Vancouver residents hate their homes but love their ‘hoods

Vancouver area residents are far more dissatisfied with their homes than people in Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. And while they still get satisfaction from their neighbourhoods, that could change if policy-makers don’t step it up, say urban designers and planners.

Data from the Canadian Housing Survey, compiled into charts by Simon Fraser University urban studies associate professor and planner Andy Yan, show that 21 per cent of respondents – renters and homeowners – in Metro Vancouver rate their dwellings on a scale of zero to five, out of a score of 10. About one quarter of Metro Vancouverites rate their homes a six or seven. The only other urban area that comes close to that level of dissatisfaction is Toronto, where 16.6 per cent of residents, both homeowners and renters, consider their dwellings a “less than five,” and 25 per cent give their homes a six or seven. Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary residents gave the highest marks for their dwellings and are especially satisfied with their neighbourhoods.