[van-announce] [Vancouver] A Photo Essay: Downtown Eastside December 2006

[Stefan Christoff]

A Photo Essay: Vancouver's Downtown Eastside December 2006
by Sawsan Kalache and Stefan Christoff.

* http://gallery.cmaq.net/downtowneast

* http://gallery.cmaq.net/downtownbw

The Downtown Eastside of Vancouver is the poorest postal code in Canada and its 
streets are a transitional home for thousands. As a district renowned for 
police violence, drug addition and sex work, the Downtown Eastside maintains 
the highest HIV infection rate in North America, affecting 30% of the local 
population, mainly women. The homeless population continues to grow, with an 
estimated 2000 homeless people, a population that has doubled since 2002.

A disproportionate segment of the Downtown Eastside is indigenous. According to 
the Pivot Legal Society, 30% of the residents are indigenous, 10 times higher 
than the national average. Indigenous women experience horrific violence in the 
district, according to CBC Vancouver more than 60 women have disappeared from 
the neighborhood in the past decade.

As Vancouver undergoes a major economic boom in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter 
Olympics, the Downtown Eastside remains a consistent reminder of the social and 
human realities of urban poverty. Forces of gentrification in the quarter are 
in full affect. Recently multiple low-income hotels in the area, which 
effectively serve as low-income housing units, have been demolished for the 
development of high-scale development projects. The landmark Woodwards building 
located in the heart of the district was recently demolished for condo 
development, the former location of a political squat for the homeless in 2002.

A long standing tradition of social activism remains rooted in the Downtown 
Eastside, with numerous anti-poverty and housing-rights organizations including 
the Anti-Poverty Committee [APC] and the Downtown Eastside Residents 
Association [DERA], which maintain strong political campaigns in defense of the 
rights of the area's residents. In the past months multiple demonstrations 
against poverty, for low-income housing and a squat action have been organized 
in the district.

* Pivot Legal Society:
http://www.pivotlegal.org

* Anti-Poverty Committee:
http://apc.resist.ca

* Downtown Eastside Residents Association:
http://www.dera.bc.ca

* Vancouver's Missing Women:
http://www.missingpeople.net

* CKUT Radio: Documentary. Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=9110

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