Ideological constructions of place: The conflict over Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

As global real-estate and finance markets have become increasingly fluid and governments at all levels have embraced neoliberal policies, pressures of large-scale gentrification and redevelopment of our inner-cities have become increasingly prevalent. With these relatively new developments, there has been a great deal of debate surrounding the most effective way to deal with the dilapidated areas in our cities. Seen as a visual and moral blemish to the marketability of the city, many neoliberal proponents have called for a ‘cleansing’ of these regions, through an opening up of inner-city housing to the forces of the market, thereby ensuring the ‘highest and best use’ for all parcels of land. As the guiding ideological outlook continues to align itself with this objective there has been increased pressure placed on the neighbourhoods of the poor. What are the causes and consequences of such ideological constructions, and how has the embrace of these anti-social motives affected the livelihood of the poorest Canadians in our cities?