to look into what affordable housing means in your community and what your role can be in addressing the crisis in our country.
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TRANSPORTATION TALK | WINTER 2020-2021
